Even with the recent events of the Junior Seau passing the issue of concussions, CTE, safety, and longevity of the sport have been very much a hot topic.  What hasn’t happened, until recently, is the overt and valuable opinions of those that played in the public forum.  Yesterday while traveling to the high school I was listening to the radio and hearing what Kurt Warner had to say about his thoughts as a father watching his sons play football.  Basically he stated that AS A FATHER he had concerns and was worried for his children, mainly because of safety and the long-term effects of playing.  He himself stated he is “worried” about his health going forward as well.

All genuine and pertinent information from a former player that carries a lot of weight, and I didn’t have one problem with it.  Even though he stated he didn’t want his kids to play (as a father) he is not the first, Harry Carson made the same statements about his grandchildren.  What caught me completely off-guard was the reaction from former player, teammate of Warner and NY Giant (same team as Carson), Amani Toomer;

“What this reminds me of is the guy at the basketball court, who once he gets done playing takes the ball and ruins the game for everybody else,” Toomer said  Thursday on NBC SportsTalk. “I think Kurt Warner needs to keep his opinions to himself when it comes to this. Everything that he’s gotten in his life has come from playing football. He works at the NFL Network right now. For him to try and trash the game, it seems to me that it’s just a little disingenuous to me.”

Disingenuous?  He is a father concerned about the safety of his children, how in the world is that disingenuous?  Yes the sport Continue reading →