Tuesday, October 18, 2016

I lied.

In my last post I said the biggest story of the weekend was Bradley-Bourbonnais' "stunning upset of Lincoln-Way East, 38-21." But that's not true.

The biggest story last week -- and possibly for the whole year -- was in the Sun-Times, "Suit: Helmet failed Bogan football player who died after game." Not only was this a personal tragedy, but it may also foreshadow the end of high school football in Illinois. Crazy? Maybe. But read this (my emphasis):

The family of a Bogan football player who died of a head injury he suffered during a 2015 game filed a wrongful death lawsuit against helmet manufacturer Riddell and the Chicago Board of Education on Friday.

The suit seeks an unspecified amount of money in two-counts against the Chicago Board of Education and an unspecified amount of money in four additional counts against Riddell.

If this family wins its suit, how long will it be before the Chicago Board of Education decides it's too risky to allow football? Or, if they are insured, how long before their insurance company decides it's too risky? And how far behind would all the other school districts be? And, if high school football eventually dies out, what would that mean long-term for the NFL?

Seriously, is this the beginning of the end for football in America?

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