Legendary agent Lee Steinberg believes that despite Damar Hamlin’s panic, NFL players will return to business as usual due to “denial” of risks.

Damar Hamlin, defenseman for the Buffalo Bills, is already at home after survived near-certain death from cardiac arrest on the field during a match on 2 January. against the Bengals in Cincinnati in front of a global audience at a traditional Monday Night Football game.

It was a moment that not only touched the public and tested the NFL, but sparked a surge of awareness—even humanization—of the risks that football players take in every game.

Legendary The athlete’s agent, Lee Steinberg, who has represented hundreds of players in the NFL and other sports, said the crash garnered a lot of good response. from Hamlin: immediate cancellation of the game, unity and solidarity within the NFL in support of one of them, and, of course, a noble response from the public.

But Steinberg, the agent who inspired the Tom Cruise-starring Jerry Maguire story and for which he was a special advisor, says what happened that night in Cincinnati is a reminder of the impressive force at play. and the associated risks.

“On TV, it’s like a video game: there are no sounds of blows between the bodies, the fans don’t hear it. The only real way to understand the power and strength of shots among specially trained players who are bigger, stronger and faster is to be on the sidelines.and professional football is essentially a traffic accident in every game,” notes Steinberg.

Steinberg, in an interview with La Opinión from his Los Angeles office, says that while there has not been a single on-field death in professional football in recent decades, there is a possibility that it could happen in every game.

Steinberg: NFL players block injury risk

Will the way players play the sport change after the dramatic Damar Hamlin episode? Legendary agent Lee Steinberg doesn’t think so.

“I don’t think so, because the player will return to his usual style of play and will play as always,” he explains. “Because playing this sport is primarily about denying the reality of the health risks.”

Steinberg adds: “I think for the players it was shock for their systems to see the situation of life or death [en el campo]. This risk is always there, and these players take risks and block the possibility of injury… These are young people who deny their health and athletes who deny their health.”.

The man who has represented a record number of NFL draft picks and superstars like Patrick Mahomes believes that once the fear of Hamlin is over, players will return to their mentality and play the same way.

Emphasis on making American football as safe as possible

However, Steinberg believes the NFL can implement a number of modifications and implementations to reduce the risk of new Hamlin-like episodes and “make the game as safe as possible.”

In that sense, the rules regarding helmet-to-helmet strikes, legal/illegal strikes, and concussion protocol will remain, yes, putting more pressure on teams’ medical specialists. Steinberg estimates that there will be more implementations.

“Eventually it will be like collegiate sports where there are teams that don’t have pre-season scrums and they don’t have scrums during the week. preparation, and it can greatly reduce concussions and other injuries. Kicks are reserved for the match,” says Steinberg. “Rethink the 17-game schedule and see if it’s a good idea. Maybe reduce the number of preseason games from three to two.”

In addition, he believes that NFL teams should use new neurological treatments to better protect the body and recover faster.

Read more:
“Damar Hamlin survived, but 18 years ago, tragedy struck on a field in Los Angeles.
– An emotional tribute to Buffalo players and fans to Damar Hamlin.
– After the end of the 2022 season, this is the NFL playoff schedule.