Whaley started the internet on fire today

[OpIv37]

Re: Whaley started the internet on fire today

Moral compass? Please.

By this logic the President of GM should also be fired and no one should replace him. The automotive industry should be shut down due to vehicle emissions and risk of injury. Vehicles are responsible for far more injuries/deaths than the NFL. Humans are not meant to drive cars. They're also not meant to fight in the UFC or even eat french fries for that matter. Why does everyone have to be responsible for the actions of others all of the sudden? If you don't want to risk injury, don't play in the NFL. If you are willing to risk physical damage to your body/brain, Doug might be willing to give you a paycheck. Big deal.

To think anything negative about Whaley's comments is just finding another reason to moan and ache about the Bills.

I design industrial machines that are installed in factories all over the world. Many of them are in 3rd world countries obviously, because of the labor costs. I'm not the one who decides where the machines are installed, who we sell them to, and I don't have any control over the factories working conditions. Should I feel responsible for the workers who don't make a livable wage who work 16 hours a day in poor conditions? Should I quit and join the Red Cross?

That's a bit of a dubious comparison. GM's cars and your machines serve a fundamental purpose. Sure, some people will misuse them, but people misuse everything. It doesnt change their purpose or benefit.

Football is just entertainment. It's completely unnecessary. It has no fundamental purpose other than entertainment, and if Whaleh truly believes humans shouldn't do it, then he should go make his money off of one of the million other forms of entertainment that humans were meant to do.

[OpIv37]

Re: Whaley started the internet on fire today

Oh come on, Op, you're supposed to better then this. That's not an exact quote, it's one line cropped out of a paragraph answer.

You can listen to the interview yourself here: http://www.wgr550.com/Whaley-Lawson-...der-i/22753385

The Howard Simon Show: Do you worry about the number of injuries he [Watkins] has had? Is he injury prone?

Whaley: I wouldn't say that. You look at his game log, and he's only missed three games. So is he's injury prone? I wouldn't say that. With a guy like this, we hope it gets limited in the future, but this is the game of football. Injuries are part of it. It's a violent game that personally I don't think humans are supposed to play. And these things are going to come up, but we trust in our medical staff and we trust in each individual athlete to do what they have to do to get back on the field.

Nothing about that supposed context changes the fundamental nature of what he said.

[Albany,n.y.]

Re: Whaley started the internet on fire today

50+ years ago on The Jetsons, the football players of the 2060s were all robots.

[Forward_Lateral]

Re: Whaley started the internet on fire today

In 10-20 years there will be no such thing as football. It will either be some version of flag football, or something along those lines.

[Joe Fo Sho]

Re: Whaley started the internet on fire today

That's a bit of a dubious comparison. GM's cars and your machines serve a fundamental purpose. Sure, some people will misuse them, but people misuse everything. It doesnt change their purpose or benefit.

Football is just entertainment. It's completely unnecessary. It has no fundamental purpose other than entertainment, and if Whaleh truly believes humans shouldn't do it, then he should go make his money off of one of the million other forms of entertainment that humans were meant to do.

It's not a dubious comparison at all. Football might be entertainment, but it's affect on the human race is minuscule compared to the automotive industry, not to mention it only hurts people who sign up for it. Cars injure far more people and have an incredible affect on our environment, but it's OK because we can get from point A to point B fast. Plus, if you can make billions of dollars on it, it's fine right? Where do you draw the line?

Entertainment that injures hundreds yearly versus fast transportation that kills 1.3 million people per year (3,287 people daily) and injures/disables 35 million more yearly. Those 3,300 people that are killed daily are expendable though because I don't want to have to walk to work?

Don't underestimate the purpose entertainment serves in the daily lives of the people who are fortunate enough to enjoy it.

McDonald's is completely unnecessary and has a worse affect on the human race than the NFL. Should the McDonald's franchise owners close their doors so they can sleep better at night?

Should the clerk at Foot Locker quit because the shoes he/she sells are made using child/slave labor? Do Nike shoes serve a purpose that justifies that?

Where's the line? Doug Whaley deciding which handful of people should make millions of dollars and who shouldn't is nothing comparatively.

[OpIv37]

Re: Whaley started the internet on fire today

It's not a dubious comparison at all. Football might be entertainment, but it's affect on the human race is minuscule compared to the automotive industry, not to mention it only hurts people who sign up for it. Cars injure far more people and have an incredible affect on our environment, but it's OK because we can get from point A to point B fast. Plus, if you can make billions of dollars on it, it's fine right? Where do you draw the line?

Entertainment that injures hundreds yearly versus fast transportation that kills 1.3 million people per year (3,287 people daily) and injures/disables 35 million more yearly. Those 3,300 people that are killed daily are expendable though because I don't want to have to walk to work?

Don't underestimate the purpose entertainment serves in the daily lives of the people who are fortunate enough to enjoy it.

McDonald's is completely unnecessary and has a worse affect on the human race than the NFL. Should the McDonald's franchise owners close their doors so they can sleep better at night?

Should the clerk at Foot Locker quit because the shoes he/she sells are made using child/slave labor? Do Nike shoes serve a purpose that justifies that?

Where's the line? Doug Whaley deciding which handful of people should make millions of dollars and who shouldn't is nothing comparatively.

Do you see McD's executives speaking out about the obesity epidemic? Do you see Foot Locker's CEO taking a stand against child labor? Do you see GM officials warning people of the dangers of climate change?

