Is Football good for College and Education---or should it be kicked out of Colledge

There is a huge swell of negative effects from the issues of the push to win and make money from Colleges, and they appear to totally loose sight for the prime needs of education and teaching moral compass, integrity, and honesty. These days too many schools are out recruiting criminal athletes at all costs, and they know these criminal athletes don't have any real interest in diplomas or education. College sports is a stepping stone stop on the way to the Pro leagues, and most won't be there long.

Here is a pretty well detailed analysis that begins to define if college sports are compatible with college education.


Special Link to The Atlantic

Would Colleges Be Better Off Without Football?

Everything we think we know about college football's impact on students' grades, graduation rates, rankings, and school finances adds up to this: Football might be bad for some colleges

When college football's final bowl games are played in the coming weeks, they'll be a coda to a season defined by scandal. There was the demise of Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, who tried to cover up evidence that his players had broken NCAA rules by trading memorabilia for money and tattoos. There were the revelations that a convicted ponzi schemer and University of Miami booster had lavished millions on dollars on cash, cars and prostitutes for school's players. There was the nightmarish sex abuse scandal at Penn State. The list, sadly, goes on.

It's hard not to wonder: Is college football really good for college? Taylor Branch delivered a tour de force take for The Atlantic this year on the injustices suffered by big time collegiate athletes. But what about the rest of the university? What does football culture do for the students who don't play every Saturday? What does football do for schools' finances? Their academics? Their reputations?

These are questions economists have been plumbing for years. Here's a taste of what they have to say.

Here are more insights on the corruption of College and Unversities due to sports running out of control and corrupting the values of education. Take a look at Forbes:

Forbes Link:

Football is corrupting America's universities: it needs to go

Big-time college football is no longer a sport. It’s a very expensive entertainment industry with commercial sponsors, big-money television contracts, and highly paid executives. Its proponents have corrupted the mission of almost every university with a large football program, especially those in the NCAA’s top division. It’s time to acknowledge that this large, expensive entertainment business should be expelled from campus.

I’ll say. But despite these nice-sounding phrases, Dr. Loh’s “reform” consists of eliminating eight other varsity teams. Nothing about reigning in football’s costs, and certainly nothing about making sure the players themselves get a good education and have a future after college. This is the essence of how big-time football has corrupted America’s universities. We pay the players nothing, we give them a lousy education (many of them don’t even graduate), and then the university spits them out and moves on.

So get football off our campuses. If athletes want to train for the NFL, let the NFL pay for a minor league, the way baseball does. Universities can have a team if they must, but make it independent, and let’s stop the farce of having university presidents try to manage large, commercial sports programs. Let them get back to focusing on research and education, topics on which they actually have some expertise.

Football affects the most vulnerable worst.


Study

"The central idea is that the football tournaments dramatically raise the value of leisure time for some people, and correspondingly reduce the value of all other time uses. One of these time uses for students is the effort put into studying. Effort is to be understood in a broad sense as the number of hours spent preparing for the exams; this might include making the effort to ignore distractions and to create an environment to concentrate on study. We conjecture that the amount of productive study time is reduced both in the build-up to the tournament and then more significantly once the matches are under way."

To the social scientist in me, the results are utterly convincing. The data are high quality, and the econometric analyses expertly done. And yet, thinking back to my own youth, I found them slightly depressing. Educational inequality is undesirable, no matter what, and inequality that results from differences in individual ability is hard enough to manage. But inequalities that aren’t the result of an individual pupil’s ability and instead shaped by a child’s family background and gender are potentially overcome more easily. So should we therefore discourage boys from lower income families from watching the World Cup?

Negative effects:


Commentary

The Negative Effects of Football

Nowadays, sport has grown bigger. It is not only as a way to get health, but also as an industry which produces much money. More and more people enter sport world, especially football world. It has become the number one sport in the earth since it makes men and women, young and adult and almost people in the world are crazy about it. Many of them think that football is their soul , so they will do the best for it. But, it is often that football does not give its best for its fans because football has negative effects for them.

