By Julie Buehler
Monday March 16th, a young man, a good, up-and-coming NFL linebacker, Chris Borland, announced he was retiring from the NFL.
He is 24 years old. Played only his rookie season before deciding he’d had enough.
And while this offseason we saw the likes of 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis retire due to a chronic foot injury and former Tennessee Titan quarterback Jake Locker file papers due to constant shoulder and fill-in-the-blank injuries and Steelers linebacker Jason Worilds pack it in to dedicate more time to his religion, this is one of the rare times we’ve seen a promising player retire BEFORE his injuries took him out of the game after ONE season.
In a statement Borland released to ESPN’s Outside the Lines he said, “I just honestly want to do what’s best for my health. From what I’ve researched and what I’ve experienced, I don’t think it’s worth the risk… For me, it’s wanting to be proactive,” Borland said. “I’m concerned that if you wait ’til you have symptoms, it’s too late. … There are a lot of unknowns. I can’t claim that X will happen. I just want to live a long, healthy life, and I don’t want to have any neurological diseases or die younger than I would otherwise.”
About 4 years ago, I asked my own younger brother to stop playing college football and not pursue NFL dreams because he had suffered multiple injuries, including concussions, and I told him I’d rather reminisce about our childhood than see his bank account inflate at the expense of his mind. So I respect Borland’s decision and as the 49ers’ general manager said, it seems he took great care and thought to come to this conclusion.
Borland did what’s right for him, and if that were the only thing we were discussing, I wouldn’t feel the need to pen this column.
But that’s not what people are discussing, instead, with this announcement, many in the media and sports world are wondering if this is a sign of things to come and whether football players will be abandoning the game for their safety.
There’s a spinning narrative that the NFL is a monolithic monstrosity of viciousness and this is more evidence that the game is too dangerous to exist.
Donte Stallworth, former NFL receiver tweeted, “49ers young star Chris Borland’s retirement after one season is the beginning of many more to come. Best wishes, kid!”
Another former NFL player Tom Crabtree tweeted, “It scares the sh*t out of me when i can’t recall a name or forget where i put my keys as we all do. But thoughts of CTE always creep in.”
Kyle Costigan, Borland’s former teammate at Wisconsin tweeted, “they’re going to make a 30 for 30 on Borland in the future for spearheading the head trauma issue in the NFL, have 2 respect that decision.”
Many are concluding this will cue some exodus from the NFL because players fear for their future and as you hear the spinning narrative of a dangerous profession and the future of former and current players shrouded in doom and gloom, consider some perspective, ask yourself some questions.
First: Is the concussion issue real and significant? Without a doubt, yes. But with the advancement of medical technology, knowledge has improved dramatically and studies have shown that while some people are more likely to suffer long-term effects for head trauma, others are not as likely. Much like cancer has genetic tendencies and pre-cursors, so do neurological diseases. Not everyone is at as much risk as the player in the huddle next to him. The medical community is just beginning to understand neurological conditions, what causes them, curbs them and what cures them.
And like any disease, the more the medical community knows, the better they can combat any disease. And the more they study it, the more they’ll know.
Second: Are NFL players and professional athletes the only ones who should be vigilant in preventing long-term health consequences due to their chosen profession?
NO. Not even close. Many professions must weigh the consequences to pursue their field.
The life expectancies for military personnel, police and fire fighters or emergency room doctors are significantly reduced below average due to stress and dangers.
According to multiple studies, entertainers, in general, were dying at an earlier age than any other industry. After looking at a compilation of obituaries over a decade in multiple countries around the world, these studies found that singers, dancers, actor and athletes, those in the entertainment field, have shorter life spans than ever before and it’s the only industry that showed a reduction in life expectancy.
Perhaps it’s not just the NFL, maybe it’s the pressure of the public eye.
And that brings me to the next, albeit difficult to discuss, notion.
The media will point to players that have committed suicide, including now NFL Hall of Famer, Junior Seau, offer them martyrdom and stress the issues of head trauma and the dangers of the NFL.
While each suicide is particularly tragic because almost entirely preventable, the problem our nation’s military veterans face is far more substantial, but far less publicized.
According to the VA, 22 veterans take their own lives every day. So approximately 8,030 veterans every year commit suicide. These are estimates, but even if it’s half that, that is enough for our nation and our national consciousness to direct our focus there.
Now, certainly, the NFL has a serious responsibility to pursue further understanding of post-career depression and prevention of its former players’ protection, but the idea that the NFL is suffering a wide spread problem is not accurate. The VA certainly is.
As I mentioned, I applaud Borland’s decision, it’s his own and I’m happy he’s making the best decision for his family and his wellbeing.
But I guarantee, GUARANTEE, while there may be a few more players making this decision earlier in their careers, this is NOT a sign of things to come. The NFL is still the fairytale to many young boys and growing men and it’s still the most popular sport in our nation by a wide margin.
I’m not excusing any of the sport’s failings by citing the NFL’s popularity, addressing those facts need a whole other column, but I am offering perspective to consider while the “sky-is-falling” narrative surrounds the NFL.
It’s not.
It’s never been stronger.
Fear doesn’t drive people who have a passion for their industry. Whether it’s military, public service, medical doctors, journalism or football. Fear doesn’t drive players when they play the game, and it won’t drive players in making decisions about their future.
Furthermore, fans know they face the conundrum of understanding the pain players endure, but being entertained by the procedure in which it’s inflicted.
So while game officials attempt to create new rules to help with player safety, NFL fans complain when the hits are softened and bemoan those rule changes that disallow players from hitting with full force.
And while the “NFL is bad” narrative makes victims of former players, they consistently comment on how much easier it is to play in the NFL today versus yesteryear and how spoiled today’s players are with the paychecks and trappings.
Some claim the NFL’s dangers are going to eradicate the game, but it’s never been more popular, the players never more protected and it’s moving in a positive direction.
Chris Borland isn’t the first to retire early and he won’t be the last. His decision and eloquent rational makes good sense for him, but it won’t spark more players to make the same move, it will just open a roster spot for another young man to make a living putting his body on the line.
The NFL won’t be retiring from the national consciousness. It’s purely American:
Equal parts entertainment and reality, finesse and ferocity, precision and power, instinct and knowledge.
Julie Buehler hosts the Coachella Valley’s most popular sports talk radio show, “Buehler’s Day Off” every day from 1-4 on 1010 KXPS, the valley’s all sports station. She can also be seen every morning between 6-7am on KMIR sharing the coolest stories in sports. She’s an avid gym rat, slightly sarcastic and more likely to recite Steve Young’s career passing stats than American Idol winners. Tune in M-F 1-4 pst at www.team1010.com or watch “Buehler’s Day Off” on Ustream and KMIR.com for her sports reports.
