|
CRUZ |
 |
|
Risk-takers raising the Mortality Rates |
|
Or Not, Boxing's Not the Worst |
 |
College Football Higher in Risk |
of TheColumnists.com
Gradually over the past decade, sports enthusiasts have become more and more inventive in their efforts to get the adrenaline rush that comes from approaching 'the edge,' whatever it may be. Thousands of people today are pushing the competitive limits--not only for the rush but for such incentives as money, TV coverage or a shot at the record books.
Human beings--both the players and the spectators--just can't seem to get enough excitement. With good training and luck, it's not impossible to reach a nirvana in
sports by taking big chances with your life. But no matter your level of training and confidence may be, and even with extreme safety precautions, accidents--often fatal--do happen, and every death is tragic.
The recent death of Dale Earnheart was a shocking reminder of the increasing dangers in auto racing. The paralysis of Christopher Reeve in a horseback riding accident left us all feeling vulnerable. Korey Stringer died playing football, his body temperature at 108 degrees when he was admitted into the hospital. He and his team had been practicing on a day when the heat index was 110 degrees. They were aware of the risks they were taking, but apparently never imagined how close to the edge they were operating.
My father recalls a childhood friend moving up from high school football into Big Ten ball at Purdue. The friend came home for Christmas, bruised and limping. College competition was different. "They want you back in the showers or better yet in the ambulance."
If you've been reading my columns, you will know that I am an amateur boxer, and that one of my good friends was killed in a professional boxing match almost exactly two years ago. His death still haunts me as I drive into work on the Mass Pike, with New England Medical Center on the horizon--the place where he died.
I always knew boxing was dangerous, but before Bobby died I had never known anyone that had been seriously injured or killed by boxing. The really old guys who had been boxing forever were a little punch drunk, but that seemed mildly amusing to a young contender like me. I never gave much thought to the real danger until Bobby died.
Then I became obsessed with danger--not only in boxing, but in other sports, too. I was afraid of getting back in the ring. Gradually I got back into it, but I was never able to watch a knockout in a fight again without turning my head and seeing images of Bobby flash through my brain.
I suddenly felt intense compassion for the downed boxer, whereas before I would cheer or criticize him, as if the man was not real and neither was the danger. I had seen much worse injuries in my recreational basketball league than at the boxing gym. I saw one woman get hit with a three-point shot thrown from half court. She was knocked down and sprouted a giant egg on her forehead. Another teammate got her tooth knocked out by an elbow throw--probably no accident. One guy tore his ACL. I tore my ankle. Until Bobby, the worst thing I had seen in boxing was a bloody nose.
Since then, I delved into the mass of research that has been conducted on the dangers of injury and death in sports. I was at the time pursuing a master's degree in physical education at Boston University, so I was able to do a lot of research of my own.
What I found, in short, was pretty obvious: the more blows you take to your head without protection, the more damage your brain suffers--whether it's from a blow in boxing or a tackle in football, a collision in basketball or a head-butt in soccer. One blow can cause aneurysm and brain hemorrhage and an accumulation of blows can lead to a variety of afflictions, from slurred speech to depression and drug addiction to Alzheimer's disease.
 |
 |
|
drive the statistics for sports deaths higher each year. |
The most common injuries in sports that lead to the most deaths are concussions and head injuries, cardiac arrest, dehydration, and exercise-induced asthma.
But what I also found, surprisingly, was that boxing is not at all the most dangerous sport. It ranks number eight behind horse-racing, sky-diving, hang-gliding, mountaineering, scuba diving, motorcycle racing, and college football. In fact, there are twice as many fatalities per 100,000 in college football than there are in boxing.
Other high-risk sports that are more popular and have broader general participation include baseball, soccer, skiing, swimming, and bicycling.
New extreme sports sprout up every day, ones that have few danger statistics yet, but that are sure to rank at the top of the list. Among them: inline skating, skate boarding, paragliding, and various forms of extreme fighting. Lately, cheerleading has been highlighted as the up-and-coming dangerous sport, as gymnastics get out of hand. Almost every sport presents some element of risk to its players.
I am acutely concerned about safety and training since I became an amateur boxing coach. As a coach, I want each individual on my team to push their limits and experience the many thrills that come with participation and competition. But there is a fine line between risk and danger and there is no doubt that without extreme care on the part of all officials involved, terrible accidents can occur.
That's exactly what happened to Bobby. The danger signs surfaced so obviously, in hindsight, but a string of errors and carelessness on the part of the officials brought him to his fate.
The general population is largely unaware of the great benefits amateur boxing holds for an athlete compared with the risks. These are the same benefits found in other sports: physical fitness, competition, self-confidence, and fun. With proper precautions, you can actually punch someone hard without really hurting them and sometimes, that's just what the doctor ordered.
My point is to get boxing
into some kind of proper context. Critics often say it's the
only sport in which the competitors set out to hurt one
another. Maybe so, but in
other competitive sports this attitude is unspoken and often more dangerous.
© 2002 by Raphaella Cruz. The illustrations are from IMSI's
Master Clips Collection, 1895 Francisco Blvd. E., San Rafael,
CA, 94901-5506, USA.
You
can comment on this column online. Please address your message
to either "The Editors" or Raphaella Cruz. To send
an email, click here: talkback@thecolumnists.com
| Home | About Us | Archives | Talkback | Shopping Mall |