11/05/24
October 18, 2010
Junior Seau Drives Off Cliff: Former NFL linebacker Junior Seau drove his SUV off a Carlsbad, Calif., cliff Monday morning, hours after being released from jail over a domestic violence arrest. He was treated for cuts and bruises at a hospital.
Maybe Jesus saved him like he saved Deion Sanders.
posted by cjets at 06:10 PM on October 18, 2010
I guess there's another being under that exterior.
Another possibility is that his brain is damaged from football-related injuries.
posted by rcade at 06:25 PM on October 18, 2010
It must be the roids or the brain injury or the retirement induced depression or he could just be a major A-hole. There is always an excuse, some valid and some not.
Junior Seau is driving off a cliff literally and figuratively.
posted by Atheist at 06:42 PM on October 18, 2010
Maybe the NFL owners and players in the current contract negotiations ought to put in place some sort of system that counsels players on the use of violence off the field, attempts to identify personality traits that lead to such behavior, and in general tries to keep the living room separated from the playing field.
It would be one hell of a lot more meaningful than wearing pink shoes for a month.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 09:20 PM on October 18, 2010
Maybe the NFL owners and players in the current contract negotiations ought to put in place some sort of system that counsels players on the use of violence off the field, attempts to identify personality traits that lead to such behavior, and in general tries to keep the living room separated from the playing field.
Yes, football is a violent game but I don't think too many players sack their wife when she burns the garlic bread. Or jump on the linoleum and cover a fallen loaf of wonder bread as if it's a loose ball. In other words, I'm pretty confident most players (roid rage excepted) can keep a level head off the field.
It would be one hell of a lot more meaningful than wearing pink shoes for a month.
Didn't take much effort to honor National Breast Cancer awareness month. So, I don't see why you would make it sound petty that they wore pink.
posted by tselson at 11:05 PM on October 18, 2010
Another possibility is that his brain is damaged from football-related injuries.
There are lots of possibilities.
Maybe Jesus saved him like he saved Deion Sanders.
?
I don't get this thread, we want counseling for all of the NFL, we raise the possibility that Seau has brain damage from football, we make fun of Jesus and we belittle the NFL for honoring Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
All because Junior isn't perfect?
posted by tselson at 11:12 PM on October 18, 2010
Deion Sanders and Jesus:
posted by cjets at 11:39 PM on October 18, 2010
I don't know why you find the brain-damage speculation so distasteful, Tselson, but it's a trend that's emerging among former NFL players.
Here, the latest appears to be that Seau fell asleep at the wheel after a night in jail.
posted by rcade at 11:46 PM on October 18, 2010
I didn't say it was distasteful, Rcade. There isn't much of a trend of ex NFL players driving their cars off cliffs. I'll consider that my first warning and not push your buttons.
cjets, I get your reference, now. You were still making fun of Jesus, though. I know it;)
posted by tselson at 12:05 AM on October 19, 2010
You didn't have to say it. The plaintive "all because Junior isn't perfect?" did it for you.
There wasn't a trend of players falling out the back of moving trucks and getting killed either, but Chris Henry's autopsy revealed brain damage that may explain his irrational behavior. From the link: "Concussive hits can trigger a buildup of toxic tau protein within the brain, which in turn can create damaging tangles and threads in the neural fibers that connect brain tissue. Victims can lose control of their impulses, suffer depression and memory loss, and ultimately develop dementia."
Nice shot at me, though.
posted by rcade at 12:12 AM on October 19, 2010
Ought to put things in their proper perspective. So, I don't see why you would make it sound petty that they wore pink
I don't think she made it sound petty, I think she made a very valid point that the NFL, and the players, ought to take care of themselves in a more proactive manner. Junior isn't the first case like this we've seen, and the league needs to ensure that they're doing everything they can to protect the players and their families.
