Similarly, I support the armed forces of this country. Granted, not every action they take has always been honorable, but for the most part, I support the men and women who make it their job to protect this country, even when I find their job morally objectionable.
I have a few friends and relatives who serve in the military- my Uncle was a Surgeon for the Army and ran hospitals in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He is a hero- he put kids back together who otherwise would have lost an arm or worse.
But I worried for his safety every day, and I had the power to magically bring him home, I would have. He loved it- he was so fulfilled, even in the midst of that risk.

I think there is a level of care for our athletes, but I don’t think we can pretend that their safety is our first priority. There is certainly an assumed risk to entering the sport, but I do think that we as fans do not want to see the players injured (at least in football)- we want to see amazing plays and a well played game. That’s why it’s what we talk about, ’cause that’s what we love most.

Thanks for your perspective on this. You have certainly been on the receiving end of your share of hits. I know no greater lover of rugby, and what you said gets back to an important point that Charles made and that I have heard a lot since writing this post. How many of the people who sustain injuries in these sports would have gotten the same injuries doing it for the love of the game? There are a lot of us who played sports for free.

Take care of your head and we will talk more soon.

Facing pressure on a regular basis taught me a lot about attitude, and swallowing fear, and when my friends got injured, I had to learn how to cope with guilt. I can’t imagine my life without rugby, and I know half-paralyzed old men who say the same.

But the benefits of a sport are germane to your subject–the point is, I’m glad the opportunity to play was there, and I welcomed people who enjoyed watching it.

However, I have other career options. If you are a football fan, a lot of kids who only see one escape route from a bad neighborhood are going to bang their heads together for your amusement. A lot are going to bang their heads together just for a shot at amusing you, and they will fail.

At some point, it’s important to support people in the risks they take. Whether it’s right to create a market that encourages desperate people to take those health risks is something I’m not prepared to weigh in on.

This is a good point. A lot of fighters, and footballers never make any money and never see that as the goal. Sport can be an end in itself. What concerns me is where we draw the line? What is it civil for a person to pay to watch. In this country we don’t generally accept any number of forms of competition as lawful. Dog fighting is in the news a lot, but in many states it is still illegal to do MMA. If athletes volunteered to do it would it be ok to reinstate the gladiators (Roman not American)? What about Russian Roulett.

I’m not saying that these things are the same as football. I’m just worried that the arguement “they walk into the arena knowing the risks as well as the rewards and they accept them both,” opens the door to some things I wouldn’t want to see.

Ultimately I think even if the motivation of the player is money or fame, they walk into the arena knowing the risks as well as the rewards and they accept them both. While injury or possibly even death could ensue, unless you as a fan are paying specifically hoping for one of those things, I don’t see how you could take away any responsibility should something go wrong. Unless of course, you spiked a boxer’s water with a rufi or something. ;)