The Shortest Yard

"The NFL and its fans have no right to profess concern. It's hypocrisy. Yes, I understand that the sport may not have caused Hamlin's condition. That's not my point. My point is that the sport destroys bodies and lives, and we love it.

Stop telling me you're concerned, or stop watching. Am I pissing you off? I hope so."

- Scott Wilson, attorney for NFL concussion case

“The sport”. 

I mean, you’re not really pissing me off Mr. Wilson, but you have poked my morbid curiosity. As a numbers guy I had to conduct my own due diligence. And sure, I was just called a hypocrite. By a lawyer, but l’ll let that one slide for now. 

I’m sure I’ve been a hypocrite from time to time, like most mortals. But like anything else it’s not about falling for hypocrisy, from time to time. It’s what you do about it. 

I’m a little stumped by the contradiction of data available on the subject. Credible sources like the Mayo Clinic and similar agree that ”most” TBIs (Traumatic Brain Injury) are caused by falling. Especially elderly and children. One law firm sets falling at 47%, consistent with the label of “most”. The other categories include traffic accidents - 16%, “struck by something - 15%” (which could be sports), assault - 9%, other - 13%. 

But then it gets sloppy after that. The TOTAL incidents in the US are listed at around 2.8 million (between 1.5 million and 3 million). So far so good, except some credible sites say ALL of those are sports related, while others say that 47% of the 2.8 million are from falls. So which is it??

Regardless of the sloppiness from credible sources on OVERALL numbers, there is some consistency on how SPORTS break down.

American football accounts for just under 11% of either sports TBIs or all TBIs. Either way it’s not the highest incidence within sports: rugby has a higher rate at just under 13%. American football is 2nd, followed by women’s ice hockey and then men’s ice hockey. 5th place is women’s soccer, 6th is men’s soccer. 

So as far as I can tell, the leading causes ranking of TBI looks like this (USA):

1. Falling

2. Traffic Accidents

4. Assault

5. Rugby (men)

6. American Football (men)

7. Hockey (women)

8. Hockey (men)

9. Soccer (women)

10. Soccer (men)

“The sport”. Which one are we talking about, Mr. Wilson? 

The reasons athletes are drawn to sports vary from fun to passion, but money takes center stage among the top performers. Which also means there’s huge profit to be made by the owners of sports franchises, leagues, events, broadcasters and related (merchandise, etc). And that’s where it gets “stupid”. For every greed dollar that turns a blind eye to the risks carried by the athletes, there’s a greed dollar for those that would sue by distorting the same risks. 

There’s no excuse for turning a blind eye to the risks of sport injuries. But that also means the nature of sports may one day end up looking like a chess game. Don’t touch me, don’t even look at me. And we better sit down before one of us gets hurt.  

For their part, distorters and hyperbole artists live by the “ends justifies the means” rule of war. So technically in the name of a good cause (defeating an evil enemy or defending an injured athlete) the truth can be sacrificed. To the point of fighting symptoms without understanding the cause.

The shortest yard is the first one. The last yard is the longest. Go deep or go home.