Greenie wrote:
 
>>What is a surprise is that given the weight of these forces, that injuries
and deaths are not more common, especially among higher-contact sports such
as American football and hockey. That these don't occur at a higher rate is
a testament to the players and the officials that participate in these
sports.<<
 
The reference to football is interesting, because the reason there IS an
NCAA is that Teddy Roosevelt became concerned that there WERE so many deaths
and injuries in college sports, especially football, which to that point had
been largely unregulated.  So while the fact that deaths and injuries don't
occur with more frequency may be somewhat a testament to the players and
officials that participate in these sports, I think it is even more a
testament to the fact that the players and coaches understand that there are
limits that, if exceeded, put their team at a competitive disadvantage and
in the extreme will lead to drastic curtailment or even banning of their
sport
 
I think that the fact that hockey and football can maintain a reasonable
balance between rough play and violence is due in large part to the fact
that the sponsoring institutions are willing to take action to deter the
violence and, if necessary, remove violent participants from the game.
 
Clay
 
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