Should/would penalties added onto the ball field be welcomed or would it dilute the quality of the game?
Are there enough penalties to protect the players on the field with penalties for late hits, roughing the kicker, etc.?
Is violence in football just part of the game....?
Stingley's Life Served as Cruel Lesson
Players Getting 'Jacked Up' Nothing to Celebrate
By IRA MILLER
AOL
Sports Commentary
The death this week of former New England wide receiver Darryl Stingley should serve as a wakeup call and a reminder to all of us -- those violent hits we cheer every weekend are very, very real.
Twenty-nine years ago this summer, Stingley was a promising, 26-year-old wide receiver with the Patriots . Jack Tatum was a 28-year-old star safety with the Oakland Raiders . John Madden, at 42, was the successful Raiders coach embarking on his 10th season.
Stingley, once a first-round draft choice with speed and promise, fell to the ground in a heap. He never got up. His career was over, never able to catch another pass or run another pattern. He spent the rest of his days in a wheelchair, a quadriplegic.
Tatum, previously selected to three consecutive Pro Bowls, became known for a single play, legal under the rules (although he didn't help himself later with a book titled, "They Call Me Assassin"). He has had health problems of his own in recent years.
Madden, who spent considerable time by Stingley's bedside in the hospital and became very close to him, clearly was affected. Although Madden said it was not the reason he retired from coaching after that season, he said the Tatum-Stingley play "hit me hard just as a human being."
2007-04-07
19:49:57
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16 answers
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asked by
marnefirstinfantry
5