January 2, 2007
The high price paid by NFL players
Now that I'm in my 50s, my body gives me a lot more argument than it used to. After rolling a roof coating on my deck last summer, a pinched nerve in my left armpit and elbow had me in agony. MRIs revealed problems with some of my neck vertebrae, and a chiropractor counseled rest, ice and gentle exercise.
Now when I watch NFL players getting hammered in mid-air, and falling awkwardly, or drilling others helmet-first, I realize with my newfound appreciation of the complexity of the spine and the nervous sytem, that they shouldn't really be doing all that! If rolling a brush on a roof in 90 degrees is bad, how risky is helicoptering to the ground after a hit by a toned man weighing in excess of 300 lbs.?
On Sunday, Tiki Barber (photo, right) was interviewed after his last regular-season game as a Giant. Of course, the commentators made much of the fact that he has gone from an average running back to a superlative one, based on adding 40 lbs. of muscle via weight training.
They made more of the fact that he was retiring with "three or four more good seasons left in him."
In the Nov. 13 Sports Illustrated, Rick Reilly has a nice column, A Barber Who Won't Cut It Close, on the criticisms of Barber.
In America, you do not quit at the top. You do not quit when you're the leading rusher in the NFL. You do not quit when there's millions left on the table. But Tiki Barber, a 31-year-old Giants running back, is retiring at the end of this season, his 10th in pro football -- and the country wants to sue.
The column goes on to take us down memory lane with some veteran NFL Hall of Famers who wake up in the middle of the night, plagued by assorted pains. Reilly describes how Earl Campbell, the OIlers RB, had to be helped out of a golf cart at a speaking engagement, how Jim Plunkett, Jim Otto and Paul Krause are virtual cripples. Here's the story on Dan Dierdorf:
Meet Dan Dierdorf. Lineman, Cardinals, 13 seasons, also in the Hall. Uses a cane when he walks, if you can call what he does walking. Blocking with his head first has left him two inches shorter than he was in college. He's already got two artificial hips, and he's planning to have a second knee replacement. His ankle needs fusing.
Reilly quotes Barber's critics, who say he is quitting, not retiring. He notes:
Tiki Barber has his money, his memories and most of his cartilage. What he doesn't seem to have is the right to live his own life."When I get home from work," says Barber, "my [two- and four-year-old] kids
come running at me. They make me get on my knees, and we play tackle football. On replacement knees, that's not happening. I saw this video of O.J. Simpson once, and his kids came running at him and he couldn't even pick them up. So I can see that if I play three or four more years, like everybody wants me to, that could be me. But when I'm 50 years old, and I'm having trouble just getting down the stairs, will they be cheering for me then?
Good for Tiki. Other players should realize that they are very lucky, and not just granted a strong constitution, if they are not cripples at the end of their NFL career.
