Soulfish,
Remember these guys often start their journey into the NFL at the age of 9, maybe 10.
The commitment requires evenings, summers and years. By the time they hit the NFL they probably committed 10 years to this, if not more. My friend had a kid that played safety for the University of Washington. They don't get to pick their classes, and many instances not even their doctor. It is an investment of years to an opportunity few actually can reach.
Now remember that while we knew about concussions, the actual impact and depth of the problem + who it impacts was not clear until maybe the past 5 years. Maybe 3.
I work in technology. If tomorrow computers just stopped working, or I could no longer work in tech? I would be screwed. They kind of face the same issue if you take away football from them.
Consider a kid that devoted that many years taking the single track to star college and hopefully NFL. Then find out that the danger is that large? But what choice does he have?
A lot of these kids do not have other options and it isn't their choice.
Given that, wouldn't you be OK with 'watering down' the game a bit in de-emphasizing the physical aspect to emphasize the athletic instead?
Football was and sometimes still is about the ability to inflict and endure pain/punishment. But I can still get behind a game that is more about fantastic runs, amazing catches, or a tremendous effort batting away the ball. Especially if that means more of them can remember the names of their wives later or don't become violent with family members later. (Read up on what happens to these guys and how it affects their families. Trust me, there is no way they signed up for that and it is ridiculous the NFL hid what it knew for so long)
