Future in Doubt

Courtesy of Espn.com

To quote Mark McGwire, I'm not here to talk about the past.

I'm not here to talk about Ray Rice, Ray McDonald, or Jonathan Dwyer. Nor will I be writing about the disturbing news about Jovan Belcher that makes an already depressing story exponentially more unpleasant. The $765 million concussion settlement that came about 10 years too late? Nope, no comment here. And I certainly do not want to talk about the stumbling, bumbling, bobble-head of a commissioner that the NFL currently employs. 

I am not here to talk about the past; I'm here to question the future.

Would you feel comfortable letting your son play organized football?

If someone asked me that question ten years ago, there is no doubt that I would have said "Hell yes!". To watch and root for my son with my name on his back would have been the highlight of my life. Now if I have any sons and if they should happen to show any kind of athletic prowess, I will do everything in my power to push them towards basketball or baseball.Am I being over-protective? Yes and that is what parents do. But enough of my yammering; let's ask people who actually, you know, have boys:

Monica, mother of a 6 year-old:

"I don't follow up with the sport or its players much. Seeing as how rough the sport is, regardless of the "craziness"...I would not feel comfortable if my son were to play football. Never have . Football is not my first choice as a sport for my son to play. Now if he wants to play when he gets older, be my guest. Even then I would be worried of him getting badly injured."

Brian, father of a 2 year-old with a second son on the way*:

"My wife and I talked about this the other night! We prefer our sons not play football and the reason is strictly I don't want them to get hit and have long term injuries.I don't want the expenses and I don't want them to have to live with something that might happen. Also, in Texas, we feel some of the coaches are out of their mind and I don't want my kid to get burned out on something. If he chooses it, then we will see, but I would much rather him play baseball or golf, but ultimately, the decision is his, but we definitely aren't steering him towards football at all."

*Update: Welcome to the work Alex Reid!

Tenisha, mother of a 1 year old

"I want my son to be active and to play sports but football is something I am concerned about. With the recent stories of young players losing their lives and suffering serious head injuries, I don't want a concussion or serious brain injury to effect my son's future. As parents we need to be educated and consider the benefits and risks of our children participating in football."

Now I'll be the first person to admit that these quotes are, shall we say biased? I know that there are a sizable amount of parents who have no issues with their sons playing football and I do not fault them one bit. But before we wrap this up, allow me to tell a short story: when I was a kid, I was a huge Oilers fan. My father used to show me videos of a bruising tailback by the name of Earl Campbell. Thanks to the power of YouTube, I was able to find one.

Here's Campbell dominating back then:

And here is Campbell now:

Courtesy of CBS

Campbell spoke to ESPN back in 2004 about his punishing running style: "Sometimes I pay for it," Campbell said. "With the way I walk now, the things I did to my body wasn't supposed to be done. At 48 years old, it is saying, 'Hey, Earl, remember what you did to me?' "

I'll always remember what his body said. Simply because I don't want my son to look forward to it.