Amari Spievey: Concussions, Depression and Walking Away from the NFL

[Hawkfnntn]

It seems like as a fan base we have let this guy down. I personally had no idea about his struggles. I hope that Amari plugs himself back into the Iowa fan base because there are hundreds of thousands of people who would encourage and support him. I don't know a single Iowa fan that has anything other than love for Amari. He is always a hawk and it sucks to think that he went through all of that silently and without the love of a fan base that will love and remember him fondly for life.

I sure hope Kirk gets Amari back to campus ASAP. Being an honorary captain for a game might help Amari see that Iowa fans are with him forever.

It'd be really nice if Kirk reached out in some way. What'd be a nice thing to do for might be have Kirk invite him back as you mentioned to be an honorary captain. But also without telling him have as many of his former teammates waiting for him at midfield for when he comes out to be announced as possible. After what happened to Sash and all... We need to be proactive in helping. We just do. If it's no more than just reaching out on social media then so be it.

Welsh must be one tough dude in more ways then one. Him doing what he did coming out with his issues could have really derailed his playing career among other more terrible things. I'm happy he's been such a good representative for the school and I hope he will continue to be supported as well. Wish them all the best

 

[okeefe4prez]

Part of me thinks it will be abolished in my lifetime (I'm 52). Then I hear guys like Dan Bernstein on WSCR in Chicago talking about how, even as he knows about all the cutting edge medical information admits that he simply can't stop watching football. I believe that his view is a pretty good simulacrum of the general public,
the people who drive the ratings and in turn the cash cow. Money talks, but sometimes I wonder if doctors, insurance companies, and the general outrage of the viewing public sick of seeing their heroes die young will eventually speak louder as we find out what football is really doing to these young men.

Bernstein can't stop watching because his career is watching football and talking about it. TV ratings in general are tanking and even football is not immune to cable cutting. The NFL is balanced on a very precarious economic model and barring a miracle I don't think the money will be there once they re-up the TV deal in a few years. The colleges have also benefitted tremendously from college football because the ESPN/CBS/Fox contracts are huge, as are revenues from the conference networks. But those are illusory as well. I'm in my 40's and a startling percentage of people my age and younger don't have cable anymore. Once the football money dips even a little bit, non-P5 schools are going to be in major trouble and even marginal P5 schools like ISU are gonna have a come to Jesus moment due to the Title IX funding that is mandated as a result of having a major football team.

So I think the very same TV deals that pumped so much money into football are what will ultimately bring football down. I don't see it being abolished, but the robust market that it once was is slowly eroding and that erosion is going to have a massive impact on the NFL (which I think will have a major labor issue if the next TV deal comes up short) and the NCAA.

 

[Northside Hawk]

Bernstein can't stop watching because his career is watching football and talking about it. TV ratings in general are tanking and even football is not immune to cable cutting. The NFL is balanced on a very precarious economic model and barring a miracle I don't think the money will be there once they re-up the TV deal in a few years. The colleges have also benefitted tremendously from college football because the ESPN/CBS/Fox contracts are huge, as are revenues from the conference networks. But those are illusory as well. I'm in my 40's and a startling percentage of people my age and younger don't have cable anymore. Once the football money dips even a little bit, non-P5 schools are going to be in major trouble and even marginal P5 schools like ISU are gonna have a come to Jesus moment due to the Title IX funding that is mandated as a result of having a major football team.

So I think the very same TV deals that pumped so much money into football are what will ultimately bring football down. I don't see it being abolished, but the robust market that it once was is slowly eroding and that erosion is going to have a massive impact on the NFL (which I think will have a major labor issue if the next TV deal comes up short) and the NCAA.

Excellent, well thougjt out post. Dan Bernstein has admitted numerous times on the air that in addition to it being his job, there is something intoxicating about the violent combat aspect of football that he can't turn away from as a fan.

Do you think TV ratings are tanking because technology has allowed so many different ways to watch sports on the move, on the go, besides sitting in front of a TV for three or four hours? Or are younger people simply so used to information overload that, like you said, they see TV watching as a waste of time and are simply cancelling the cable. It's across the board. Compact disc sales are plummeting. Some box stores barely sell them anymore.

 

[Adam]

Excellent, well thougjt out post. Dan Bernstein has admitted numerous times on the air that in addition to it being his job, there is something intoxicating about the violent combat aspect of football that he can't turn away from as a fan.

Do you think TV ratings are tanking because technology has allowed so many different ways to watch sports on the move, on the go, besides sitting in front of a TV for three or four hours? Or are younger people simply so used to information overload that, like you said, they see TV watching as a waste of time and are simply cancelling the cable. It's across the board. Compact disc sales are plummeting. Some box stores barely sell them anymore.

In 10 years the cable and satellite industries are indeed in some serious jeopardy of losing subscribers at a rate that makes delivering the television service un-profitable. However this is not likely to impact the marketability of major end sports like football, basketball, baseball and soccer. With the rise of streaming services the delivery method for the game viewing is all that will change. The money of course will be lower since ESPN/Disney will no longer be able to base their revenue on a cable/satellite providers subscriber base (which is what they do now). But unless demand for viewing decreases at a substantial rate then we are still talking about a business that generates billions per year. It may not be through cable TV, but I'm pretty sure the sports will still be viewable for the foreseeable future.