I'm not trying to belittle the NFL for the pink campaign, just think a month of it is a bit long. Why not a month for heart disease, a month for stroke, a month for lung cancer, a month for respiratory disease a month for Alzheimer's, and then a month for breast cancer...just to put things in their proper perspective. Seriously, I'm good with the pink program, just think it's a bit over the top at this point.
posted by dviking at 12:14 AM on October 19, 2010
odd...don't know where that "ought to put things in their proper perspective" line in my previous post came from.....gotta stop drinking and posting
posted by dviking at 12:27 AM on October 19, 2010
There wasn't a trend of players falling out the back of moving trucks and getting killed either, but Chris Henry's autopsy revealed brain damage that may explain his irrational behavior. From the link: "Concussive hits can trigger a buildup of toxic tau protein within the brain, which in turn can create damaging tangles and threads in the neural fibers that connect brain tissue. Victims can lose control of their impulses, suffer depression and memory loss, and ultimately develop dementia."
Brain damage was also suspected to be a factor in Justin Strzelczyk's death.
posted by Bonkers at 03:57 AM on October 19, 2010
bonkers...regarding "concussive hits can trigger"...etc. Wht don't we hear of these guys picking fights or trying to abuse other guys, mostly it's women. Losing control of their impulses should include taking on guys who may piss 'em off too. WTF?
posted by wildbill1 at 07:20 AM on October 19, 2010
p.s...i don't recall seeing anything about NHL players with these tendencies. for sure they take their hits on the ice from checking and fist fighting...any of those guys in jail?
posted by wildbill1 at 07:24 AM on October 19, 2010
p.s...i don't recall seeing anything about NHL players with these tendencies. for sure they take their hits on the ice from checking and fist fighting...any of those guys in jail?
Hockey players don't lead with their head when making contact, which is exactly how football players are taught. There is FAR more contact with the head in football than there is in hockey.
As well, when a player is concussed in hockey, it's much easier to spot (and remove the player from danger) as they simply can't perform on the ice (balancing on skates, constant movement). A concussed lineman can be sent right back out there to keep throwing himself into the line.
posted by grum@work at 08:40 AM on October 19, 2010
tselson:
Didn't take much effort to honor National Breast Cancer awareness month. So, I don't see why you would make it sound petty that they wore pink.
Well, it is petty, in the original sense of the word. It's small. It's a cheap display of one's "support" for a cause. The actions that Howard_T spoke of are a lot more meaningful than wearing shoes of a different color.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 08:44 AM on October 19, 2010
p.s...i don't recall seeing anything about NHL players with these tendencies
To add to the points grum stated, several other factors play into this. One, the average NFL lineman is well over 300 pounds, the average skater is not. Two, in the NFL the players are on grass and they're wearing cleats. This causes the impact to be more severe as opposed to the NHL where the skater has a lot of the force transferred to the ice as he slides to the side after a hit. Additionally, the football hit is usually a direct collision whereas the hockey hit is more often a glancing blow. Rarely do two skaters skate full speed directly at each other, most often one is trying to skate around the other. Not diminishing the head injuries in hockey, just pointing out why football tends to see a higher volume of more serious injuries. (fully understand that hockey does have the hard ice and boards to contend with)
posted by dviking at 10:42 AM on October 19, 2010
Also - hockey players don't routinely practice checking each other at game speed. The G forces a football player can experience just in practice are absolutely phenomenal to me. That and the repercussions of playing football. This Gladwell article has some astonishing information.
I don't think there is any problem with the breast cancer awareness month, though, and I don't think you can hang the NFL for that because of Seau's actions and make that connection fairly. Crimes are crimes.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 07:17 PM on October 19, 2010
Weedy, I don't have a problem with breast cancer awareness month either. It's just that I think it would be nice, if domestic violence or violent tendencies are close-to-homes issue, for the NFL to engage them in ways other than symbolic.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 08:16 PM on October 19, 2010
I don't get this thread, we want counseling for all of the NFL, we raise the possibility that Seau has brain damage from football, we make fun of Jesus and we belittle the NFL for honoring Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
All because Junior isn't perfect?
You didn't have to say it. The plaintive "all because Junior isn't perfect?" did it for you.
Well, "all," meant like "all," of those things in a cumulative manner. So if that "did it for me," okay, then. I don't find your willingness to throw out brain damage every time a football player does something irresponsible or destructive, "distasteful." Irrational, maybe.
