White Linen Posted January 19, 2016 Posted January 19, 2016 (edited) It's a rough sport no doubt. I had an indirect connection to Justin Strzelczyk who if you don't know was from Buffalo (West Seneca) and his family thinks football killed him. I haven't seen the movie but I was told he played a big role in Concussion. Edited January 19, 2016 by Triple Threat
DC Tom Posted January 19, 2016 Posted January 19, 2016 It's a rough sport no doubt. I had an indirect connection to Justin Strzelczyk who if you don't know was from Buffalo (West Seneca) and his family thinks football killed him. I haven't seen the move but I was told he played a big role in Concussion. He was the third former NFL player with CTE identified via autopsy. That took the incidence of CTE from "coincidence" to "trend."
Sisyphean Bills Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 Its not just football either. I separated both shoulders, messed up my ankle, and hips from playing a different sport. Each one has daily discomfort. I'm not sure playing games with Tinkerbell was the main point, but ...
Malazan Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 The regret always comes when the paychecks stop. I have little sympathy for someone who knows the risks of playing a violent sport for a large sum of money and then "regretting" it later. My bet is if these guys worked 40-45 years at McDonalds they'd have even more regrets.
yungmack Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 Teddy Roosevelt threatened to kill the game. They voted him out of office..TR was never voted out of office. He served two terms then hand picked Taft as his successor. Disappointed with Taft, he ran against him in 1912, splitting the Republican vote and coming in second to Wilson, who became president with less than 40% of the vote. Other than Buffalo's Grover Cleveland, Wilson was the first Democrat elected president since before the Civil War.
eball Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 I regret watching Randle El play football. Too soon?
Mr. WEO Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 Maybe he wouldn't have been good - we have no idea. But if you're an MLB team, you're not taking at face value an 18-year old's comment about not going to college. I am quite certain he had provisionally committed to a college by the time of that draft (July), and in any event he would have HAD to provisionally commit by then to Indiana for football. So your first comment above doesn't really apply in this sort of situation. There's a ton of flux with regard to drafted high school players going pro or going to college. If you're drafted in the first round, it's not stupid to go pro. But after that, it gets dicey because the pay is low, and teams are very aware of that. Spending 3 seasons in St. Helena is less monetarily rewarding than an all expenses paid college experience that also happens to reward you with a degree. Basically, you can't compare the MLB draft with either the NFL or NBA. They are very, very different. Just going with what he said, which was essentially that if he chose baseball, he wouldn't have gone (or committed to) college. HE clearly believes he would have had as successful a career in the MLB as the NFL. I think he's dreaming. There are all sorts of 14th and later round picks in the major leagues. Check it out. He claims he would still be playing pro ball--in his 15th (or more) season. That's silly.
leh-nerd skin-erd Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 I regret playing football too and I never made millions of dollars doing it. People can talk about all the repetitive hits, "Football players are in a car wreck every week." But the REAL issue is that it takes only ONE hit to mess up your neck/back/brain forever.
dave mcbride Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 (edited) Just going with what he said, which was essentially that if he chose baseball, he wouldn't have gone (or committed to) college. HE clearly believes he would have had as successful a career in the MLB as the NFL. I think he's dreaming. He claims he would still be playing pro ball--in his 15th (or more) season. That's silly. The thing is, he already HAD committed, at least for football. He was presumably very good at football in HS too. If you're an MLB team and it's the 3rd-4th round, are you going to spend that pick on a left handed HS pitcher throwing in the low 90s with a solid slider, a 3-tool college outfielder with some pop, or a HS player who may well decide to play football because he happens to be really good at it? You appear to be confusing what draft position means in the NFL draft with what it means in MLB. For the record, I doubt he'd still be playing either--not very many last that long given the huge talent pool (much bigger than the NFL talent pool). But if he was any good, he could have played 8-10 seasons in MLB and made more money. And he'd be a lot less hurt now. If you're equally good at both, you'd be a fool to choose the NFL over MLB. Edited January 20, 2016 by dave mcbride
Turbosrrgood Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 I do feel a bit for those who played football that were truly unaware of the possible consequences, and didn't realize these outcomes were a possibility. However those who are playing now, will have no one to blame but themselves. The risks are now common knowledge, and it's up to each player to assess the risk/reward of playing these sports. It's hardly just football either, combat sports such as Boxing and MMA have similar or worse consequences, as does hockey...Even soccer has a high concussion rate. It's a tough sport, and I can understand those who choose not to play. Those who do play at the professional level are generally well compensated though.
