In the October 12, 2009 edition of Sports Illustrated, Chris Ballard writes of seeing the University of Florida's Tim Tebow receive a concussion in a September 26 game, and the conflicting emotions surrounding his concern for Tebow's health and his desire to see Tebow return to the field in time to play against LSU this past Saturday:
"Perhaps as fans all we really want is for sports not to be complicated. The rest of life is complicated enough; on weekends we just want to see a tight end get lit up by a safety and feel guilt-free. Just let me know if it's O.K. to cheer or not. And please don't force me to extrapolate too much -- to think about children's sports leagues or the hundreds of teenage athletes, even more susceptible to concussions than adults, who watch the hasty returns made by countless college stars and NFL players and use them as their own guideline. Because the more I learn about head injuries, the more torn I become. Which is to say that while I'd really like to see Tim Tebow play this weekend, it's going to be hard for me to enjoy it if he does."
So, imagine our surprise this morning when SportsLetter went onto the Sports Illustrated website and saw what SI labeled as a "Must-See Video" of a "Pop Warner player" getting "laid out with a bone-crushing block." The lasting image as the video stopped was of the young player lying immobile on the field. We're hoping to see a Chris Ballard follow-up, but we won't hold our breath.
Comments