No one will ever deny that football is a brutal sport. Some of the greatest to play the game have experienced life changing injuries due to the violent game such as Ken Stabler or the late Junior Seau. Steelers’ Safety Mike Mitchell was recently asked about the violence of football and simply stated that this game was built on violence.
Per Bleacher Report,
“I don’t want to hear it from moms or people who are influenced by moms that are trying to change this game,” said Mitchell. “This game was made on violence.”
Mitchell compared the NFL to UFC in terms of its violence. He makes the claim that violence is what comes with the sport and its inevitable.
“Those dudes signed up to fight. They know what they’re getting into. But at some point there’s going to be a mom who’ll say, ‘That’s too violent.’ What do you mean? They’re fighting. It’s not like football is a finesse game and we’re just breaking rules out here.”
Mitchell also made the point that you have to decide if football is made for you at an early age. The question he stresses is if someone is tough enough to withstand with what comes with the repercussions such as concussions and other injuries within the game.
Speed is also a factor in many of the injuries that occur in the NFL. Mitchell says that he comes at offensive players with 4.4 speed and that critics can’t expect him to slow down during a play to think about potential injuries.
“The league doesn’t even hear that side of the argument,” said Mitchell. “I’m not a physicist. But after I already initiated these movements at 4.4 speed, how do you want me to re-adjust to a guy that is moving? Unless you have that Neo power in The Matrix, you ain’t stopping it.”
NFL progressing to a more safer sport seems like a long shot in the future. Despite many adjusted rules by commissioner Roger Goodell, many players are still sustaining injuries at a rapid rate. Mitchell’s comments about the NFL being built on violence may trigger a lot of fans but the validity is true.
Flip the page to see Mitchell speaking to the media about the injuries that plague the NFL.