March 29, 2024

The NFL and the question of risks

The NFL and the question of risks

sPlayers lying on the ground. Stunned, unconscious. Players try to stand on their feet as if they were in slow motion. They stagger, fall, crawl on all fours. Old men clutching their heads with both hands, which helmets do not sufficiently protect, their faces twisted in pain. These photos are from the National Football League (NFL) spread around the world. And with the growing international awareness of this league, they are reaching more and more families.

This Sunday, the NFL is broadcasting even from Germany, in Munich allowing the Tampa Bay Pirates and the Seahawks to compete against each other. Tens of thousands will be watching in the stadium, and tens of thousands more in public viewing, a major German private broadcaster will broadcast live on free TV and via webcast (3:30pm on Pro Sieben and ran.de). There will be images full of outstanding athletes, full of tactical and technical perfection. Images that inspire but also convey the inherent risk of serious injury. Images that are becoming an increasing problem for a sport that is no longer played solely in the United States, the home of American football and its strongest league, the NFL.

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