Opinion: Am I a hypocrite for loving football despite CTE? — SkimNews
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- British Medical Journal study found close to 25% of nearly 900 former players who died between 2016 and 2021 had CTE, though the authors note the figure is likely an underestimate since it relies on donated brains
- Michael Arkush, a Giants fan approaching 70, interrogates his own hypocrisy after two decades of CTE awareness and co-writing a book with agent Leigh Steinberg, who once called concussions a "ticking time bomb"
- Bill Courtney, the Memphis high school coach and subject of Oscar-winning documentary "Undefeated," said the game "as we play it today, can kill people" but credited football with shaping his success running a lumber company
- Courtney proposed delaying helmets and shoulder pads until sixth grade and penalizing headfirst tackles — reforms he acknowledged would take years, if ever, to reach the professional level
- Everson Walls, a former defensive back for the Giants, Cowboys, and Browns, told the author he feels like a hypocrite but would "eagerly take on" the consequences again, given how good he was at the game
- Leigh Steinberg, the real-life inspiration for "Jerry Maguire," said he chose to advocate for player health from inside the system rather than "drop out and feel morally superior" — then delivered the piece's bluntest line: "At the end of the day, it is a collision sport. There's a traffic accident on every play."
- The author's hope for the 2026 Giants season — rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart and wide receiver Malik Nabers — sits uneasily against the same toll he's spent the column grappling with
Why it matters: Three insiders who built careers around football — a championship coach, a former NFL starter, and the agent who inspired Jerry Maguire — all told the author they share his guilt but won't walk away. Courtney's reforms (helmets delayed until sixth grade, headfirst tackles penalized) wouldn't reach the NFL for years, while Steinberg's blunt "traffic accident on every play" concedes the sport's violence is unfixable, leaving fans, players, and the league in permanent moral stalemate.
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