Cris Kluwe Exclusive Twitterview: New Rules And The Future of The NFL
In recent years, one of the more thoughtful and outspoken professional athletes has been Chris Kluwe. The Minnesota Vikings punter became well-known for his ability to speak his mind in 2011 when he referred to Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Vincent Jackson and Logan Mankins as “douchebags” via Twitter for essentially halting the union/owner agreement to end the lockout for special considerations regarding their contracts. After Nate Jackson, a former NFL tight end, wrote this angry reply for Deadspin, Kluwe wrote this even more vicious (and well thought out) response. Then, in 2012 Kluwe launched himself into the stratosphere by authoring this brilliant letter to state delegate Emmett C. Burns after Burns tried to stifle Ravens linebacker Brendan Ayanbadejo and his comments on gay marriage equality. (EDITORS NOTE – Chris Kluwe calls an elected official a “fromunda stain.” Pretty sure that’s a first) Kluwe has since appeared on Ellen and the Colbert Report among other forums to voice his opinion and keeps rolling with his blog and Twitter accounts.
Meanwhile, on March 19, 2013, the NFL approved the “crown of the helmet rule,” creating a furor among players, fans, and coaches alike. This rule states that a running back cannot initiate contact with the crown of the helmet when running three yards or more downfield or outside the tackle box. Many fans have shown a strong negative reaction, alluding to some sort of sissification of football, while others either reacted more tepidly or are fully in favor (our own Carlo Rivieccio took this stance). Current and former players had mixed reactions, but were mostly negative. Matt Forte was the most high profile current player to openly criticize the rule change, while Jim Brown gives his approval. Coaches Jeff Fisher (who was on the committee that recommended the rule) and John Harbaugh see no problem with the rule, while many coaches seem to have remained mum. All in all, a moderate majority of people have strongly opposed the rule change – at least in knee-jerk form.
The crown of the helmet rule brings many questions along with it, not only pertaining directly to what happens on the field. There are legal, medical, and social ramifications that come along with discussion regarding NFL rules or lack thereof. For me, the questions that are most unanswerable aim at this: what will happen to football? Will rule changes turn the game into something unrecognizable? Is there any variable to be changed to reach a happy medium? What if players keep becoming more and more debilitated? Read about former New Orleans Saint Steve Gleason and the possible link between a form of ALS and head trauma and tell me we ought not to be more cautious about head trauma in the NFL. Read about safety Dave Duerson who was one of 6 NFL players to take their own lives since 2011. He deliberately shot himself in the chest so that his brain would be preserved and studied. If this continues, we can envision a world where football goes the way of professional heavyweight boxing – nearly obsolete, especially among American youth.
(EDITORS NOTE – Are we really looking forward to young men speaking like this?”
So…what do we do?
You can imagine that in the wake of the most polarizing rule change in recent memory (well, since the last one) that Chris Kluwe would have an opinion on it. He had the following to say via Twitter (connecting a chain of Tweets):
“I’m not a fan of the new helmet crown rule. We already have a rule for that (spearing), and it’s really putting RBs in a vulnerable spot. Plus, it’s really hard to lower a shoulder without lowering your head unless you violate some very basic laws of physics and anatomy. You’re also asking referees to make a split second decision on something they might not even see properly, and that’s a BIG penalty. And yes, I know the league is trying to shield itself from future litigation. The thing is, football is a violent game. That won’t change. Changes like this run the risk of protecting from future litigation, but making it so no one cares enough to litigate anymore. Honestly, sign a waiver each year. “Here are the risks we know about football. You get paid a lot of money to assume those risks. Game on.””
After I responded to him, Chris was kind enough to have a little Q&A session with me via DM on Twitter, letting me pick his brain a bit more on the topic. Here is the twitterview.
AFR: When do we start talking about PEDs?
Chris Kluwe: When the owners and players are forced to by Congress.
Do you think this rule change will really have a profound effect on gameplay like many believe?
I think it will affect certain teams more disproportionately than others. Someone like the Patriots or Saints are far less likely to be affected by it than teams like us or Seattle or Cleveland.
Fans seem to fear the game will become “sissified” in some way. Do you think that is the only way to ensure player safety? ie a complete revamping of pro football as we know it?
No, I think it’s the knee jerk reaction of the league because they’re worried about future litigation. Unfortunately, they’re in danger of throwing the baby out with the bath water.
I agree, but some of the developments regarding brain injury to NFL players are alarming. Some believe that there is a syndrome of sorts that results from asymptomatic repeated head trauma (not quite a concussion). Do you think this is an inevitable part of football? Or will a multifactorial approach help?
Inevitable part of football. You can’t tell 11 men to run as hard as they can at 11 other men and not expect trauma of every kind. One of the main reasons people watch the game is to see those 22 men run at each other, so short of changing the game itself, you’re never going to rid the game of its inherent violence.
How do you think fans would respond to a player dying on the field? In the context of retaining interest in football, that is.
Honestly, I think most would let it slip out of memory after a couple weeks.
Crazy but probably true. Do you think that says anything about us? How would the NFL react?
It says as a society we value certain things over others. As far as the NFL, they’d see if any obvious changes could be made.
With the new rule, how confident are you that AP will simply find new ways to embarrass people?
Honestly don’t know. He’s been doing it for so long one way, I don’t know how you change that muscle memory.
While there is lots to sort out – the following may be a Kluwesian prophecy:
“If society decides it doesn’t value the entertainment provided versus the risk assumed anymore, football goes away, just like anything else.”
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Get With The AFR Program!