Well, it is petty, in the original sense of the word. It's small. It's a cheap display of one's "support" for a cause. The actions that Howard_T spoke of are a lot more meaningful than wearing shoes of a different color.
Okay, fine llb, it's small and cheap so it shouldn't be done. I liken Howard's referenced actions to submitting the whole of the PGA to marriage counseling because of the actions of one prominent golfer.
Hockey players don't lead with their head when making contact, which is exactly how football players are taught.
Yeah, hockey players don't tackle. Football players are taught to get their head across the body or on the ball. To be low and to keep their head up period. I keep hearing this "lead with their head," stuff and I'm not sure what people think is being taught but it's not tackling with your head down like a battering ram.
Nice shot at me, though. Yeah, I was actually cautiously serious.
posted by tselson at 11:53 PM on October 19, 2010
I don't find your willingness to throw out brain damage every time a football player does something irresponsible or destructive
I suggested it here because Seau's actions appeared to be intentional (and thus crazy). I did not suggest brain damage when Henry was killed. His autopsy was the first time I began thinking seriously about how even current players may be suffering the effects of permanent brain damage.
posted by rcade at 08:33 AM on October 20, 2010
To be low and to keep their head up period. I keep hearing this "lead with their head," stuff and I'm not sure what people think is being taught but it's not tackling with your head down like a battering ram.
They still rush forward in a leaning position to make contact.
A slight miscalculation and they are going to make contact with their head, especially if they are diving forward to tackle a runner's legs/waist, or leaping forward to stop a 1-yard plunge by the running back (who has also put his head down to make that plunge).
posted by grum@work at 08:37 AM on October 20, 2010
True, form-tackling is not taught to be leading with your head; however, you don't see a lot of form-tackling in the NFL. You see a lot of people trying to make highlight-reel hits.
posted by Bonkers at 09:29 AM on October 20, 2010
I liken Howard's referenced actions to submitting the whole of the PGA to marriage counseling because of the actions of one prominent golfer.
Not quite, ts. Marriage counseling involves sitting a couple down and having them work out their problems. What I would envision is more on the lines of the league-wide warnings given to NFL players concerning contact with gamblers and other security issues, for example. It might behoove the PGA to have an annual talk with its members on the tour concerning the dangers of extramarital affairs, but marriage counseling isn't necessary until someone gets caught (or suspected), and won't work unless both parties are willing to make it so.
On edit: What I wrote initially did not necessarily apply to Seau's actions after his arrest, but rather to the charges of domestic violence.
posted by Howard_T at 02:57 PM on October 20, 2010
It might behoove the PGA to have an annual talk with its members on the tour concerning the dangers of extramarital affairs ...
What the hell? These are adults. It isn't the PGA's job to be their moral counselor. What they do in their private lives is nobody's business but their own, their sex partner and the donkey.
posted by rcade at 04:55 PM on October 20, 2010
It isn't the PGA's job to be their moral counselor.
Agree, from the standpoint of keeping the players and their wives talking to each other, but disagree from the standpoint that widespread (more than 2 or 3 players being caught during a season) misbehavior would reflect badly upon the image of the PGA. The original discussion was concerning domestic violence among football players, but counseling on all aspects of behavior for the good of a league or sporting organization is still a good idea.
posted by Howard_T at 10:04 PM on October 20, 2010
I think it would reflect badly on the PGA to be a busybody in the private lives of its players. Just because someone is a pro athlete does not mean every aspect of their lives should be subject to the meddling of their league.
posted by rcade at 10:13 PM on October 20, 2010
I don't know what personal demons are driving Seau, but the pattern of domestic violence among football players (and in those in other sports as well) seems all too prevalent. Maybe the NFL owners and players in the current contract negotiations ought to put in place some sort of system that counsels players on the use of violence off the field, attempts to identify personality traits that lead to such behavior, and in general tries to keep the living room separated from the playing field. Football is a violent game, and those who play it well need to reflect that violence. The problem comes when you "take your work home" and begin to treat your wife like a wide receiver trying to make a catch in front of you. The times I saw Seau in interviews or other TV appearances, he always seemed like an easy going, rather jovial person. I guess there's another being under that exterior.