 

[earlkoppelman]

It seems like as a fan base we have let this guy down. I personally had no idea about his struggles. I hope that Amari plugs himself back into the Iowa fan base because there are hundreds of thousands of people who would encourage and support him. I don't know a single Iowa fan that has anything other than love for Amari. He is always a hawk and it sucks to think that he went through all of that silently and without the love of a fan base that will love and remember him fondly for life.

I sure hope Kirk gets Amari back to campus ASAP. Being an honorary captain for a game might help Amari see that Iowa fans are with him forever.

Agree.Back in iowa City can be a special tonic.Great wrap up tackler.Hope works shows up for Amari IC.

 

[Adam]

Agree.Back in iowa City can be a special tonic.Great wrap up tackler.Hope works shows up for Amari IC.

Oh no doubt. Get Amari up in the children's hospital and let those kids fawn over him. That is just plain good for the soul no matter who you are. Also helps put ones own life struggles in a stark perspective.

 

[okeefe4prez]

In 10 years the cable and satellite industries are indeed in some serious jeopardy of losing subscribers at a rate that makes delivering the television service un-profitable. However this is not likely to impact the marketability of major end sports like football, basketball, baseball and soccer. With the rise of streaming services the delivery method for the game viewing is all that will change. The money of course will be lower since ESPN/Disney will no longer be able to base their revenue on a cable/satellite providers subscriber base (which is what they do now). But unless demand for viewing decreases at a substantial rate then we are still talking about a business that generates billions per year. It may not be through cable TV, but I'm pretty sure the sports will still be viewable for the foreseeable future.

ESPN is down something like 13 million customers in 6 years. I think they have drastically pushed up carriage fees which along with a few other sports channels is what has really pushed cable prices up in the past few years. The pro sports leagues will have an existential crisis if there is a material drop in money. The player contracts are fixed dollar contracts and they may be forced into a lockout situation to force lower pay similar to what happened to the NHL in the '90's. The players simply don't want to make less money and the owners have seen valuations skyrocket because when you run a discounted cash flow analysis on the revenue stream from TV, their franchises are worth a ton, so they are going to be reluctant to take too large of a haircut.

I think NASCAR is going to be the first major league to suffer an existential crisis. They are 4 years in on a $8.4 billion TV deal and their ratings are in a free fall. They got the huge TV deal because their old TV contracts expired right as NBCSN and FS1 were trying to obtain content and a bidding war ensued. There will be no similar bidding war the next time around and it will force massive changes on that league. I think the NFL has seen a fairly sizable ratings drop as well, but they are far and away the gold standard in the 18-50 year old male demographic which should leave them immune to taking too big of a haircut on the next TV deal in a few years, but to stay flat it will take a tough negotiation. The rumor this year was that CBS had low enough ratings on NFL that they had to give kickbacks to advertisers and those kickbacks or concessions or whatever they are called were big enough that Viacom had to specifically call them out in their securities filings.

 

[okeefe4prez]

Excellent, well thougjt out post. Dan Bernstein has admitted numerous times on the air that in addition to it being his job, there is something intoxicating about the violent combat aspect of football that he can't turn away from as a fan.

Do you think TV ratings are tanking because technology has allowed so many different ways to watch sports on the move, on the go, besides sitting in front of a TV for three or four hours? Or are younger people simply so used to information overload that, like you said, they see TV watching as a waste of time and are simply cancelling the cable. It's across the board. Compact disc sales are plummeting. Some box stores barely sell them anymore.

I don't have a good attention span, but my attention span compared to the 25 year olds I work with is remarkably long. I don't think these kids who grew up with constant stimulation have the attention span to watch a 4 hour football game. I know that the additional stoppages for reviews and commercials they threw into games a few years ago made me peace out on about 85% of my football viewing.

 

[EstronHawkKing]

I saw an article about a former Giants player (can't recall his name) but he said he suffers from headaches all the time and said even though he has tons of money from the NFL, he seems to regret it now.

 

[okeefe4prez]

I saw an article about a former Giants player (can't recall his name) but he said he suffers from headaches all the time and said even though he has tons of money from the NFL, he seems to regret it now.

Was it Lawrence Taylor? Jeff Hostetler?

 

[Adam]

I saw an article about a former Giants player (can't recall his name) but he said he suffers from headaches all the time and said even though he has tons of money from the NFL, he seems to regret it now.

Hindsight is always 20/20

 

[trj]

Was it Lawrence Taylor? Jeff Hostetler?

Carl Banks

Linebacker on those 2 Super Bowl teams in the 80’s. I believe he is the one that said he won’t allow his grandkids to play football.

