Representative Ted Poe

If you haven’t been following it there is a growing body of work that talks about the effects of repeated head blows and mental disorders later in life. Some good reads on the subject. Macolm Gladwell, and this Op-Ed from the NY Times.

Representative Poe’s wife was one of my first grade teachers. I visited his court room twice while he was a judge on field trips to learn about our justice system first hand. Pretty cool stuff while you’re in elementary school.

While a judge he was featured on the national news several times for his creative punishments. He was one of those judges that made people stand around with signs that described their crime on street corners. What is this Puritan New England? Awesome.

Obviously the sport is fun to watch, but it is immoral to do this to people for our own enjoyment. If there is no way to play football without it leading to brain damage then it shouldn’t be played. An 18-year old has no conception of time, or what their desires will be in 40 years. Of course they will want to play. Why not?

If people want to play full tackle football you can’t make them stop, but this is a lot like wearing a seat belt. It is in your best interest to wear one. I am fine with destroying a sport in the interest of protecting athletes. I think we would be able to find other sports that are just as fulfilling to watch and don’t require any physical exertion or engagement on the part of the fan.

Anyway, enjoy the superbowl this weekend!