Tag: football

Is it just coincidence that Army starts winning football games after it allegedly drops standards for its football players?:

The Army football team and the United States Military Academy have come under fire for the second time in two weeks after another report by The Daily Beast was released Friday, accusing West Point of letting its “most high-profile players operate under a different set of rules than typical cadets.”

The report cites “failing classes, openly disregarding rules and avoiding discipline” among the academy’s football players.  (…..)

The Daily Beast said it viewed internal e-mails stating football players frequently required special summer courses to maintain eligibility.

According to the report, 11 members of the football team attended a house party at an Airbnb rental in Garrison, leaving post without permission, and some had violated restrictions, the report says. The rental was vandalized, according to the report. Captains Ahmad Bradshaw and John Voit are listed in the report as attending the party.

The Daily Beast also reported that senior wide receiver Jeff Ejekam missed the first two games of the season stemming from an arrest in June for driving while impaired in North Carolina. Eight Army football players have been enrolled in the Academy Substance Abuse Program since August, the report says.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link, but if true I definitely do not agree that a cadet who gets a DUI should be allowed to remain at West Point considering how many active duty soldiers I have seen have their careers ended by a DUI.

Instead of going to the Army to solve their concussion problem, the easiest thing the NFL could do is get rid of helmets.  If players were not wearing helmets they would not lead with their head as much and use it as a weapon against opposing players.  It would be interesting research to see what the concussion rate is between NFL players and professional rugby players who do not wear helmets:

The NFL’s quest to become safer has extended to an Army lab at Aberdeen Proving Ground, where rubbery, fluid-filled straps tether a crash test dummy’s football helmet to its body. While they allow turning of the head, the straps tighten automatically under jarring blows to minimize violent head whips.

Designed by Army Research Laboratory scientists, the “smart” strap system was one of three recent winners of an open competition for funding to develop new approaches to reduce brain injuries to players.

Concussions are a billion-dollar problem for the league as a new feature film spotlights the issue and raises questions about how the NFL is trying to tackle a matter that could threaten the sport’s future.  [The Baltimore Sun]

You can read the rest at the link.