[Bill Cody]

Re: Whaley started the internet on fire today

Nothing about that supposed context changes the fundamental nature of what he said.

I think you're being a little harsh. I think what his comments refer to specifically are the recent reports on concussions in the game. It's a picture that wasn't known much about until now and we still don't know enough. A lot of people in the game including players probably have serious concerns about the future of the sport. No doubt many privately agree with Whaley, they just didn't say it out loud. Whether Whaley were to make an ethical stand or not the real mercenaries are the NFL itself. They're like the tobacco industry, they know a lot more then they're saying and they could do a lot more to improve safety but it would shave profits. Like playing with triple lined helmets that wouldn't look nearly as cool on TV.

Maybe by being willing to say out loud that the Emperor has no clothes Whaley will make it safer for others to speak out about a conversation that needs to happen. Because the league doesn't care one whit about the cattle with numbers they profit so handsomely from, the fact that they were just recently accused of trying to influence the concussion research tells you that. It's all about power and profits. Whaley is a tiny tiny cog in the wheel. So let's not single him out for saying out loud what, in my opinion, a lot of football people actually think. With no serious action by the league on safety Whaley's comments will be looked back on as more prophetic than unethical.

[OpIv37]

Re: Whaley started the internet on fire today

I think you're being a little harsh. I think what his comments refer to specifically are the recent reports on concussions in the game. It's a picture that wasn't known much about until now and we still don't know enough. A lot of people in the game including players probably have serious concerns about the future of the sport. No doubt many privately agree with Whaley, they just didn't say it out loud. Whether Whaley were to make an ethical stand or not the real mercenaries are the NFL itself. They're like the tobacco industry, they know a lot more then they're saying and they could do a lot more to improve safety but it would shave profits. Like playing with triple lined helmets that wouldn't look nearly as cool on TV.

Maybe by being willing to say out loud that the Emperor has no clothes Whaley will make it safer for others to speak out about a conversation that needs to happen. Because the league doesn't care one whit about the cattle with numbers they profit so handsomely from, the fact that they were just recently accused of trying to influence the concussion research tells you that. It's all about power and profits. Whaley is a tiny tiny cog in the wheel. So let's not single him out for saying out loud what, in my opinion, a lot of football people actually think. With no serious action by the league on safety Whaley's comments will be looked back on as more prophetic than unethical.

Yeah well, if you want to stick to the tobacco industry analogy, Whaley's the guy making huge profits selling cigarettes at his corner store while complaining about the health effects of smoking.

If he cared that much, he'd sell something else.

[IlluminatusUIUC]

Re: Whaley started the internet on fire today

Nothing about that supposed context changes the fundamental nature of what he said.

That's not "supposed" context Mr. Weasel Words, that's the actual context. He was asked if Watkins was injury prone. He said he disagreed, because football is a violent sport that humans are not built to play, so injuries happen. And despite that, Watkins still has a good injury record, so he thought it wasn't an accurate description.

Claiming he's making some grand pronouncement about the sport and then further claiming that he's somehow unethical for continuing to work in the NFL is just ridiculous hyperbole.

[Joe Fo Sho]

Re: Whaley started the internet on fire today

Yeah well, if you want to stick to the tobacco industry analogy, Whaley's the guy making huge profits selling cigarettes at his corner store while complaining about the health effects of smoking.

If he cared that much, he'd sell something else.

When did Whaley complain or even make mention at all that he cared?

[Joe Fo Sho]

Re: Whaley started the internet on fire today

Do you see McD's executives speaking out about the obesity epidemic? Do you see Foot Locker's CEO taking a stand against child labor? Do you see GM officials warning people of the dangers of climate change?

Oh, so it's only OK if you turn a blind eye to all of the damage you're doing. That makes sense.

[sahlensguy]

Re: Whaley started the internet on fire today

It wouldn't be easy to gain a competitive edge in any line of work, in which your GM just made this comment.

Thanks Whaley.

[OpIv37]

Re: Whaley started the internet on fire today

That's not "supposed" context Mr. Weasel Words, that's the actual context. He was asked if Watkins was injury prone. He said he disagreed, because football is a violent sport that humans are not built to play, so injuries happen. And despite that, Watkins still has a good injury record, so he thought it wasn't an accurate description.

Claiming he's making some grand pronouncement about the sport and then further claiming that he's somehow unethical for continuing to work in the NFL is just ridiculous hyperbole.

Claiming his statement doesn't have broader implications because he mentioned Watkins is being intentionally obtuse. Claiming it isn't unethical to profit off something he admits is harmful is just ridiculous.

[Bill Cody]

Re: Whaley started the internet on fire today

Yeah well, if you want to stick to the tobacco industry analogy, Whaley's the guy making huge profits selling cigarettes at his corner store while complaining about the health effects of smoking.

If he cared that much, he'd sell something else.

Ok I see your take. The difference to me is if you grow up loving the game, built a career in it and then when you've found success you learn some harsh truths about player safety it's not easy to let go. Could you? Maybe he's still hopeful of some advances in safety, unlike tobacco where there's not much you can do with a cigarette.

[OpIv37]

Re: Whaley started the internet on fire today

Oh, so it's only OK if you turn a blind eye to all of the damage you're doing. That makes sense.

I didn't say it makes it OK. Them being wrong too doesn't make Whaley right, and at least they're not being hypocrytes about it