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The question at hand is should we hold the NFL accountable and are they obligated to provide medical relief for both, past and current players suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. The National Football League has been suppressing this medical disease from the public and football players since they created the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI) committee back in 1994. In Newsday, Dr. Elliot Pellman, chair of the MTBI committee, answered the question about the issue concerning concussions with, “We discuss it on the list of things every time we have a league meeting … We think the issue of knees, of drugs and steroids and drinking is a far greater problem, according to the number of incidents.” Later, telling Sports Illustrated, “concussions are part of the profession, an occupational risk.” Placing this health issue at the bottom of the committee’s concerns, it later became an issue concerning players, their families and society.
Many of the above-mentioned players could have lived longer if those findings were explained and taken care of when the symptoms were noticed.
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Being that the NFL has turned a blind eye to the situation, it has caused the league a substantial amount of money in lawsuits. One of many cases that is currently going on is that of one concerning Aaron Hernandez, who committed suicide back in April of 2017. His family is suing the NFL for $20 million. Also, back in August of 2013, the NFL had a major lawsuit ranging between $750M- $1B. The individuals in the lawsuit will receive payouts, but they would be capped at $5 million for men with Alzheimer’s disease; $4 million for the ones diagnosed after their deaths with a brain condition called CTE and $3 million for players with dementia.
If NFL players with CTE had the necessary treatment at the time of complaint, it would have and still today would save the National Football League millions of dollars, as well as, mitigating issues with declining viewership stemming from the scandal.
What impact does CTE have on the community? With over one and a half million Americans suffering traumatic brain injuries without loss of consciousness or hospitalization on an annual basis (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy: The Impact on Athletes, M. Galgano, 2016), it is more than evident the tremendous effect it can have on society. To put it at best, many young individuals are engaging in rigorous activities without having a full understanding of the risks involved. Who is to blame? Would young individuals with enough knowledge and understanding about CTE be able to make a confident decision as to if playing the sport is worth it?
CTE typically occurs in three stages. The one most impactful to the community is its cause of social instability and erratic behavior. This stage alone is a major contribution to adding volatile and unpredictable consequences to the community. With so many suffering unknowingly from CTE, they are unknowingly being subject to positioning themselves in predicament. The predicament is the reality of being one day not able to function within the community which could lead to crimes or violence against innocent citizens. Also, CTE results a rise in medical costs per capita which creates inefficiencies in the cash flow of the economy.
Even still CTE is something many athletes are not completely aware of. Yet many organizations are profiting millions from athletes and inspiring young individuals to go down a path of rigorous activates for the chance to be a part of the “win”. Is that ethically sound? Or would it be more ethically sound and just if a diligent effort was made by the education system and sports organizations alike to strive towards teaching the community about the risks and unfortunate outcomes relating to participating in such activities? It is a moral obligation of those within the industry and the education system to make young individuals and adults alike more aware of the dangers and possible outcomes associated with the diagnosis of such diseases as CTE. Given this knowledge, the public can make an educated decision and take the necessary actions needed to mitigate the risk of CTE. Stakeholders such as sports organizations, coaches, health teachers, and many more have an obligation to make sure the public is aware of CTE, what its implications on society are, and how to diminish the risks of conceiving it.
The consequentialist theory will be used as the basis for the remaining sections of the citizenship program. This framework was chosen because this epidemic is the result of an action, which was known to the league and the effects are widespread due to their lack of action. When analyzing a dilemma through the consequentialist theory, one must consider the consequence that will arise from not addressing the ethical issue on our stakeholder groups. The best way to look at the consequences for each of these stakeholder groups is through the use of a cost/benefit analysis.
By not addressing the ethical dilemma in relations to investors, or in this case owners, they will not receive as profitable of a return on their investment for their respective teams. The negative effect associated with not addressing the ethical dilemma will not only have a negative effect on the NFL but also on the investors profits, due to how ratings/viewership have dropped drastically. The same negative effect will be felt upon sponsors of the NFL. They can not only receive a loss of profits within their company, but also backlash for supporting a league with such an unethical stance on a major issue.
The same negativity that was cast upon our first two stakeholders will also be casted upon the football community itself, from Youth, High School Football, College Football and especially within the NFL community. This has already led to a decrease in participation within the football community from both playing and being involved with the game itself. This disappointment, if not addressed, can only hurt the game of football. One can only imagine the disgust that the Players Association will have for an ethical dilemma that directly relates to them and will keep them from receiving necessary treatment. The Players Association will feel powerless as they won’t have the right to make sure that players receive the necessary treatment that they so desperately deserve and need. The mission of the Players Association is to defend the players rights and health, and to portray their opinions to the league office and fight for what is in the best interest of the players.
