ESPN NFL Conversation

danrel44

OK, Ms. Fox, time to stop ANY activity where someone has hurt themselves and then apply it to EVERYONE else! Jeez, talk about an overreaction. If an athlete breaks a bone after slipping when coming down stairs should we add that to the list? If an athlete hurts himself when "playing" with his kids should we ban any contact with them in the off-season? Get real.
348 Days ago

dreamicus

Ashley, do you not have an editor? I'm guessing if you do it is prolly a woman. This is not a sexist comment. I saw a woman with a terrible camel toe at a party one time. I asked one of her friends why, if she was truly her friend, she would have let her go out with that camel toe. She indicated it was not her place. So, she let her friend humiliate herself. This is analogous to your article. Anyone who read this prior to publication and let you still publish it is not your friend.
349 Days ago

dreamicus

This is the stoopidest article I've read in a while. Do you, Ashlesy, even understand what a CBA is? You do know that the Ravens were well aware that he plays semi pro basketball every season, correct? You do know that he was in great shape last year when he won DPOTY after the lookout by playing basketball? Most of all, you do realize that under the new CBA, that stands for collective bargaining agreement, any injury that occurs away from the teams facility is considered a non-football injury? So he could have been lifting weights in a gym in Ohio and that would be considered a non-football injury. I understand we still need news for the NFL at this time of year, but, this is a dead issue and somehow both you and Adam Schefter have managed to waste a lot of time of something that does not matter. Why isn't there more talk about the d bags at the gym in Arizona who want to be on the TV sooo bad they had to come out and make a comment about the nature of the injury. Do you think this will improve their marketing?
349 Days ago

tkweiner

I completely disagree with you Ashley!!! Yes running with the bulls or doing something stupid like driving fast on a motorcycle without a helmet are all selfish and stupid things, but basketball sure isn't one of them! Basketball is a great sport where athletes can have fun in the off season and also helps them stay in shape. Yes you can get hurt in Basketball, but you can get hurt doing anything. Running sprints, working out in the weight room, even tripping down the stairs. Are you going to suggest players not be able to exercise during the off season too? I think playing basketball during the season is selfish and shouldn't be done as it is an unnecessary risk, but they should have free limit to play during the off season. I'm glad the Ravens are Paying Suggs, as it would be unjust if they didn't.
349 Days ago

CowboysNo1Fan1943

Funny, the players voted on the new CBA so they would have less time in camp, less time to stay in shape, and now they are "worried' about not being in shape for when they do have to be in camp. So in order to stay in shape it's ok to play some other sport, that does not pay you. Sounds pretty stupid if you ask me.
349 Days ago

dreamicus

You sound stupid if you ask most. Whether he was playing basketball or not the fact the injury occurred away from the team's facility, by rule, makes it a non-football injury.
349 Days ago

stlrsfan367

Too bad Ashley. That is not for you to decide. Thanks.
350 Days ago

ACT1v1

Playing basketball, baseball, football are all sports we have taken up since childhood. It's ludicrous to think they won't do anything adventurous. They are trained athletes that like to get away from the rigors of 24/7 football. They are young men too. Their lives are about seeking out new discoveries and activities. It's shortsighted for anyone to think they won't do anything as close to compelling as football as an extra-curricular activity. Yes, they, themselves need to be more cautious about what they do. Certain things are inevitable and freakish in nature.
350 Days ago

tkweiner

playing basketball sure isn't a risk though!
349 Days ago

1970keith

they get paid millions to stay healthy when not playing football..i think its reasonable to expect your investment to not put himself at risk
350 Days ago

dreamicus

They didn't have a problem with it the last two years when he went to the pro bowl twice and won the DPOTY.
349 Days ago

dallen8wr

I agree...but playing basketball is not one of the things anyone should be worried about. It's great cardio work and it works on pretty much all the skills you use on the field. When I played in college...during the grueling off-season program - we finished the week with a mandatory Saturday morning basketball season. It was something - after all of those 200's we ran on the indoor track 3-times a week. And the various timed station drills that were done. Playing basketball really winded you! I understand the concern by outsiders who never played the game on a higher level. But you can tear something working on individual drills, running stairs or running routes in the off-season.
350 Days ago

sandmanmjs

if he blew his achillies in basketball chances are he would have blown it in an OTA or traning camp. 8 years of NFL wears the whole body down. I down that most NFL players would just blow up a knee or ankle from playing ball. I'm sure it would have happened anyway, maybe better now, get it fixed then wait on couch all summer playing 2K12 and blow it up first day of training camp.
350 Days ago

trubblman

This article is stupid. Football players are athletes. They make their money by being in incredibly great shape. If not the next hotrod who comes along will take their jobs. They have to maintain conditioning in the offseason, not sit on the couching eating ho hos, porkrinds and drinking yoohoo. All physical activity carries with it some danger. Even weightlifting can cause injury.
350 Days ago

mdknd1

I don't think there should be an off season, team training year round. No outside sport activities. Salaries are high, career's are short.
351 Days ago

cambodia_again

Football players - in case no one has noticed - are property: they belong to whoever holds their contract and are subject to the terms of the contract which includes being physically able to perform the requirements of their "job". They also have - in the majority of cases - a very short period in which they are physically able to maximize their earnings. So why would anyone in their right mind do anything to jeopardize regular paychecks with a whole bunch of zeroes on them?
351 Days ago

dreamicus

You mean by playing a dangerous sport like football?
349 Days ago

borracho_trokini

Another fantastic article by Ashley Fox. So now basketball is something a professional athlete should not play due to its inherent danger. O-kay. How exactly should an NFL player condition in the off season? Weight-lfiting? He could tear a muscle, so that it out. Running? Could turn an ankle. Plyometrics? Could land wrong an blow out a knee or Achilles. Swimming? He could drown. Gardening? Well, that Mets pitcher once chopped off part of his finger, so not that. ESPN, can we please stop with crying wolf about the "dangers" of sports? Its getting out of control
351 Days ago

jdiz58

NFL players shouldn't do conditioning in the off-season? This is the most rediculous statement I have ever heard about athletes. You want everyone to come into camp like Albert Haynesworth?????? QB's coming in 50 lbs. overweight because they didn't train in the off-season. I understand having a contract clause about skydiving, running with the bulls, etc. But give me a break. He was doing something to increase his athleticism for crying out loud.
351 Days ago

39bailey

Would Ms. Fox prefer it if Suggs had never left his couch for the entire off season? Playing pickup basketball creates no greater risk of injury than any number of the types of exercises NFL teams sanction and require their players to perform. If basketball were so inherently dangerous, then every NBA team would have to field a roster of 40 players just to get through a season. Suggs's injury was a fluke. The fact that he lied about it is the bigger issue, and that's what a sportswriter should condemn.
351 Days ago