First, football can decrease its fans health. When we are watching football match, we often palpitate because increasing heart rate until more than 70 times per minute. As a result, you may get hypertension, hypertrophy on left ventricle, atherosclerosis or even heart attack. Even after football match over, stress can appear for those who get his favorite team lose. Therefore, they tend to be angry easily and cause conflict, riot and hooliganism.

reply to post by MagnumOpus


I don't think football should be kicked out, but I do think there shouldn't be any scholarships for sports. There are some intelligent high school graduates that don't get a full ride scholarship to college, yet a talented quarterback or running back who may have a high school GPA of 2.0 or lower does? It clearly shows our society values entertainment and sports over bright minds. A bright mind has more value to humanity than someone who is good at throwing a football.

If colleges would stop offering scholarships and professional sports stop paying out outrageous salaries, maybe high school kids would spend more time studying and making the grade instead of having dreams of grander to play D1 or professional sports.

Kids learn early if they can become outstanding in sports, their education doesn't matter because society doesn't care if their incompetent, they'll be rewarded a scholarship just because they can be an outstanding player. We're a society that will pay millions to celebrities and athletes, yet pay much less towards doctors who save lives, scientists who find cures for deadly diseases, and engineers and innovator's who have a direct impact on our daily lives. Something definitely is skewed.

Well, college football is the perennial celebration and exultation of brute force and charisma over brains.

The dollars in the "higher" education system of the U.S. flow to bread and circus instead of cerebral accomplishment.

Example: Johnny Manziel

The fact is, sports in general (and politics LOL!) is a diversion of the collective cultural energy into something completely useless and ineffective as a way of preventing any actual social change or political upheaval.

That said, Geaux Tigers!

There are many negative issues associated with high dollar sports, and they begin at the College levels.. Everyone know the issues of arthritis and dementia in later life that hits many football and Basketball players, which is where the highest rates of concussion are found. Pat Summit of Univ of Tenn being a prime example of cover up and denials of the risks associated with hard / hard knocks driven sports

But, did you also know that mental crack ups are very high in sports? Sure there is Dementia, but there are other long term problems showing up immensely.

What really happens when fame gives university football players all kinds of drugs to manage pain, often times lots of money under that table, then a team spirit that appears more oriented toward bully than anything else? What happens is they become at a loss to function in society, often depressed, often suicidal, and this all started with what they learned in College and University level sports.

Then take the fans, that feed off this sort of news and pay tons of money to get people into these deadly conditions.

Take a look:

Mental Illness Reports on Sports

The hidden crisis of mental health among footballers
Ex-footballers can suffer from alcohol dependency or suicidal thoughts when adjusting to life after the game

After he gave an interview in which he said he would be "better off dead", the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) said on Monday that Sansom was now staying in a hotel and its counsellors were discussing treatment options with him.

"We have helped Paul continuously since he's had his problems. We get him back on track but then it can be a pattern," said PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor.

"Coming out of the game and losing that everyday involvement has not been easy for him, the same for Kenny Sansom."

The problems don't stop here as they are rampant.


This is another partial analysis of the sports addiction issues:

Sports Addiction and loss of social balance:

Analysis

Football can have a major impact on mental health. It is thought to affect emotions, relationships, identity and self-esteem. In a recent study, one in four fans said football was one of the most important things in their lives.

Take another look at mental health associated with sports fame and fortune that starts often with University and College Athletics. If you thought the end was just arthritis and dementia, then think again: Not only do we see essentially criminals flocking to sports, in the cases of many sexual predators, and the recruiting not being checked for thugs like Miami and other schools amassed, we get this large mental illness signature due to all the self aggrandization issues and what appears to be narcissism being worshiped.


Football Mental Health

Football Association chairman David Bernstein admits the issue of mental illness in the sport has been "badly neglected in the past" and was not "high on my agenda".

Football's Suicide Secret, broadcast on Tuesday evening, examined the issue of mental illness in the sport.
It was presented by Clarke Carlisle, the chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association players' union, who has suffered from clinical depression.
He admitted he was frustrated the football authorities were not doing more to tackle the problem.
Carlisle contrasted the approach in England with that in Germany, which has put in place a number of initiatives to tackle depression following the suicide of goalkeeper Robert Enke in 2009.

See Show Football's Suicide Secrets


Then even Scientific American is working up the details:

SA Link

Meanwhile, reports such as The Concussion Crisis: Anatomy of a Silent Epidemic (Simon & Schuster, 2011) and others make it clear that the NFL and other bodies have balked for years at looking squarely at the issue of sport-caused brain injuries and embracing efforts to protect players. And many other researchers are now finding strong links between traumatic brain injuries and mental decline among athletes of all ages (the hits to young people might do the most damage, especially those that occur back-to-back)

As David Epstein notes in his “Depression in Football” story in the May 14 issue of Sports Illustrated, brain trauma experts he interviewed hope next for renewed research efforts to track players and their various medical issues, including depression and concussions, in order to tease out the connections among them.

