Former Cleveland Browns RB Jim Brown: NFL Should Follow NASCAR’s Lead on Safety
By Josh Sanchez
Former NFL player Jim Brown played at a time where player safety wasn’t near the level of what it is today. During Brown’s era, you had to be a special breed of man to take on the punishment that was required of an NFL player. Now that he has had time away from the game and the ability to reflect on the league’s safety issues, Brown says it is time for a change. When the greatest player to ever play speaks, we listen. Even if that means comparing the NFL to NASCAR.
Many feel that the NFL is going above and beyond the call of duty to protect the players. Some even believe the league has gone too far, but Brown thinks they haven’t gone far enough and that they have been slow do address key health issues.
For a better way of how to handle safety of the athletes, Brown cited the efforts and progress that NASCAR has made.
“We are way behind,” Brown said, via Terry Blount of ESPN.com. “NASCAR stepped up their safety concepts, and I think the drivers feel NASCAR is doing everything that can be done. So we are a little behind NASCAR in that respect. Someone in NASCAR realized there were certain things that could be done to make it safer. The same thing has to happen in football. It’s two different sports, but you want to make sure it’s as safe as you can make it.”
Fans have been saying the new safety rules are taking away from the game, but Brown isn’t buying in to that philosophy.
“This is the first time [the NFL] has really taken the safety situation seriously,” Brown said. “Part of that was forced on them because of the concussion lawsuits, but I think when we come out of this we’ll have a much safer game without taking away from the impact of the game.”
Luckily for Brown, he says that he has not suffered any health issues that have resulted from his playing days, but he is hoping that the current athletes can be as lucky.
While many fans complain about safety rules, we have to remember that the player’s health is the most important issue. Without them, we have no game. If that means putting in a few more restrictions to protect them and the result is a few more flags but longer player careers, so be it.