Hamza Abdullah Tantrum (1 Viewer)

[cobalt_27]

@Deadspin: Former player Hamza Abdullah is currently destroying the NFL on Twitter. http://deadsp.in/um1qwDZ

Obviously has CTE.

 

[AllVolUT]

This "slave" talk by NFL or NCAA players is as ignorant an argument as I've ever heard.

 

[oswizzle]

Maybe the Europeans were smart for getting rid of American Football...

its the best sport in the world to watch...but 100% its gnarly brutal on your body... $765 million dollars recently was dropped in an attempt to keep this news to a minimal ...

 

[steveski]

I should have stopped reading after this one "Every player understood the risks of playing football, and we did it, and would do it over again!" Everything after that just contradicts this statement.

 

[mad sweeney]

This "slave" talk by NFL or NCAA players is as ignorant an argument as I've ever heard.

He may have some points in his rants but no one who makes a minimum of $150K or so should never make a slave comment.

 

[RUSF18]

I should have stopped reading after this one "Every player understood the risks of playing football, and we did it, and would do it over again!" Everything after that just contradicts this statement.

He also took issue with the league changing rules and "taking away the game we love" or whatever, which was interspersed between his attacks on Goodell and the league for not caring about safety.

 

[cobalt_27]

All jokes aside, he does seem like a guy on the edge, and I hope the right people are reaching out to him right now.

 

[Joe Summer]

He's got some good points.

 

[cobalt_27]

He's got some good points.

For example?

 

[laniquity]

This "slave" talk by NFL or NCAA players is as ignorant an argument as I've ever heard.

He may have some points in his rants but no one who makes a minimum of $150K or so should never make a slave comment.

Right.

A more apropos analogy would be Native Americans...the NFL doctors could be small pox infected blankets...Godell is George Washington

Or perhaps he should use a date rape analogy..."don't worry baby its not rufi, its just the way the drink tastes..."

 

[Quez]

Isn't the NFL minimum rookie salary like $285k? The median annual income in this country for a high school graduate is $28,763 (less for minorities). So it takes the average person almost 10 years to make what these guys make in a single year! And practice squad players still make like $88k a year.

Cry yourself a river to Meca.

 

[nobiz]

I like how he mixes in his praise for Allah in the middle of all of his F*** bombs.

 

[mad sweeney]

This "slave" talk by NFL or NCAA players is as ignorant an argument as I've ever heard.

He may have some points in his rants but no one who makes a minimum of $150K or so should never make a slave comment.

Right.A more apropos analogy would be Native Americans...the NFL doctors could be small pox infected blankets...Godell is George Washington

Or perhaps he should use a date rape analogy..."don't worry baby its not rufi, its just the way the drink tastes..."

None of those comparisons are even remotely apt. Players know what they're getting into, period. They willingly do it and are compensated very, very well for it. It'd nowhere close to slavery or date tape or genocide.

 

[Joe Summer]

Players know what they're getting into, period.

No they don't -- or at least they didn't when Abdullah joined the league in 2005.

 

[voiceofunreason]

So he's not the center of attention anymore, doesn't make 20 times more money than other people, doesn't have people falling at his feet telling him how great he is and it's the NFL's fault apparently.

That's the big problem with sports, these idiots are spoiled from a very early age and they don't grow up. The real world is a shock for them.

 

[Sinn Fein]

I have not read any of the tweets - so I don't know what has been said.

But the "slave" concept is a little more nuanced, at least in my mind, than a simple do you work for free. I do think the professional sports have an impact on minorities in that too many view professional sports as a means to improve their lot in life - and so they focus their energies on sports instead of education. As a result, too many people are ill-equipped to succeed in life. So, pro sports do not disadvantage those who ultimately make it, but they sure do shatter the dreams of most along the way. Much like slavery shattered the dreams of many in its time.

 

[mad sweeney]

Players know what they're getting into, period.

No they don't -- or at least they didn't when Abdullah joined the league in 2005.

I guess if they've never played football or watched it on tv they might not. He started 7 years ago, not 27. Plus he signed more than one contract. If he was completely clueless after college, he damn well knew what he was getting into when he got new contracts and chose to stay in the NFL. But the direct point was his use of the slavery analogy. Slaves don't make half a million or more a year.

