The NFL is trying to make the sport of football safer for the players who are usually protected by pads, helmets, and expert training in how to tackle safely. In all sports, the issue of injury and dangers to the health of players are taking center stage, even rugby union is struggling under a series of injuries as players become faster and stronger. Similar issues are seen in football where the NFL biggest hits are talked about in terms of concussion protocols in 2019.
Lawrence Taylor and Joe Theismann
The clash between the New York Giants and Washington was once a highlight of every season as the two teams were at the very top of the NFL. In the early 1980s, Theismann was a legendary Super Bowl-winning quarterback who had won one and lost one game for the Lombardi Trophy. By 1985, Theismann was a veteran who was hoping to leave his career with a third trip to the Super Bowl when an attempted fleaflicker play failed spectacularly and ended the career of the former Notre Dame quarterback under coach Joe Gibbs. The GIants Lawrence Taylor dragged Theismann to the ground and accidentally pushed his knee onto the leg of the quarterback who suffered a compound fracture. The hit became known as “the hit nobody will ever forget.”
Darryl Stingley is severely injured
Jack Tayum was known as one of the hardest defensive hitters the NFL has ever seen and proved this in a preseason game against the New England Patriots. Wide Receiver Darryl Stingley was left with a spinal cord injury that left him a quadriplegic following the 1978 hit by Tatum. Despite the injury from one of the NFL biggest hits in history, Tatum maintained the hit was legal as he led with his shoulder and not his head in a legitimate statement. Stingley would go on to become a leader in the fight for disability payments for retired NFL players before dying of pneumonia. Visit Domain for more information.
