Bills general manager Doug Whaley had some pretty interesting things to say about the sport and league he owes his livelihood to on Tuesday, and now he is walking back his words.
Whaley was a guest on Buffalo radio station WGR 550 when the subject of injury-prone wide receiver Sammy Watkins came up. As the discussion carried on, Whaley eventually dropped a bombshell quote about the impact football has on the human body.
“This is the game of football,” Whaley said. “Injuries are part of it. It’s a violent game that I personally don’t think humans are supposed to play.”
This is not really a controversial opinion on its own. Questions about safety have always hovered around the sport, and these questions have only intensified as we learn more and more about the longterm effects of the game. However, this is coming from a man who is in charge of constructing an NFL roster. If even he thinks the game is inhuman, then it begs the question why it continues to be played.
This line of thinking certainly must be considered dangerous from within the NFL’s empire. As a cog in that empire, Whaley predictably walked back his comments on Wednesday.
“Clearly I used a poor choice of words in my comment yesterday morning,” Whaley said in the statement. “As a former player who has the utmost respect and love for the game, the point that I was trying to make is that football is a physical game and injuries are a part of it. Playing football no doubt is very physically, mentally and emotionally challenging, and that is all part of what makes the game so compelling to play and watch.
“The game has more protection for players now than ever, thanks largely to the safety advancements and numerous rule changes made by our league and promoted to all levels of football. I believe our game continues to have a bright future and I hope that this statement provides clarity as to the intent of my earlier comment.”
It is hard to jam toothpaste back into the tube once it has been squeezed out and Whaley jumped on this tube with both feet. What’s worse for him and the league is that his original comments were spot on, and it is hard to argue otherwise.
Whaley was plenty clear the first time. It just so happened that this clarity was an inconvenient truth, and those kinds of truths take quite a bit of time to properly acknowledge.
