The Dirty Little Secret of the NFL

NFL players are physically abused every time they step out on a football field to play the game. It's taken a toll on many that is higher than they ever imagined they'd pay. One such player is Dave Pear who, in an interview with Jeff Pearlman in a Sports Illustrated piece: said: "I wish I never played football. I wish that more than anything. Every single day, I want to take back those years of my life ..." Pearlman calls the former NFL Pro-Bowl star a "football-inflicted train wreck."



Football players have been getting bigger with time. Linemen bulk up in order to be able to resist the charge of a player tearing at them through the line, and in order to have the weight to push back opposing linemen. Getting hit by a huge fullback hurtling 200 lbs plus at you can be brutal. Put several others hitting you at the same time from different directions, including your own teammates, can have horrific, physical effects.

Pear is one of several former NFL stars who are fighting back at the system that sends young men into battle, knowing the potential for serious, life-long injuries, and then does nothing to assist them when they're disabled.

I say to Mr. Pear and others like him: Fight on!