In order to address the ethical issue, there are three suggested strategies to help overcome this ethical dilemma. Starting with a Formal workshop with Youth Leagues and communities to help raise awareness of the consequences of long-term exposure to football and how to minimize the risk. Coaches should go through a thorough instructor computer based training course in which they need to pass, and then implement what they have learned into their leagues. This program will cost $400,000 to develop and $1,600,000 to maintain, making a total of $2,000,000 overall.
The second strategy involves raising awareness about information and knowledge of CTE through television advertising. Raising awareness of CTE through television advertising will not only expand the range of the audience but also the message of informing viewers of CTE, but also its effects on the players. This awareness will be raised through the use 30-second advertisements that will air on the days of football games throughout the football season. The 30-second advertising spot will come out to a cost of roughly $717,375/commercial and with the football season consisting of a total of 17 weeks the total for having a commercial air for one game for the entire football season will amount to $12,195,375.
The third and final strategy would be to develop an Aid Medical program to help retired players both having suffered from CTE and are currently suffering from CTE. This program would provide financial and medical relief for both prior and present players affected by CTE to assist in medical coverage. The program will be used in team medical facilities for both current players and former players as well.
The SWOT analysis of NFL will help us to understand the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of this multinational organization. The first characteristic referring to strength, demonstrates what NFL internally does better that its competition. The NFL is a global business conglomerate with partnerships and associates all across the world, the most tremendous of all sport’s based fan bases on the entirety of the United States. The NFL’s biggest tournament, called the Super Bowl, is the most watched televised sporting event on the entire planet, with it being watched by an average of 40 million Americans every year, as well as over 111 million people globally. Also, the NFL is the sports league with the biggest attendance per game with around 70,000 people in attendance. Therefore, its main strength that others cannot duplicate is viewership.
The second dimension is weaknesses, characterizing what the NFL needs to improve upon. The NFL has a large following in United States, with a near non-existent following outside of the country. The NFL is dealing with a lack of public trust due to accusations of doping amongst their football players. It’s the only sport that is not being telecast in Asia and this sport causes a long-term health issues to its players, a perfect example is the CTE that is caused by repetitive hits to the head.
The third characteristic of the analysis is the opportunities, this defines how specific market trends and practices could lead to increased sales and viewership’s, which in turn could increase revenues. The growing economies of India and China are leading to the growth of a strong stable middle class that can serve as a new foreign customer base. By reducing tickets prices to appeal to a larger customer base in the US, they could create more franchises in other country like Canada, expand services and products to try and appeal to different shares of the global marketplace and create new opportunities that help the organizations to grow economically.
The last part of the analysis refers to threats, this is about the advantages that competitors have over the NFL. There are other sports leagues in America and globally which compete with the NFL for customers and fans such as the NBA and MLB. Soccer viewership and participation in America is growing more and more popular day by day and it threatens to take large portions of any prospective customers. By dropping wages, consumer uncertainty and the tightening of budgets in relation to the average American, future growth and profits are in danger, the NFL, like every other organization, is at risk at being seriously damaged by lawsuits carried out against them. One of the most common reasons for these lawsuits are from players that are suffering from health issues. This analysis is used to help garner a better point of insight into the NFL’s current and future position.
The National Football League is a major organization with many stakeholders with interests in what they do. This includes, of course the players themselves, who belong to a union called the National Football League Players Association or NFLPA, as well as the team owners, the companies that sponsor the league, and the American community. It is expected that wide-ranging implications and consequences stemming from the previously mentioned proposals could dramatically increase the health and well-being of the athletes suiting up each week, as well as potentially increasing the reputation of the league itself. Ultimately, the proper implementation of our global citizenship program should be beneficial to all parties involved, while also proving to be the most ethical course of action possible.
It is no secret that the NFLPA itself has been a leading voice in trying to make the game of football safer for its members. In 2017 they release a campaign named “Your Mind, Your Body, Your Health” which revolved around former NFL players speaking on the symptoms that they have felt since retirement, with the goal of opening the conversation about CTE and other long-term injuries stemming from football. These football players are the ones that are at the center of this issue and are the ones that have the most to gain from these reforms, as well the most to lose by being ignored. With the proposed plans, the educating of football players and their families about the realities of CTE and how to best combat it from as early as the youth leagues can begin. The earlier these athletes know what they are potential facing by pursuing the sport of football, the better for them in the long-term. This education for the young players as well more training and testing for coaches, should go a long way towards reducing the number of players that suffer from symptoms of CTE during their career or later in life. Combining that with research and development of better and safer helmets, which we believe the NFL will continue to do so as well, it is believed that CTE can potentially move from an epidemic in football to a rare occurrence. If this happens as expected, many more players will go on to have fulfilling lives after they exit the league, rather than have lingering issues related to their years spent on a football field.