Mr. WEO Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 The thing is, he already HAD committed, at least for football. He was presumably very good at football in HS too. If you're an MLB team and it's the 3rd-4th round, are you going to spend that pick on a left handed HS pitcher throwing in the low 90s with a solid slider, a 3-tool college outfielder with some pop, or a HS player who may well decide to play football because he happens to be really good at it? You appear to be confusing what draft position means in the NFL draft with what it means in MLB. For the record, I doubt he'd still be playing either--not very many last that long given the huge talent pool (much bigger than the NFL talent pool). But if he was any good, he could have played 8-10 seasons in MLB and made more money. And he'd be a lot less hurt now. If you're equally good at both, you'd be a fool to choose the NFL over MLB. Once again, I am not confusing the two. He had committed because he wanted to play football. HE is now saying that he wouldn't have committed to college/football and would have started playing baseball, if he had to do it all over again. I AM saying thet, no matter how different the draft is between the 2 sports, the likelihood that he would still be playing pro baseball 15 or more seasons after being drafted is almost zero.
Webster Guy Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 Little guys in the NFL seem to get it the worst. Great athletes who are fun to watch and shine in college end up in the pro arena's among the heavy hitters and they don't belong out there. Getting crushed by an nfl LB or strong safety that has 50 plus pounds on you WILL end up injuring you (duh). In some cases, like Randle El's end around plays, you may end up getting slammed by a guy almost twice your weight. How is it a surprise that these dudes have lifelong effects from that? I hope I'm wrong but the Daryl Talley $150k "help me" fundraiser has probably been noticed by lots of retired fan faves around the country. Expect Randle El to have a fan donation thing going soon, if he doesn't already.
dave mcbride Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 Once again, I am not confusing the two. He had committed because he wanted to play football. HE is now saying that he wouldn't have committed to college/football and would have started playing baseball, if he had to do it all over again. I AM saying thet, no matter how different the draft is between the 2 sports, the likelihood that he would still be playing pro baseball 15 or more seasons after being drafted is almost zero. Neither of us know because neither of us know how good he was as a baseball player, and the slot he was drafted at isn't necessarily indicative of what scouts thought of his talent level. Little guys in the NFL seem to get it the worst. Great athletes who are fun to watch and shine in college end up in the pro arena's among the heavy hitters and they don't belong out there. Getting crushed by an nfl LB or strong safety that has 50 plus pounds on you WILL end up injuring you (duh). In some cases, like Randle El's end around plays, you may end up getting slammed by a guy almost twice your weight. How is it a surprise that these dudes have lifelong effects from that? I hope I'm wrong but the Daryl Talley $150k "help me" fundraiser has probably been noticed by lots of retired fan faves around the country. Expect Randle El to have a fan donation thing going soon, if he doesn't already. Randle El was a longtime punt and kick returner as well. He returned a ton of kicks in his career.
Mr. WEO Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 Neither of us know because neither of us know how good he was as a baseball player, and the slot he was drafted at isn't necessarily indicative of what scouts thought of his talent level. Randle El was a longtime punt and kick returner as well. He returned a ton of kicks in his career. The average MLB career is under 6 years long. He would have to have been a phenomenal talent to last more than 10.
transient Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 Little guys in the NFL seem to get it the worst. Great athletes who are fun to watch and shine in college end up in the pro arena's among the heavy hitters and they don't belong out there. Getting crushed by an nfl LB or strong safety that has 50 plus pounds on you WILL end up injuring you (duh). In some cases, like Randle El's end around plays, you may end up getting slammed by a guy almost twice your weight. How is it a surprise that these dudes have lifelong effects from that? I hope I'm wrong but the Daryl Talley $150k "help me" fundraiser has probably been noticed by lots of retired fan faves around the country. Expect Randle El to have a fan donation thing going soon, if he doesn't already. While I understand the cynicism with respect to Randle El's intentions, given that Darryl's situation was driven by fan response to a Tim Graham article and ChevyVanMiller starting a GoFundMe account without Talley's knowledge, I think calling it a "help me" fundraiser is a bit derisive.
dave mcbride Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 The average MLB career is under 6 years long. He would have to have been a phenomenal talent to last more than 10. He lasted 9 years in the NFL, which is far above the average. He was a talented athlete, clearly.
Mr. WEO Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 He lasted 9 years in the NFL, which is far above the average. He was a talented athlete, clearly. Good football player, yes. Hence his longevity in that sport. The difference in "average career" in the NFL and MLB is that the NFL, having no minor league, includes every hopeless training camp player and ultimately released PS player who cashed a single check from the NFL. If you make it through the baseball multilayered farm system and that selection process propels you to MLB, 5.6 years is still pretty modest.
RyanC883 Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 Randle El stated that he, "still loved the game," and it appears his real regret is choosing football over baseball. Also, he was a returner, I wonder how many crazy hits he took returning punts. People keep saying he "was not in the trenches," but I bet having a guy come at you full speed while you are standing still causes a lot more damage.
Augie Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 Only way to fix this problem is to get rid of helmets and force you to play the right way. I played football in HS and rugby in college. It really is a different mindset. A different kind of crazy, but at least you don't use your head as a weapon in rugby.
Mr. WEO Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 I played football in HS and rugby in college. It really is a different mindset. A different kind of crazy, but at least you don't use your head as a weapon in rugby. It's not just head direct head blows that talley up to "CTE". It's any drastic deceleration. Basically any big hit.
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