At the least, the NFL, NCAA and other governing bodies should be held to the task of providing care for these remarkable athletes throughout their lives, not just during the halcyon years when they sacrifice their long-term health, physical and mental, to dazzle us on field.

reply to post by kosmicjack


I have to largely agree with your observations. Sports has become a distraction from real life, a sort of fantasy world with odd words and people getting all flouted up over essentially a game, and one that likely has long term harm for the players and even the spectators looking for blood and misfortune. Like NASCAR, many only come to watch the wrecks.

Is it all much different than a huge narcotic overdose, that nobody regulates and is allowed to go wild and to the point of others self-destruction?


More on the negative side of sports:

Sports as Distraction from Civic duty and real life

Sports, The Greatest Hypnotic Distraction? How sports distraction may be single-handedly preventing mass awakening

Will this cycle be broken? Will sports fans take a stand and realize that our team (of Constitution, liberty, freedom and America lovers) needs help spreading the message of freedom in America to defeat the agenda of the other team of people committed to the global government and the destruction of America, the Constitution, and freedom? If not, then what will it take for sports fans to wake up? This is a concerning question in a country where many sports fans are fanatically addicted to the cycles of competition in the same way addicts are addicted to gambling and alcohol.


Are you a sports fan who understands what is happening and are awakened to our fight for freedom, liberty and the American Way? Help spread this information and hopefully together we can all help break through the sports hypnosis that is stalling one of the great human awakenings of all time and that has a stranglehold on the heart and inner strength of America. Breaking through the sports hypnosis will hopefully fuel the passion for freedom in the hearts and minds of our youth including all of our star athletes around the country who have a lot to offer our country far beyond the endorsing of products to their fans. If you agree please share this article with sports fans and athletes alike.

Then again, when everyone looks even more closely----sports is a magnet for all kinds of Criminal activity being supported on and off the courts/fields, all hushed up and kept under the covers:


How they distract the Masses and make fortunes:

Distraction Process

If you want to know what is wrong with sports and this country, look no further than the nearest sports fan.

You can’t escape it! It is the topic of conversation in every workplace, elevator, street corner, coffee shop and television.

Sports!

The next time you buy your season tickets, merchandise, memorabilia or give the networks high ratings by watching the “big game,” look at the criminal activities that you are supporting.

Just as politicians use “competition” between Republicans and Democrats to keep your loyalties to their individual parties, sports is also a distraction that keeps Americans minds off of what is important and also keeps them at odds with each other.

The more you get sucked in to “the game,” the more you talk about it. The more you talk about sports, the less you are paying attention and talking about what really matters.

With things happening like the NSA spying, drone use on Americans, the writing of the 2014 NDAA, the federal government funding and arming Al-Qaeda and the economy taking a big whirling flush down the toilet, the only thing you are hearing people talk about for the last day or two is “game 7.”

Do you think this is a coincidence?

Next time you hear the sports talk at work or see the drunken guy screaming at the T.V. during the game. Think about this -

Maybe he lives a failed life and has to live vicariously through some guy who gets paid millions to run a ball down a field, maybe he thought he was good at sports in high school and now he can’t let go, maybe he believes that “real men” watch sports or maybe he doesn’t realize he is being controlled.

Maybe YOU don’t realize YOU are being controlled!

Does anyone really believe sports fans think on higher levels of what is good for society?

Think any one of them thought about a war with Syria looming, or did they all just run and escape reality!!

reply to post by MagnumOpus


reply to post by MagnumOpus


Uh, both of these are about soccer, not football. YES, college football (with the hitting, the blood, the steel cage helmets) is absolutely good for college and, moreso, good for young men to play. The scourge of the sport is the fact that media and the NCAA is making a mint off of it while hypocritically preventing the players from legitimate means of making money while playing. I'm not even talking about getting paid to play, either... it is almost impossible to accept gainful employment while playing college football under scholarship without the NCAA running a full investigation to ensure the employer isn't just a booster figuring out how to filter money to a blue chip player. The sport isn't the problem... people are the problem.