 

[cobalt_27]

Players know what they're getting into, period.

No they don't -- or at least they didn't when Abdullah joined the league in 2005.

You seem pretty certain now what the consequences are. On what basis do you make those assumptions? Frontline?

 

[AllVolUT]

I have not read any of the tweets - so I don't know what has been said.

But the "slave" concept is a little more nuanced, at least in my mind, than a simple do you work for free. I do think the professional sports have an impact on minorities in that too many view professional sports as a means to improve their lot in life - and so they focus their energies on sports instead of education. As a result, too many people are ill-equipped to succeed in life. So, pro sports do not disadvantage those who ultimately make it, but they sure do shatter the dreams of most along the way. Much like slavery shattered the dreams of many in its time.

The shattered dreams from never making it to professional sports =/= the shattered dreams of slavery. Not really even close IMO.

 

[MoveToSkypager]

I have not read any of the tweets - so I don't know what has been said.

But the "slave" concept is a little more nuanced, at least in my mind, than a simple do you work for free. I do think the professional sports have an impact on minorities in that too many view professional sports as a means to improve their lot in life - and so they focus their energies on sports instead of education. As a result, too many people are ill-equipped to succeed in life. So, pro sports do not disadvantage those who ultimately make it, but they sure do shatter the dreams of most along the way. Much like slavery shattered the dreams of many in its time.

Just like the Holocaust!!

 

[MoveToSkypager]

Players know what they're getting into, period.

No they don't -- or at least they didn't when Abdullah joined the league in 2005.

You seem pretty certain now what the consequences are. On what basis do you make those assumptions? Frontline?

Is Frontline wrong?

 

[fantasycurse42]

He needs to be on Homeland Security's watch list.

 

[Truman]

He's got some good points.

For example?

Unguaranteed contracts encourage players to cover up injuries

 

[cobalt_27]

Players know what they're getting into, period.

No they don't -- or at least they didn't when Abdullah joined the league in 2005.

You seem pretty certain now what the consequences are. On what basis do you make those assumptions? Frontline?

Is Frontline wrong?

They sensationalized a position on concussions that is not supported by current scientific consensus. Whether the theory of CTE is valid or not remains unclear.

 

[MoveToSkypager]

Players know what they're getting into, period.

No they don't -- or at least they didn't when Abdullah joined the league in 2005.

You seem pretty certain now what the consequences are. On what basis do you make those assumptions? Frontline?

Is Frontline wrong?

They sensationalized a position on concussions that is not supported by current scientific consensus. Whether the theory of CTE is valid or not remains unclear.

Doesn't Frontline announce their docs as they are conducting them? That would have been great if someone told them while they where making it. Maybe then they could have taken another pov.

 

[ImTheScientist]

Isn't the NFL minimum rookie salary like $285k? The median annual income in this country for a high school graduate is $28,763 (less for minorities). So it takes the average person almost 10 years to make what these guys make in a single year! And practice squad players still make like $88k a year.

Cry yourself a river to Meca.

 

[ImTheScientist]

He's got some good points.

For example?

Unguaranteed contracts encourage players to cover up injuries

I wish my job gave me a guaranteed contract. Wouldn't have to work hard anymore.

 

[cobalt_27]

Players know what they're getting into, period.

No they don't -- or at least they didn't when Abdullah joined the league in 2005.

You seem pretty certain now what the consequences are. On what basis do you make those assumptions? Frontline?

Is Frontline wrong?

They sensationalized a position on concussions that is not supported by current scientific consensus. Whether the theory of CTE is valid or not remains unclear.

Doesn't Frontline announce their docs as they are conducting them? That would have been great if someone told them while they where making it. Maybe then they could have taken another pov.

I sort of agree. On the other hand, I suspect they felt comfortable presenting the most inflammatory groups (Cantu, Stern, McKee; Omalu) and let everyone deal with the aftermath. Those two labs, however, are conducting interesting case studies that are attempts to validate a theory for which they then proclaim knowledge, and the earn lots of money in speaking engagements, grant funding, elevated position stature in their respective divisionism etc. meanwhile, they are ignoring confounds, and are deaf to the vast majority of neuroscientists currently practicing who essentially are saying that until you conduct a randomly controlled double blind study, your conclusions are unfounded and at worst harmful to athletes.

