With the recent injury to Miami Dolphins starting defensive end Jared Odrick, the question on whether the players or owners are in the wrong in the current holdout talks, have come to a head at this point.
Odrick suffered a hairline fracture in his fibula, and will be out somewhere between 2-6 weeks.
With this injury suffered on Opening Weekend, and multiple other injuries suffered to players around the league, and on the Dolphins so far this year it is clear that the owners are in the wrong even arguing the notion that the players should take a paycut.
These guys are out there risking their future, and present everyday, whether it is in practice, or on gameday. The injuries and the after-effects that this game cause are very dangerous. Kevin Everett was paralyzed from trying to make a tackle on special teams!
Players who suffer multiple concussions often suffer from the side effects of that for the rest of their lives, long after they are raking in the millions of dollars on their contracts.
You never see the owners suffering long after their tenure as the owner of their football team. They do not wake up in pain everyday, and in the case of Michael Strahan, have trouble bending down tie their shoes. No, they are free of all football injuries. Players on the other hand are not.
So why should the owners have the right to propose the idea of a lockout, based on the fact that they want the players to take a paycut? Why shouldn't the players ask for a raise in guaranteed money?
Remember, not all players make millions, just the starters, and some notable backups.
So what breathing room does that leave players after they retire financially? Very little.
The owners already have it made financially and obviously have enough money to run a football team in their free time. But the players are risking their personal health down the line to play a sport that is very dangerous.
As the hits and the collisions get more violent, and players are more developed athletically and physically, the danger of the sport increases, and the injuries intensify.
Even though the Odrick injury brings this to a breaking point for me, the fact of the matter is that players are getting hurt in training camp, off-season activities, and during the season, and often have lingering effects from those injuries.
The least the owners of the teams can do is pay up their players. Some die from the side effects, and some spend the rest of their lives in wheel chairs because of the game that they love.
Fortunately for the Dolphins and Odrick, that this is not the case for him in his young and promising career, but others are not so lucky.
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