It appears that Sports Illustrated has a brand new series and UT gets high mention for violations of SEC rules and the riches of coaches there:

Football Players Tacos and Coaches Lexus

Last February, the Houston Texans running back was approached by the producers for the documentary Schooled: The Price of College Sports.
In the course of a four-hour interview, Foster contrasted his dire financial straits at the University of Tennessee to the commerce surrounding the Volunteers football program. He also disclosed (see video, above) that he received money during his senior season.

The Taco Vs The Lexus:

"I called my coach and I said, 'Coach, we don't have no food. We don't have no money. We're hungry. Either you give us some food, or I'm gonna go do something stupid.' He came down and he brought like 50 tacos for like four or five of us. Which is an NCAA violation. [laughs] But then, I walk up to the facility and I see my coach pull up in a brand new Lexus." -- Arian Foster

Footballs long term risks becoming more public. Do parents need to encourage their kids to risk brain injury as part of higher education? Do academic schools need to put students in harms way to make money off their taking risks for fans that like violence on display:

Head Injury in football

Images of brain injury long term effects. Some begin in High School Foot Ball, other with Basketball. Women's basketball has the highest rates of concussions.

Boxers are high and Professional Football also bad.

But one can imagine what others brains look like from these images showing the physical damage effects:


Images of Brain tissue injury due to concussions and hard knocks

Football's Concussion Problem, in 3 Terrifying Pictures

Repeated brain injuries are also linked to post-traumatic stress disorder and diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. A 2009 study commissioned by the NFL found that former NFL players had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or other memory problems 19 times more than the normal rate for men between the ages of 30 and 49. The NFL went on to back away from those findings, though, even as it changed game rules to avoid more dangerous hits and donated money for more brain injury research.

Hundreds of millions of dollars won't make football-related brain injuries—or the NFL's PR headache—go away. Four more former players sued the league and helmet maker Riddell for allegedly hiding information about the dangers of playing. Increased pressure like that, combined with the Fainaru brothers' book and the Frontline documentary, could lead to bigger changes in the NFL, which would likely trickle down to the college, high school, and even Pee Wee levels. The way Americans view their favorite sport is changing, but it remains to be seen whether the sport will change to match.

League of Denial Video intro on this site at bottom.

PBS League of Denial--Intro Clip


The full length show is at the following PBS link:


Full PBS Episode--League of Denial--Oct 8, 2013

More and more, whether it be NFL, College, or even Basketball, the issues for the harm due to frequent concussions is making the evils of violent sports more known.

Tons of football players are ticking time bombs of bad health potential effects.

Women's Basketball icons like Pat Summit appear to be fading away due to the like malady.

Sports Writers are beginning to admit they ignored the dangers for the sake of big money and pushing the game into even more damage to players.

Sports Writers feeling the wrongs of omissions

In one of the hardest and most spectacular hits of recent years, South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney dislodged the helmet — and the football — from Michigan running back Vincent Smith in a fierce backfield collision during last season’s Outback Bowl. It has been replayed endlessly — not least by ESPN.

It appears the NCAA is getting into big trouble now, as UT football players join in the battle. Next will be the schools that profiteered on keeping players and parents ignorant.


NCAA class actions on head Concussion

Three former college football players, including two former Tennessee players, are suing the NCAA. The players claim the NCAA failed to educate them about the risks of concussions.

The lawsuit also claims the NCAA did not do enough to prevent, diagnose and treat brain injuries.

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit include Chris Walker and Ben Martin, who played for Tennessee from 2007-2011.

Dan Ahern, who played for North Carolina State from 1972-76 is also part of the lawsuit.

The NCAA is accused of failing to meet its obligation to former players and through that neglect the players are "suffering the dramatic consequences."

This study appears connected to why Football and injury is supported by fans. More less like the Roman Coliseum, NASCAR racing, and other issues linked with wanting to see pain and violence.

The Study:

PEOPLE BIOLOGICALLY TAKE PLEASURE IN THE PAIN OF OTHERS

"A lack of empathy is not always pathological. It's a human response, and not everyone experiences this, but a significant portion does," Cikara said. "If you think about the way workplaces and organizations are set up, for example, it raises an interesting question: Is competition the best way to get your employees to produce? It's possible, in some circumstances, that competition is good. In other ways, people might be preoccupied with bringing other people down, and that's not what an organization wants."