The NFL: Let the Players Play

There’s no such thing as a superhero, but in today’s world professional athletes are as close as we are going to get to one. People fill stadiums across the country to see their beloved heroes wow the crowd with their spectacular homeruns, slam dunks, and big hits. The NFL is stripping the game of football from its integrity by putting restrictions on how players play the game. The league has implemented new rules that specify exactly how players should tackle, and now the referees have gotten out of control calling fouls on players even if the hit is clean. It took the players a few years to teach themselves how to hit properly according to the new rules, but now most of them understand and are still being penalized without good reason.

I watched several football games this past weekend and in each one I saw a player get wrongly penalized. The hits were powerful, exciting, and, most importantly, perfectly legal. In each case the player led with his shoulder, and delivered the blow to the opposing player’s chest—a textbook tackle! Yet, the NFL has trained its referees to throw a flag to discourage such violent hits. According to NFLPenalties.com, in both 2009 and 2010 there were a total of 58 personal fouls called (average of 1.81 personal fouls per team). After the new rules were enforced, the number climbed to 79 total personal fouls with an average of 2.47 personal fouls per team. In 2014 they are on pace to call a total of 84 personal fouls. (Personal fouls are penalties for unnecessary roughness or “targeting” a player). There should be a statistic showing how many wrong calls have been made. Of the 21 personal fouls called this year, I know firsthand that at least 5 of them were not the right call. The referees are getting exponentially stricter even when the players have made adjustments to how they play.

Seeing these monstrous athletes deliver such intense, bone-rattling hits on opposing teams player’s is a huge reason why people watch football. It is also the main reason players play the game. Every defensive player in both college and professional football loves to hit people; they do it every play. It is a huge risk to play professional football, but every player knows that. Hitting has always been a part of the game, even when they wore leather helmets, and the technology that doctors and medical researchers offer now keeps the players safer than ever.

I am not implying that we stop calling penalties for illegal hits; that should continue. I am worried that the league is taking away one of its trademarks. If the NFL continues to implement more safety regulations, and the referees continue to blow their whistles the whole game, my kids might be watching the National Flag Football Association.