ATHLETICS
MAXIMUM IMPACT
Jessup Business School Faculty respond to NFL Brain-Injury Controversy from a perspective of Healthy and Ethical Free Market Business Practices.
Hollywood Producer Ridley Scott, most known for recent blockbusters like The Martian and classics like Alien, and Blade Runner, brought a more controversial and somewhat unpopular subject to moviegoers this past year with the Will Smith release, “Concussion.”
The film tells the story of a Nigerian forensic pathologist, Dr. Omalu, who discovered a neurological deterioration similar to Alzheimer’s disease in NFL athletes who sustained repeated football- related head trauma. Dr. Omalu’s influence as a neurosurgeon
rivals his influence as a Christian as he tells Christianity Today, “I prayed that God would give me wisdom. I am about the humanity of science, the players, because we’re dealing with lives here.” After publishing research in medical journals and gaining increasing notoriety in media coverage resulting in the release of the major motion-picture, Omalu encouraged, “This film reaffirms that faith can change anything. He is a God that makes impossible things possible.” The film did succeed in changing the
climate of the conversation between the public and the NFL, and inserted an unlikely degree of ministry into the heart of the exchange.
"After near 30 years in the NFL with 1000s of players and 100s of coaches, I am convinced pro football is both a great game and violent sport – but its maximum impact comes from ministry. Having personally buried several players (most recently Junior Seau, confirmed to have suffered from CTE), it raises concerns about the demands on athletes who, in society, are put on par with rock stars. But as Christian leaders on and off the field, they do it all to the glory of God."
- Shawn Mitchell (Pro Sports Chaplain, Longest Tenured in NFL)
At Jessup, Drs. Roger Salstrom and Manuel Salazar III joined forces to respond to an issue that bleeds well beyond the 100 yards of turf that sets the stage for “America’s Favorite Pastime” and into the arenas of ethical business practices, challenging our moral fiber.
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Dr. Roger Salstrom grew up in Indiana and started watching football at an early age. His first hero was Johnny Unitas and he continued to be a big fan watching Purdue beat Notre Dame three out his four years in college. Dr. Manuel Salazar was a native Northern Californian raised on Joe Montana
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and the 49ers. He played high school football and later would initiate a football program as a High School Principal and watch his own two sons play for those teams. Both professors’ perspectives were
challenged in recent years, on the impact of football as we know it, from intramural to the pros. For Roger, it was a family member initially diagnosed with Frontotemporal Dementia who died a couple years ago. For Manuel, a business professor interested in ethical and effective free market principles, it was personal research on injuries and loss of life that began to change his perspective about the game he loved.
ARE FOOTBALL PLAYERS THE MODERN DAY GLADIATORS?
Ancient Gladiators were sent to fight wild animals, criminals or simply other gladiators, mainly for the entertainment of the spectators. Most of the participants died. With football, very rarely does anyone die on the field, but has there been so much damage to the participants that they die significantly younger due to brain injuries? The history of gladiators started as early
as 264 BC and largely stopped after the martyrdom of Saint Telemachus in 404 AD who went to Rome and pleaded to the Gladiators “In the Name of Christ, stop.” The spectators stoned him to death but his
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