 

[Agent575]

"There's a reason 80% of former players either go broke or get divorced within 5 years of leaving the game. - Hamza Abdullah

Cuz their horrible with money, never thought it would stop flowing in and are selfish #####es?

 

[Joe Summer]

Players know what they're getting into, period.

No they don't -- or at least they didn't when Abdullah joined the league in 2005.

You seem pretty certain now what the consequences are. On what basis do you make those assumptions? Frontline?

I never said I was certain of the consequences. I only said that players DIDN'T KNOW what they were getting into.There is a difference.

 

[ImTheScientist]

Players know what they're getting into, period.

No they don't -- or at least they didn't when Abdullah joined the league in 2005.

You seem pretty certain now what the consequences are. On what basis do you make those assumptions? Frontline?

I never said I was certain of the consequences. I only said that players DIDN'T KNOW what they were getting into.

How are you certian they didn't know? Anyways, I find your coments on this to be a bunch of bull.

 

[cobalt_27]

Players know what they're getting into, period.

No they don't -- or at least they didn't when Abdullah joined the league in 2005.

You seem pretty certain now what the consequences are. On what basis do you make those assumptions? Frontline?

I never said I was certain of the consequences. I only said that players DIDN'T KNOW what they were getting into.There is a difference.

The fact of the matter is nobody knows at this point. And to be perfectly honest, I think the whole CTE thing eventually winds up being absolute garbage. But, the. bottom line is that nobody, including the NFL, knows if concussions are a long term threat.

 

[MoveToSkypager]

Players know what they're getting into, period.

No they don't -- or at least they didn't when Abdullah joined the league in 2005.

You seem pretty certain now what the consequences are. On what basis do you make those assumptions? Frontline?

I never said I was certain of the consequences. I only said that players DIDN'T KNOW what they were getting into.There is a difference.

The fact of the matter is nobody knows at this point. And to be perfectly honest, I think the whole CTE thing eventually winds up being absolute garbage. But, the. bottom line is that nobody, including the NFL, knows if concussions are a long term threat.

Are you an expert with this stuff?

 

[cobalt_27]

Players know what they're getting into, period.

No they don't -- or at least they didn't when Abdullah joined the league in 2005.

You seem pretty certain now what the consequences are. On what basis do you make those assumptions? Frontline?

I never said I was certain of the consequences. I only said that players DIDN'T KNOW what they were getting into.There is a difference.

The fact of the matter is nobody knows at this point. And to be perfectly honest, I think the whole CTE thing eventually winds up being absolute garbage. But, the. bottom line is that nobody, including the NFL, knows if concussions are a long term threat.

Are you an expert with this stuff?

I actually am. And believe it or not, folks in my discipline (neuroscience/neurology/neuropsychology) who are a lot smarter than me are even more cynical/skeptical of the burgeoning CTE industry.

 

[MoveToSkypager]

Players know what they're getting into, period.

No they don't -- or at least they didn't when Abdullah joined the league in 2005.

You seem pretty certain now what the consequences are. On what basis do you make those assumptions? Frontline?

I never said I was certain of the consequences. I only said that players DIDN'T KNOW what they were getting into.There is a difference.

The fact of the matter is nobody knows at this point. And to be perfectly honest, I think the whole CTE thing eventually winds up being absolute garbage. But, the. bottom line is that nobody, including the NFL, knows if concussions are a long term threat.

Are you an expert with this stuff?

I actually am. And believe it or not, folks in my discipline (neuroscience/neurology/neuropsychology) who are a lot smarter than me are even more cynical/skeptical of the burgeoning CTE industry.

Are you smarter than the blonde chick in the Frontline video?

 

[Dizzy]

This "slave" talk by NFL or NCAA players is as ignorant an argument as I've ever heard.

He may have some points in his rants but no one who makes a minimum of $150K or so should never make a slave comment.

I'm guessing Hamza burned through most of his nest egg already.

Sounds a little bitter too.

 

[Truman]

He's got some good points.

For example?

Unguaranteed contracts encourage players to cover up injuries

I wish my job gave me a guaranteed contract. Wouldn't have to work hard anymore.

Do you work as an employee or a contractor?

 

[flapgreen]

Sounds like a terrorist organization is pissed.

