Obama - "If I had a son..."

[Townhallsavoy]

Washington (CNN) - The lifelong neurological maladies that some football players face have led President Barack Obama - a longtime Chicago Bears fan - to question whether the risks are worth it for college players.

In an interview released online Sunday, Obama said if he had a son, he'd "have to think long and hard before I let him play football."

College players are especially vulnerable, Obama told The New Republic, since they aren't represented by unions or heavily compensated.

"You read some of these stories about college players who undergo some of these same problems with concussions and so forth and then have nothing to fall back on," he said. "That's something that I'd like to see the NCAA think about."

In September, a study published in the journal Neurology suggested professional football players are three times more likely to have neurodegenerative diseases than the general population.

When researchers specifically looked at Alzheimer's disease and ALS - amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease - that risk increased to four times that of the general population.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, had been following this group of players since the early '90s, when the NFL asked the institute to evaluate them for their risk of cardiovascular disease.

Other studies have linked repeated concussions in football players to chronic traumatic encephelopathy, a neurodegenerative disease with Alzheimer's-like symptoms. Those symptoms can include depression, memory loss and mood swings. Former Chicago Bears safety David Duerson, who committed suicide, was diagnosed with CTE postmortem. It can be diagnosed only after death.

In February, Obama told Bill Simmons of Grantland.com, a sports and pop culture news website, that he knew Duerson and "used to see him at the gym sometimes."

"Now, the problem is, if you talk to NFL players, they're going to tell you, 'That that's the risk I take; this is the game I play.' And I don't know whether you can make football (be) football if there's not some pretty significant risk factors," Obama said in that February interview.

In Sunday's remarks, Obama's tone seemed to shift. He conceded that "those of us who love the sport are going to have to wrestle with the fact that it will probably change gradually to try to reduce some of the violence."– CNN's Nadia Kounang contributed to this report.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/01/27/obama-questions-whether-risks-of-football-worth-it-for-college-players/

[bottomfeeder]

Hell, his kid would be brain dead to start with, so what's the big deal?

[Godfather]

Hell, his kid would be brain dead to start with, so what's the big deal?

1-out of-1803 ain't bad.

[djsimp]

1-out of-1803 ain't bad.

Proof that Simps Forum Posting for Dummies works wonders.

[Yoda]

Pussy

[djsimp]

Pussy

GF is not gonna like you calling him names like that.

[CCTAU]

The pussyfication of America continues under progressive leadership.

[Townhallsavoy]

The pussyfication of America continues under progressive leadership.

I do think critcizing football is going to be the next new fad. 

About a year ago, Malcolm Gladwell already had a big article about the abolishment of football.  There were a few spinoffs of that.

Keep up the concussion talk and now with the freaking president of the United States (who is a fan of football) talking about how people should probably not play it....

[djsimp]

I do think critcizing football is going to be the next new fad. 

About a year ago, Malcolm Gladwell already had a big article about the abolishment of football.  There were a few spinoffs of that.

Keep up the concussion talk and now with the freaking president of the United States (who is a fan of football) talking about how people should probably not play it....

Its his next executive order.

[AWK]

Aren't there more important things he should be worrying about?

[DnATL]

If he had a son, that kid would be the exception to the generalizations regarding athleticism

[djsimp]

Aren't there more important things he should be worrying about?

What, like stealing your lunch money and giving it to your neighbor or his wifes latest addition to her closet full of fashion? Nah, not really.

I am curious though, would he have made this statement if the Bears were in the Super Bowl? Prolly not.

[WiregrassTiger]

"" If he had a son, that kid would be the exception to the generalizations regarding athleticism""

[Pell City Tiger]

Aren't there more important things he should be worrying about?

Let's see ..... the economy is great, the country is at full employment, the people are ecstatic about his administration's policies, we now have a national budget surplus, the USA is loved throughout the world, our troops are back home and safe .... Nope, I can't think of anything more important.

/sarcasm

[WiregrassTiger]

Let's see ..... the economy is great, the country is at full employment, the people are ecstatic about his administration's policies, we now have a national budget surplus, the USA is loved throughout the world, our troops are back home and safe .... Nope, I can't think of anything more important.

/sarcasm

I prefer he deal with football issues and the like. Less time to screw up everything else.

[El Guapo]

He sperm is too weak to make a male.

[AU_Tiger_2000]

He sperm is too weak to make a male.

Your dad's was too weak to provide a full complement of chromosomes.

[AUownsU]

And my admiration of Jim Harbaugh grows..

"If President Obama feels that way, then there will be a little bit less competition for Jack Harbaugh when he gets old," the 49ers coach said in reference to his 4-month-old son.

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_22467608/super-bowl-2013-49ers-coach-jim-harbaugh-reacts

[El Guapo]

Your dad's was too weak to provide a full complement of chromosomes.

Do not speak ill of my father-brother