Elliott's blog

There has been a lot of speculation around the sport of football and its safety. There are a lot of former NFL and college football players that are coming out about how it has effected them in their everyday life after football. Now there is someone new taking the stand. ESPN football analyst, Ed Cunningham, walked away from his job at ESPN and ABC in the prime of his career. Cunningham played Center at Washington University and won the Rose Bowl against the Iowa Hawkeyes in ’91. But Ed said that enough is enough and dropped out of his position. All the hits take a toll on players, this is scientifically proven and honestly jus straight up common sense. Full of emotion and holding back tears Cunningham explained just exactly why he quit saying, “I know a lot of people who say: ‘I just can’t cheer for the big hits anymore. I used to go nuts, and now I’m like, I hope he gets up,’” Cunningham said. His eyes welled with tears. “It’s changing for all of us. I don’t currently think the game is safe for the brain. And, oh, by the way, I’ve had teammates who have killed themselves. Dave Duerson put a shotgun to his chest so we could study his brain.”

That touched deeply because I hear more and more stories about men taking their lives because of trauma or brain damage.  I played football my whole childhood all the way up until college. I have also experienced getting a concussion and being rushed to the hospital for it (You should see the other guy). It was not a fun time for me or my family but it is something that I got myself into because I love the sport. I have also been on the other side where I gave kids concussions or injured them, legally, and it is not a good feeling at all once you process what happened. But I originally signed to Morningside to play football but after a long talk with my family and grandma I decided to play the sport that was #1 to my heart, baseball. But looking back on my decision I am very happy with how things turned out. On the other hand I love to see the big hits, I love watching the Seahawks every week that I can with family, friends, and etc. And with the way that technology is going I think football should be around for the rest of my lifetime, I hope.