A series of violent tackles last Sunday, some resulting in concussions, dominated the NFL’s micro-news cycle this past week, prompting the league to fine some players who were not even flagged for committing penalties on the field. Pro football players suffer permanent disabilities at a higher rate than any other athletes anywhere in the world, professional or amateur. People have died and/or been paralyzed playing this sport in America every year since the end of World War II (statistics before that are sketchy). So the natural conclusion is that measures should be taken to address this issue and that the NFL is to be commended for cracking down on violence, right? Not so fast.
If ancient Rome had bread and circuses to keep its population sedate and compliant, then the United States has farm subsidies and big time sports. And standing atop each side of that equation is high fructose corn syrup and the National Football League: sugar and violence, loosely proscribed and heavily promoted, keeping the American population juiced up and pleasantly distracted.
Now in the interest of full disclosure, The Public Professor watches A LOT of pro football (not so much with the corn syrup), partly driven by the appealing spectacle of modern 
gladiatorial contests, and partly spurred on by minor (and completely legal) gambling endeavors. But when you fancy yourself The Public Professor, you don’t get to hide behind the veil of thoughtlessness. On the one hand, spectator sports are an opiate for the masses. Then again, there’s nothing wrong with a cocktail or two now and again if you drink responsibly and live your life decently; likewise, an occasional Sunday afternoon watching armored behemoths toss around the pigskin (and each other) can be perfectly enjoyable. But any intoxicant should be followed with a little sober reflection. Enter Mark Schlereth.
Originally hailing from the great state of Alaska, former NFL offensive lineman Schlereth could barely contain his anger this week on ESPN as he berated the NFL for indulging in rank hypocrisy. Having endured nearly 30 operations on his body, 20 of them directly 
attributable to his playing in the NFL, his physical ailments are many, yet the NFL tried to avoid covering his health insurance when he retired. So now that the league saw fit to fine Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison $75,000 for laying out two different Cleveland Browns last week, Schlereth is livid at the league, not Harrison, whom he considers a good football player. As the old warrior points out, the league is talking out of both sides of its mouth. While the fines and tough talk are designed to make the league look like it’s protecting players’ health and cracking down on unnecessary violence, the NFL does everything it can to directly profit from that violence (even, as he points out, selling highlight videos of the most violent hits at $19.95 a pop) and it denies many permanently hobbled players health coverage after their careers are over. His anger is righteous and his commentary is worthy of consideration.