A veteran observer of the college football scene states, in no uncertain terms, that Stanford star running back Bryce Love should not play in this Saturday's Big Game against California, citing concerns for, among other things, the player's health and well-being.
The comments are being made in a respected on-line publication that, while usually concentrating on college football, often deals with greater societal issues and is read by -- and features contributions from -- a cross-section of learned, successful, good-looking individuals from all walks of life.
"Bryce Love has a brilliant future in front of him, yet he has been hampered by injuries lately", the writer notes. "He has nothing left to prove this week and should rest his body and begin to prepare for his career at the next level. It's a fifty-year decision." The writer also believes that the precedent for sitting out a game like this was set by the Stanford rugby team that forfeited their game against Cal, citing safety concerns and was further cemented when Love's predecessor, Christian McCaffrey, sat out their bowl game only last year, to rest and prepare for the NFL.
While acknowledging no formal training in medicine or football, the writer has personally TAKEN medicine hundreds of times and played tackle football on numerous occasions at the sandlot level. The publication, however, features daily writings from such people as doctors, past and present football coaches and at least one physical therapist for college athletics and each written submission often goes through something of a peer-review critiquing process, which could maybe conceivably be compared to that of respected medical journals such as the Lancet and the New England Journal of Medicine, though with a much broader perspective. The writer's comments about Bryce Love, as of this writing, have sailed through without objection.
As mainstream sports journalists have been known to mine this publication for ideas and information, we can no doubt expect Stanford Coach David Shaw to be soon publicly confronted with the following question: "Coach, when deciding if Bryce Love will play this Saturday, how do you balance one football game against a young man's future?" Shaw, increasingly dismissive in the face of any criticism, may finally be forced to come forward and explain his ever-more-erratic decision-making. Meanwhile, his star player mulls over the life that awaits him.
The comments are being made in a respected on-line publication that, while usually concentrating on college football, often deals with greater societal issues and is read by -- and features contributions from -- a cross-section of learned, successful, good-looking individuals from all walks of life.
"Bryce Love has a brilliant future in front of him, yet he has been hampered by injuries lately", the writer notes. "He has nothing left to prove this week and should rest his body and begin to prepare for his career at the next level. It's a fifty-year decision." The writer also believes that the precedent for sitting out a game like this was set by the Stanford rugby team that forfeited their game against Cal, citing safety concerns and was further cemented when Love's predecessor, Christian McCaffrey, sat out their bowl game only last year, to rest and prepare for the NFL.
While acknowledging no formal training in medicine or football, the writer has personally TAKEN medicine hundreds of times and played tackle football on numerous occasions at the sandlot level. The publication, however, features daily writings from such people as doctors, past and present football coaches and at least one physical therapist for college athletics and each written submission often goes through something of a peer-review critiquing process, which could maybe conceivably be compared to that of respected medical journals such as the Lancet and the New England Journal of Medicine, though with a much broader perspective. The writer's comments about Bryce Love, as of this writing, have sailed through without objection.
As mainstream sports journalists have been known to mine this publication for ideas and information, we can no doubt expect Stanford Coach David Shaw to be soon publicly confronted with the following question: "Coach, when deciding if Bryce Love will play this Saturday, how do you balance one football game against a young man's future?" Shaw, increasingly dismissive in the face of any criticism, may finally be forced to come forward and explain his ever-more-erratic decision-making. Meanwhile, his star player mulls over the life that awaits him.