 

[trj]

In 10 years the cable and satellite industries are indeed in some serious jeopardy of losing subscribers at a rate that makes delivering the television service un-profitable. However this is not likely to impact the marketability of major end sports like football, basketball, baseball and soccer. With the rise of streaming services the delivery method for the game viewing is all that will change. The money of course will be lower since ESPN/Disney will no longer be able to base their revenue on a cable/satellite providers subscriber base (which is what they do now). But unless demand for viewing decreases at a substantial rate then we are still talking about a business that generates billions per year. It may not be through cable TV, but I'm pretty sure the sports will still be viewable for the foreseeable future.

Live TV rights

Sports is the only thing left we want to see in real time. Everything else we can watch at our leisure. I am not sure how you go about monetizing streaming rights . McCreggor/Mayweather made a ton of money, but a bunch of people watched it “illegally”.

The repeal of net neutrality may factor in this down the road somehow.

 

[Adam]

Live TV rights

Sports is the only thing left we want to see in real time. Everything else we can watch at our leisure. I am not sure how you go about monetizing streaming rights . McCreggor/Mayweather made a ton of money, but a bunch of people watched it “illegally”.

The repeal of net neutrality may factor in this down the road somehow.

Ya monetization is an obstacle to overcome, but I believe when billions are on the line, smart people will figure it out. That's always the way it works right?

 

[okeefe4prez]

Live TV rights

Sports is the only thing left we want to see in real time. Everything else we can watch at our leisure. I am not sure how you go about monetizing streaming rights . McCreggor/Mayweather made a ton of money, but a bunch of people watched it “illegally”.

The repeal of net neutrality may factor in this down the road somehow.

The thing about trying to stream games is that if I have to pay per game I probably would rarely watch Iowa unless it was really cheap and then I would never watch any other games. If it's cheap on a per stream basis, the revenue model will collapse. Right now, Arizona State and Arizona make money off of me when their game is on TV even though I don't watch it, but if that changes to pay per view, I really think the model will fall apart.

 

[EstronHawkKing]

Was it Lawrence Taylor? Jeff Hostetler?

no, it was a white guy, I think d-lineman who played college football at like Montana or some school out west. I had never heard of the guy before I read the article. I think with the Giants he was #90

 

[okeefe4prez]

no, it was a white guy, I think d-lineman who played college football at like Montana or some school out west. I had never heard of the guy before I read the article. I think with the Giants he was #90

I'm drawing a blank - was it Jim Burt maybe?

 

[EstronHawkKing]

Here is story on the Giants player......................................


BOZEMAN, Mont. — Former New York Giants linebacker and Montana State star Corey Widmer has declined his nomination to the Montana Football Hall of Fame, saying the sport “destroyed my life.”

Widmer said after numerous concussions he fears he suffers from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease. He has depression, memory problems, suffers from mood swings and seeks to isolate himself. Recently, he said, his thumb has started twitching.

“I’m 49 years old, depressed to the Nth degree, but have a lot of money ... and some people might say it’s still worth it. I just tell them to watch what they wish for,” Widmer told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. “If someone could’ve explained all of this to me when I was 14, I would’ve given it all back in a heartbeat. I would’ve wished for something else.”

The Bozeman native said he couldn’t in good conscience be a part of Saturday’s banquet in Billings celebrating a sport that caused great suffering among his friends and that he believes endangers children.
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“When I refused entry I had to give an explanation, and my explanation is concussion,” Widmer told Lee Newspapers of Montana.

But he didn’t want to state his reasons during the ceremony that inducted eight other members to the Montana hall, including former Detroit Lions tight end Casey FitzSimmons and former Carolina Panthers and Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Dwan Edwards.

The banquet also honored the Petrino coaching tree that began with former Carroll College football coach Bob Petrino and includes his sons — Louisville coach Bobby Petrino and Idaho coach Paul Petrino. It also honored coaches who once played for Bob Petrino, a group that includes Denver Broncos special teams coordinator Tom McMahon.


“I don’t want to make some political statement right in the middle of their party and take advantage of some very nice people,” said Widmer, who was a plaintiff in the NFL concussion lawsuit.

But he said he also couldn’t stay silent anymore after reading a recent news story about a lawsuit filed by the family of a 16-year-old Belt High School student who suffered a concussion in a 2014 game and collapsed after playing the next weekend, leaving him nearly paralyzed and unable to speak.

“That was the moment that made me understand,” he said. He had taken a planned trip to Australia thinking he’d “just escape and walk away from everything. I didn’t want the drama.

“But when I got over there I just got this overwhelming guilt, anxiety and was not sleeping,” he said. “Every day I was waking up thinking about this.”

Corey Widmer: "I’m 49 years old, depressed to the Nth degree, but have a lot of money." (Photo: NORM SYTARIA, AP)


So he came back to Montana to explain himself and to urge parents to delay their children’s participation in tackle football, maybe even until their senior year in high school. He argued that letting children in fifth through eighth grade participate in tackle football equates to child endangerment.

“If we can just have parents take another look at these kids and the potential dangers for the most prized possessions in their life, maybe they could put that off for a few years,” he said.

Widmer played with the Giants from 1992 to 1999, finishing with 271 tackles, 7.5 sacks and four interceptions. He was a standout defensive lineman at Montana State from 1987-91.