Links

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/04/nfl-concussion-lawsuit-new-jimmy-williams_n_3863063.html

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/five-former-kansas-city-chiefs-players-sue-team-over-head-injuries-120313

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-08-29/sports/chi-nfl-concussion-settlement-20130829_1_concussion-lawsuit-duerson-family-mediator-layn-phillips

http://proplayerinsiders.com/nfl-concussion-lawsuit-the-settlement/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFkWTGKNLT8

    These five links all contributed to making my blog engaging and entertaining. The first link, which came from the Huffiington Post was a very reliable source. The Huffington Post delivers compelling news on subjects that range from politics to sports. The Huffington Post article contributed greatly to my blog post titled, Brain Injuries in the NFL. The article was able to clearly explain in my blog a new lawsuit being filed against the League and Riddell. I also liked this story because it makes sure that it's readers are aware that the NFL had just recently settled a lawsuit. The Huffington Post wrote the article magnificently and left me with no unanswered questions.

     The Fox Sports article also lead to my blog being engaging and entertaining. Fox Sports is known for delivering high quality sports news, and they did not disappoint. I really liked how the Fox Sports article fit into my blog post, Brain Injures in the NFL. I felt the article fit in very well because it presented a different perspective to the story. The Huffington Post article discussed a lawsuit against the League and it's helmet maker. The Fox Sports article discussed a lawsuit against a particular team, the Kansas City Chiefs.

    The third link I used in my blog post, Brain Injuries in the NFL was from the Chicago Tribune. Being a native of Chicago, Illinois, I am very much accustomed to the Tribune delivering great news stories, and even though my hometown changed, the news in the Tribune hasn't. The Chicago Tribune did a masterful job in telling their readers about the settlement between the NFL and it's former players. With the addition of this news story to my blog, I was able to connect the lawsuit described in the Huffington Post to the settlement described in the Chicago Tribune. 

    The fourth link I used in my blog post, Brain Injuries in the NFL did not provide my blog with information, but it did give my blog a photo that I feel readers will find very interesting.

    The last link I used in my second blog post titled, An Inside look at Concussions was a YouTube video. The video was a Sport Science segment presented by ESPN. The video had a profound effect on me. Even though it was a short video, I learned a lot more about concussions and became even more passionate about the subject. I put this video on my blog hoping that it would have an effect on my readers the way it had an effect on me.
     

An Inside look at Concussions

     I truly enjoyed this YouTube video because ESPN's Sport Science made it very easy to understand concussions. The video focuses a lot on numbers to get it's point across. Sometimes numbers can make things confusing and complicated. However, with this video it only made it easier to understand. I also enjoyed this video because it taught me more about concussions. ESPN did this by using numbers and making connections to things. The numbers and the connections the video made not only taught me things I didn't know, but it also astonished me. After watching the video, I was astonished at what I watched and how much I learned in almost 90 seconds. Therefore, I became passionate to learn more about concussions. One thing I learned from doing more research was that concussions don't just occur in the NFL. Concussions also happen in the three other major sports, baseball, basketball, and hockey.

Brain Injuries in the NFL

     Brain injuries, specifically concussions are a serious issue in the National Football League (NFL). This issue is significant for former players. Former players have filed lawsuits against the NFL, it's helmet maker, Riddell, and their former teams because they feel that information was kept from them and that they were lied to regarding the dangers of brain injuries. Former players are also upset because they are now experiencing brain injury symptoms.

photo credit: proplayerinsiders.com

     

     I disagree with the lawsuits. I disagree because I think that these players understood that by playing football, they were putting themselves at risk.

     

     One lawsuit that was filed against the League and Riddell was discussed in detail in a September 3rd, 2013 Huffington Post article titled, New NFL Concussion Lawsuit: Jimmy Williams, Rich Mauti, Jimmy Keyes, Nolan Franz File New Suit. The article says that Williams, Mauti, Keyes, and Franz want, "a medical monitoring and treatment program for all former, current and future NFL players." The former players not only want the League and Riddell to set up the programs, they want them to fund them as well. Williams, Mauti, Keyes, and Franz want these programs because of what their suffering from. The article says, "each has had headaches, dizziness, memory loss, depression, cognitive dysfunction and medical bills." I believe these problems are the reasons the former players are trying to get the programs in place for current and future players. They don't want them to suffer from what their suffering from. 

     Former players are also suing the teams they played for. According to a December 4th, 2013 Fox Sports article titled, Five former Chiefs players sue team over head injuries, "Leonard Griffin, Chris Martin, Joe Phillips, Alexander Louis Cooper and Kevin Porter," are suing the Kansas City Chiefs because they not only believe that information was kept from them about the dangers of brain injuries, but they also feel like they were lied to about the dangers of brain injuries.  

    Since these two lawsuits were so recent, decisions have not been made yet. However, in regards to the lawsuit against the League and Riddell, this is not the first time the League has been in this situation. If history tell us anything a huge settlement could be coming. According to an August 29th, 2013 Chicago Tribune article titled, NFL, players agree to settle concussion lawsuit, the league and thousands of former players agreed on a settlement of 765 million dollars. If a settlement does occur in the lawsuit against the NFL and Riddell, it could be even larger since the helmet maker is now involved.