Culture Crash: A Tough Month for the NFL Ahead of the Super Bowl

This NFL season has seen the entire sports community watch on bated breath with concern for the life and safety of two different 24 year old athletes. Just a few weeks ago, Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered a heart attack on the field of play and the game was indefinitely postponed as Hamlin’s life hung in the balance. Thankfully, Hamlin was discharged from the hospital after nine days… but then only hours passed before the concern turned back to Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa, who was ruled out for a playoff game with his second confirmed concussion in just a few months.

Just a little over a decade now, the future of football and, by extension, the NFL, was put into doubt after research into the long-term impact of head trauma showed just how much damage concussions and CTE can have on athletes lives. For the most part, the sport seems to be surviving that initial backlash and the NFL is still a ratings king in the US.

And yet… the injuries to Hamlin’s heart and Tagovailoa’s head have many in the sports world again questioning just how much risk is worth it. The NFL Playoffs are in full swing, and the Super Bowl promises to be as big an event as ever in 2023. But this offseason looks like it will be filled with player safety debates and concerns over the health of the human beings we watch collide every fall. Sports in America are big business, but how many Hamlin-like scares can fans and viewers take? Only time will tell.