Too Smart for Football
(James’ first day of kindergarten.)
Since the latest NFL controversy, I’ve been thinking a lot about what I’ll tell my boys as they grow older. I grew up in Texas, attended a large football school, and have relatives who played college football and coached high school football. I completed my student teaching semester with the wife of the district’s head coach and athletic director, and we taught Brian’s Song and watched Remember the Titans, too. Football is part of the culture here, and I absolutely loathe it. I’ve never understood the game, or the point of it to begin with, and the camaraderie and hero worship that begins in childhood is baffling to me.
We are not a football family. Ryan doesn’t watch it and the boys have had minimal exposure to it, only seeing kids practice on the middle school field as we drive by after school. We’re not into sports, and while the boys take gymnastics as a way to run off some extra energy, I would prefer them to focus on more academic interests as they get older. I never thought I’d be the kind of mom to prevent my children from participating in certain activities, but I will not let them play football. I don’t think it’s safe, for one thing, and the overall culture, as shown by recent events, is archaic and disgusting. I don’t want my boys to become a part of that.
I’m hoping, as they get older, to encourage their interests in other areas and to help them pursue the curiosity that comes with learning new things. So far, we’ve had a few short conversations about the sport, and I’ve simply told them that football can hurt your brain, which I believe is true. My boys are too smart to play football, and that’s what I plan to tell them.
Dr. Bennett Omalu, the pathologist who discovered Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) after conducting an autopsy on a former NFL player, was warned by an NFL staff doctor to stop talking about the dangers of playing football, because “if 10 percent of mothers in this country would begin to perceive football as a dangerous sport, that is the end of football.” I’m in that 10 percent, and I’d love nothing more than to see football disappear.
While the recent events within the NFL are incredibly shocking, they aren’t surprising or unexpected. And the NFL isn’t alone when it comes to men behaving badly. Most professional sports have had their fair share of controversies, and our own local college football team is often in the news for the players’ poor choices regarding alcohol, drugs, and even sexual assault. I realize that not all football players are abusive, angry men, but the sport sure seems to attract a certain type. Remember O.J. Simpson?
I’ve never been a football enthusiast, so it’s easy for me to turn my back on the sport and its sponsors. We don’t wear Nike products and Ryan is too much of a beer snob to buy Anheuser-Busch, but companies like CoverGirl and even Vogue have paid or accepted NFL dollars in exchange for advertisement time and space, and that’s unacceptable to me. I’m not watching Monday Night Football, so I can’t hurt the ratings, but I can avoid spending money where NFL items are sold. If you feel strongly about the actions of the NFL, I encourage you to do the same.
I’m not naive and I have no faith in the NFL. I don’t believe that recent mandates or proposed classes will change anything. But I can educate my boys and raise them to be responsible men, and hopefully, keep them safe in the meantime. My boys are too smart to play football, and yours are, too.
This is SUCH a wonderful post Catherine!! I have been boycotting football it in general since always I guess, because I always found watching sports on TV uninteresting and a waste of time for my preferences and interests, but intentionally since about mid high school when I started seeing all the waste and greed involved, and disliking the hyper-competitive environment, then even more intentionally in recent years as I’ve come to know more and more about the awful culture, as you mentioned. What I did not know though, was how dangerous it is! So thank you for informing me on that! (That probably makes it obvious how behind I am w/ all news.) I played basketball competitively all throughout high school, although just on the school team, not year round, and always think how those few hours a day practices would have been so much better for my health and spirit had we done an hour just every few days and done things like yoga, art, even dancing, and am much more in favor of things like the gymnastics you have the little guys in.
Thanks so much, Dus! Obviously, I think there are good things about sports, too, and they can even offer an outlet for kids who might be at risk. But the culture here is really over the top and it has created such a good old boy mentality. The NFL has blatantly covered up the truth about concussions, and that, combined with the acceptance of criminal behavior, makes for such a bad setting. I would just prefer that my boys find something more meaningful that isn’t filled with violence.
This is brilliant! I came from a football loving family and have seen the heroism first hand. While I think there is admiration for athleticism, this is something else entirely. Take for instance the rape case in Steubenville, Ohio. So many times, we as a culture, forgive athletes because of the “big game” mentality. It’s sickening. As you know, Chris is a big sports fan and hopes that Jasper will participate in at least baseball. I’m a fan of sports for camaraderie and socialization, but I also feel that those traits are available in academic pursuits. So it should be interesting to see what Jasper wants to do when he’s older!
Thank you, Lindsay. I know that sports mean so much to so many people, and I do understand it in a way. But I think our society idolizes sports figures to the point that their bad behavior goes ignored or excused. It would be great to see football and other sports become regular athletic events without the drama and fanfare that goes on now.
I love this. Football isn’t a big thing in my culture at all (I think I played flag football for the first time in sixth grade but we didn’t have football teams or anything). I’ve always been more into academic and creative pursuits than sports and my parents were fine with that.
Thank you. It’s so huge here and lots of kids who are the same age as my boys are already playing.
My son is 9 months old but he’s not allowed to play football, either. My husband is a football fan (more college than NFL), and did play in middle school (he did grow up in Texas, after all), but he’s always said our kiddo isn’t allowed to because of how dangerous is. I think people think we are joking when we say that, but we 100% aren’t. My son is too smart to play football, too, and we’ll help him find other activities to fill the void.
Hi, Julia! Thanks so much for your honest comment. I’ve been nervous to speak out about football, but now I realize how important it is. And, if more moms feel the way we do, we can make a positive change for our boys. 🙂
You know how I feel. You’ve stated it beautifully. I am so grateful I did not have sons to raise.