I was reading recently about injuries in sports: football players receiving brain damage, ligament problems for baseball players, or even sumo wrestlers dying from cardiac arrest. The articles, which I unfortunately cannot find now, were questioning whether we demand too much from our players. I think we do in some aspects, but definitely not in this case. Are they under intense pressure? Sure. But they're well compensated with their salaries. Do I expect them to live an exemplary lifestyle because they're "role models?" No, not at all. I just expect them to score points and win a game. That's their job. If they want to sleep around, fine. As long as it's not illegal, I'm okay with that.

But simultaneously they should realize there are hazards on the job. It's like asking when a soldier dies in war or when a firefighter is burned or when a policeman is shot whether we're demanding too much of them. No, it's a dangerous occupation and there's a good chance of injury. I'm not saying we shouldn't send the soldier without proper armor or the firefighter without oxygen masks or the policeman without a bulletproof vest, and we should take steps to prevent injuries in a game, like helmets, gloves, etc. But it's impossible to create a purely sanitized environment. Stuff is gonna happen. I mean, if you get tackled for a living, what the fuck do you think would happen? The same with sumo wrestling. It's two fat dudes trying to push each other out of a ring. Unless you want to stop sumo wrestling forever, the players are going to have cholesterol problems.

This isn't like the gladiators of ancient Rome where they were captured and forced to kill each other. You voluntarily enter your career choice knowing the risks. It's like a celebrity whining about paparazzi or a garbage truck driver complaining about shit. That's part of the job.