 

[Hoss Style]

Players know what they're getting into, period.

No they don't -- or at least they didn't when Abdullah joined the league in 2005.

You seem pretty certain now what the consequences are. On what basis do you make those assumptions? Frontline?

I never said I was certain of the consequences. I only said that players DIDN'T KNOW what they were getting into.There is a difference.

The fact of the matter is nobody knows at this point. And to be perfectly honest, I think the whole CTE thing eventually winds up being absolute garbage. But, the. bottom line is that nobody, including the NFL, knows if concussions are a long term threat.

Are you an expert with this stuff?

I actually am. And believe it or not, folks in my discipline (neuroscience/neurology/neuropsychology) who are a lot smarter than me are even more cynical/skeptical of the burgeoning CTE industry.

Since you are in this field, I have a question for you: are you saying that the head trauma sustained in the NFL is not causing many of the issues former players are experiencing at an alarming rate? Or are you just against the CTE part of it that the media has latched on to?

That's a serious question - no sarcasm or argument intended.

The reason I ask is because one of my best friends went into neuroscience (he later switched to anesthesiology) and in his few years in that field we would have long talks about how amazed he was that such small amounts of trauma to the head could cause such serious problems - especially if repeated like in the NFL.

I'm not an expert in the field, so I ask you - is that CTE he was talking about? If not, then do you disagree with him that continued beatings to the head are an extremely serious issue?

Very curious since he gave tons of examples and backing for his discussions.

 

[cobalt_27]

Players know what they're getting into, period.

No they don't -- or at least they didn't when Abdullah joined the league in 2005.

You seem pretty certain now what the consequences are. On what basis do you make those assumptions? Frontline?

I never said I was certain of the consequences. I only said that players DIDN'T KNOW what they were getting into.There is a difference.

The fact of the matter is nobody knows at this point. And to be perfectly honest, I think the whole CTE thing eventually winds up being absolute garbage. But, the. bottom line is that nobody, including the NFL, knows if concussions are a long term threat.

Are you an expert with this stuff?

I actually am. And believe it or not, folks in my discipline (neuroscience/neurology/neuropsychology) who are a lot smarter than me are even more cynical/skeptical of the burgeoning CTE industry.

Since you are in this field, I have a question for you: are you saying that the head trauma sustained in the NFL is not causing many of the issues former players are experiencing at an alarming rate? Or are you just against the CTE part of it that the media has latched on to?That's a serious question - no sarcasm or argument intended.

The reason I ask is because one of my best friends went into neuroscience (he later switched to anesthesiology) and in his few years in that field we would have long talks about how amazed he was that such small amounts of trauma to the head could cause such serious problems - especially if repeated like in the NFL.

I'm not an expert in the field, so I ask you - is that CTE he was talking about? If not, then do you disagree with him that continued beatings to the head are an extremely serious issue?

Very curious since he gave tons of examples and backing for his discussions.

I don't disagree with your friend. I simply take issue with the current state of misinformation, propelled in part by two research groups and further fanned by media eager to present the most alarmist state of everything. At present, there is not a convincing link between concussions and neurodegenerative conditions (e.g., CTE) in the extant literature, but if you watched any news program or Frontline you'd think this was established fact. It isn't.

I am not saying repeated concussions can't cause degenerative conditions. But, there are a lot of reasons to be skeptical. In particular, most in my profession remain unconvinced that concussions are (a) the cause of the tauopathy that has been described as CTE, (b) that the aggregation of tau observed in a limited number of football players on autopsy has any relation to the cognitive and/or behavioral changes described in these individuals, and (c.) that there aren't better explanations for their decline.

As we stand here today, the concussion-CTE link has yet to be established, and this isn't just me talking; the Zurich conference on concussions in sports produced a consensus statement of international experts in neuroscience disciplines which states exactly this position. More study is needed.

My personal opinion is we will understand a lot more in the next 20 years and look back at this period with some embarrassment that we all got so worked up by two research groups who have become advocates for a cause in which they have considerable financial interest(s) framing the discussion in one particular way.

 

[Hoss Style]

Fair enough. Thanks for the reasoned response.

I do remember my buddy stating over and over that "no one really knows why, yet" on a myriad of topics concerning head trauma after-effects.