The latest round of rule changes in the National Football League (NFL) has received a lot of commentary on TV and in the blogosphere lately, especially the new rule that now makes it illegal for ball-carriers and tacklers to lead with the crown of their helmets when both players are outside of the tackle box.
If player injuries are such a serious problem in the NFL, what would be the best way to solve to this problem? Should a player be able to sue another player in tort for an illegal hit?
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All the new rules are making the NFL very complicated. Technically illegal hits should be considered torts and the players should be able to see. But it seems vague and subjective when determining what is an illegal hit. What is the tackle box
This is true: as the rules becomes more complicated, the refs will have greater discretion in making their calls, which, in turn, will lead to inconsistent calls … in fact, this insight would be relevant to law and legal systems to the extent there is an inverse relationship between the complexity level of a set of rules and the level of subjectivity the enforcers of the rule have …
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Another concern is that it may change the game. If players are in fear of being penalized individually or their team being penalized, for the same type of hitting that they have been trained to execute aggressively since college, they aren’t going to perform the same. It is tradition for there to be hard hitting and just like when you get in a car race, if you wreck, you wreck. I think there is some assumed risk when you put the pads on. The question lies therein: when and how is the line drawn to determine when a hit is more than aggressive, as in the hit was intentionally done to injure the other player?
I think one of the best ways to reduce the injuries in the NFL is to give the players less padding. I can almost guarantee that a player wouldn’t lead with the crown of his helmet when making a hit if he is wearing a leather head. I think less padding will encourage a player to be less reckless and take more caution when making a hit. The lighter, stronger padding of today does as much to encourage recklessness as it does to protect the body.
That is an excellent point … in fact, I would argue this same logic also applies to automobile safety: as cars become more safe, people drive more recklessly
While I respect the previous comments, less padding will only equate to more injuries. These players have idolized their previous example setters, none of which included hitting an opponent more softly. It is a custom to proudly enter the field with intensity and play ball, not hide from what none of the previous players were afraid of…a real hit. Less padding is an excuse to diminish the intensity of the game. That very same intensity creates the fan base. These are grown men and they are aware of the possible consequences of their involvement in the sport. The same way that I know, if I drag race a supercharged mustang with a 411 rear-end, there is some danger. Step up!
That’s also a good point, professor. This “moral hazard” problem becomes more apparent as a person has incentive to take less care. It’s the same reason that a person with car insurance is more likely to be less cautious when driving than a person without insurance. I think this tendency is just human nature
Kutner, while I agree that intensity is a big part of the game, I don’t think that less padding would diminish the intensity of the game or necessarily lead to softer hits. I think that players can still hit hard while hitting smart. On the contrary, I think that less padding would lead to a more intense game. After all, what could make racing a supercharged mustang more intense than removing the front doors before you raced without a seatbelt?
I believe illegal tackles are a Tort. Even more specifically, I believe it is negligence per se. Why? Because there is a rule for not tackle hince why it is an ILLEGAL tackle. The rule was installed to restrict injuries that could lead to head trauma.