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From: tewok@umcp-cs.UUCP (Uncle Wayne)
Newsgroups: net.social,net.women
Subject: Re: Team Sports, an observation (and a plug for bridge)
Message-ID: <3357@umcp-cs.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 11-Sep-86 13:37:51 EDT
Article-I.D.: umcp-cs.3357
Posted: Thu Sep 11 13:37:51 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 13-Sep-86 05:40:53 EDT
References: <1127@mit-trillian.MIT.EDU>
Reply-To: tewok@umcp-cs.UUCP (Uncle Wayne)
Organization: University of Maryland, Dept. of Computer Sci.
Lines: 32
Xref: watmath net.social:1390 net.women:12759

In my first year of high school, I decided to go out for the football
team.  I went to one day of practice and didn't go back.  The defensive
coach told us that when we were coming in to block someone, we should
bring our arms up hard underneath the face mask.  This would snap the
person's had back and throw the person off balance.  This has been known
to do such nasty stuff as cause paralysis when the back of the helmet
impacts with the spine.  The coach then told us not to tell anyone he
had told us that, since it was illegal to do so.  I decided then and
there that I didn't want to have anything to do with someone or some
system that cared so little about legality, let alone personal safety.
I started at the same high school that Len Bias went to.  If anyone 
has been following the news about the Len Bias case, you might remember
that one of his high school coaches was possibly going to be indicted
in the case.  I don't remember for absolutely certain if this guy was
the one who told us that, but if it wasn't him, it could only have been
one other of the other coaches.

In my naivete, I couldn't believe that they would risk permanently
injuring someone just to win a game.  In the years since then, I've
lost more and more of my idealism due to similar happenings.  I guess
in the case of pro sports and money, anything is legal unless you're caught.
-- 

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"I love the feel of plastic.  It makes me hot!!!"	- T. J. Tarou


	Wayne Morrison				ARPA: tewok@brillig
	Parallel Computation Lab		UUCP: seismo!umcp-cs!tewok
	University of Maryland
	(301)454-7690