John Madden and Ronnie Lott to jointly head NFL Player Safety Panel
The new player safety panel recently set up by the NFL would be led by hall of famers, John Madden and Ronnie Lott. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has appointed the two men as co-chairmen of the Advisory Panel for Player Safety.
The body consisting of former players and coaches would make safety recommendations to commissioner. NFL’s executive vice president, in a written statement said that the league had been fondling with the idea of forming an independent body for months now.
“It is consistent with Commissioner Goodell's ongoing priority to always seek the views of players and coaches on football matters,” the statement read.
Other panel members include former coach Marty Schottenheimer and former general manager Ernie Accorsi. The co-chairmen spoke to the press after the announcement. Madden said that the goal of the panel would be to get ‘everyone on the same page.’ He added
that they would talk to current players and coaches and move ahead of what can’t be done in a football game and look at how the game can be played safely.
“Football is a tough game, the NFL is tough,” Madden stated. “Guys are big and fast and strong and there are violent hits. It's a violent game. Within that, how can we make it safer?” He further added that removing violent hits altogether from the game was
not possible and was not the kind of solution the panel would seek. He said that the game could be made safer without taming its ferocity and he wanted to be a part of that effort.
The tasks assigned to the panel include reviewing NFL’s player safety rules and equipment standards, among other things. Lott said that collecting information was the first step towards creating a ‘smarter league.’ He said that the game needs to be better
understood and all the issues that aren’t as well understood need to be promptly identified.
Madden and Lott would not only draw on the experience and input of the panel members but would also speak to current players and coaches. Everything from the offseason, training camps, preseason and regular season would be carefully scrutinized. One of the
possible avenues of improving safety is the expansion of the football field. Madden said that the players are bigger and faster than they have ever been but are still playing on the same sized field. Expanding its parameters might improve safety, Madden said.
“I would like to look at NFL stadiums today and could we do that?”
The NFL took a stringent approach to player safety in the regular season when it began handing out heavy fines to players it found to be in violation of player safety rules. The fines continued and the league was accused of many things including the accusation
that the league officials didn’t understand the concerns of the players on the field and were harsher on defensive players.
During the past weeks and months, players have asked the league to let current players be part of the NFL’s policy making regarding disciplinary action and safety rules but the league rejected the suggestion out of hand at the time. While current players
would still not be a part of the process, through Madden and Lott, players could finally voice their concerns and contribute to the process of making the game safer while also maintaining its essence.
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