The owners of the NFL’s 32 franchises also have a major role to play in this ethical dilemma. While the NFL continues to be amongst the most watched programs on television, it is also difficult to ignore the fact that their ratings did go down about 10 % last year, following an earlier decline of 8 % from 2015. There is not one singular reason that the ratings are falling, but rather a conglomeration of factors playing a part, including the overall trend away from cable television by millennials, the controversial issue of kneeling during the national anthem, and possibly some viewers moving away from the league because of more information about the nature of CTE in football players coming to light. It is believed that while it will cost the owners money to be fully on board with the CTE prevention model, they may ultimately admire the results they see, both from an ethical and financial standpoint. If the program is implemented properly and the number of concussions and CTE cases truly sees a significant drop, it is reasonable to expect that the NFL will see its reputation boosted as an organization that takes care of its players. In that case, one can plan to see a rise in the number of people who consider themselves fans of the NFL and possibly a rise, or levelling off of ratings rather than the current decline. This will give sponsors more reason to advertise during football games as well, which will bring in more money to the owners as well as draw more attention the products and services being advertised. Being morally and ethically the right thing to do by all accounts, implementing this program will also be a financial win for the team owners and league sponsors.
The community at large also has a major interest in what the NFL does regarding this issue. Several high-profile incidents such as the suicides of Junior Seau in 2012 and of Aaron Hernandez in 2107, have brought negative attention to the league as many Americans have been horrified by what the game has done to the mental health of players. Players retiring and then suffering from symptoms of dementia and depression takes a major toll on not only the players themselves but on their family and loved ones, as they must see and live with the deterioration of the health of someone they love. The players, at the end of it all, are people like the rest of us, and Americans and fans of football no longer want to turn on the news to learn that a former star athlete they admired has harmed himself and/or others.
Formal workshops for the Youth Leagues and communities will be a primordial leap in the right direction towards raising awareness, in the attempt to make teenagers, parents, and members of the society at large more knowledgeable in respect to the consequences created through the long-term exposure to football as a sport and the nature of brain injuries embedded within it. This strategy of course, will yield results in the long run. Thus, the biggest resource consumed will be the time that it will take to teach and educate people.
The way in which this strategy should be executed will be by implementing and developing a new type of coach. Coaches will be the most important pillar in the task of transmitting that knowledge to the community that they operate in. Coaches will be required to obtain a new license. This license will require them to not only learn and study about the consequences of C.T.E. but they will also have to demonstrate the knowledge acquired through testing required before becoming licensed. The following static budget will showcase how to adequately place the program in place regarding the financing and funding necessary. Which a portion of it will be donated to the communities through revenue disbursements from their local Football teams. However, the disbursements will be paid-off to each state
It is also the duty of the N.F.L. to educate the general masses and general consumers. Although football coaches play a big role in our communities as a gateway to set the kids in the right athletic path to reach the professional leagues, there is an equally important portion to becoming a professional football player represented by the parents. Thus, being the parents, children, family members, and friends of those who aspire to make it to the professional level. Even though these parties do not need a license, nor need to go through an educational certification to advise kids on the what to, they still play an intricate part in influencing a teen in life and educating them is a major characteristic of the program.
The best way to reach out to those people in the community is through advertisement on television, especially during televised football games (where for 17 weeks times $717,375 which is the price to pay for a 30 second segment commercial during half-time, it will amount to the total of $12,195,375 ), also the development and printing of material designed to inform and educate the communities, as well as other mediums of outlets designed to reach into the homes of those around the football lifestyle and the C.T.E. risks.
In summation, it is our belief that through this global citizenship program, the National Football League can help to raise awareness and mitigate the long-term damages of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy and other head injuries related to the sport, which will in turn benefit not only the community but the organization also. It is without question that considerations need to be taken regarding this ethical dilemma facing this organization, and the response to the issue must attempt to solve the problem. The consequences of not attacking the problem will have a much larger cost than that of taking care of it. The National Football League, can finance this project, and has the responsibility to do so.
Group project for ethics class. (2022, Apr 14). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/group-project-for-ethics-class-essay
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