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Harsh Lessons...

Cleon

King of the Pod People
Cleon
Joined
Aug 28, 2001
Messages
25,649
Location
Atlanta, GA
I grew up in the fine city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Like everyone else from Da Burgh, I am a hard-core Steelers (actual prunounciation: "stillers") fan.

Today, it seems, the Stillers' starting QB, "Big" Ben Roethlisberger, got himself into a pretty nasty motorcycle accident. It seems Ben doesn't like wearing a motorcycle helmet, something that even coach Bill Cowher had to yell at him about.

Now, as it happens, I am a biker. My baby is a 1999 BMW R1100GS--a fantastic piece of machinery that I've been very happy with. I've been riding for about five years, not long by most standards. What Big Ben learned today is something I could've told him the moment I first sat down on a Honda Nighthawk--if you don't wear a helmet, you're a $%^&ing moron. End of story.

I've dropped a bike at speed--let me tell you, it wasn't any fun. I fully credit my full-face helmet and my First Gear protective suit with my ability to walk away from it. Had I not been wearing them, my flesh would've been spread across the road in lovely Crabapple, Georgia.

It's not a question of "individual rights," "feeling the wind in your hair," or any other such excuses. It's simple. There are many, many ways to wind up in a wreck on your bike. If you ride a bike for a long time, chances are it will happen. A bike is not a car--it's much, much, much easier to die from even a minor wreck. Wearing a helmet, with other protective gear, does wonders for your survival chances in those situations. To not do so isn't "manly" or any other such nonsense, it's simply stupid.

I hope the first thing Big Ben hears when coming out of surgery is Bill Cowher saying, "told you so, dumbass!"
 
casebro said:
When news comes out soon that he had no head trauma, I''ll be the one saying:
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It won't happen. More accurately, we already know that he had significant head trauma.

According to one of the local witnesses, he was seriously disoriented by the accident.

"He asked where he was at," the eyewitness recalled. "He didn't know what city he was in. He kept trying to get up. I told him to just lie down," the witness said.
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Speaking as a former EMT, when an accident victim doesn't know what city he's in, he is either drugged out of his mind, or he has head trauma.

Now, of course, he might recover fully. Head trauma is not the same as lasting or persistant head trauma. I hope for his own sake -- damn the team, but I hate to see a young kid mess himself up this way -- that he does recover fully.
 
I'm hearing he has a broken jaw and he lost a bunch of teeth. As Myron Cope would say "Yoy and double yoy."
 
Cleon said:
if you don't wear a helmet, you're a $%^&ing moron. End of story.
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For the most part I agree. Certainly Ben Roethlisberger fits the "$%^&ing moron" bill. I will say though that there are times and places in which a well experienced rider can forgo a helmet and still be what I would call reasonably safe. In downtown traffic, as in this situation, is not the place to be without a helmet. On an open road with little or no traffic and you are not hot rodding it, would be OK. You are still accepting an increased level of risk but that will have to be your call. And don't go crying about it when you hit that bit of loose gravel or road groove and scrape a tattoo off.
 
casebro said:
When news comes out soon that he had no head trauma, I''ll be the one saying:
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Wow! Good thinking there! How long did that take to come up with?

It was immediately released that there was trauma. But to be more accurate:

The extent of his injuries was not known, although the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported that police said Roethlisberger lost most of his teeth, fractured his left sinus cavity bone, suffered a 9-inch laceration to the back of his head and a broken jaw, and severely injured both of his knees.
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I'm sure that a helmet PROBABLY would have helped on all of those injuries except the knees.
 
Do NFL players have "no-risk" clauses in their contracts? I know Aaron Boone had a "no motorcycle" clause in his contract with the Yankees. He got in trouble for violating it.
 
pgwenthold said:
Do NFL players have "no-risk" clauses in their contracts? I know Aaron Boone had a "no motorcycle" clause in his contract with the Yankees. He got in trouble for violating it.
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I am always amazed that people get paid fortunes to throw a ball around and then asked for some overly complex things like: don't smoke marijuana or don't ride a motorcycle, and yet fail to do so.
 
Grammatron said:
I am always amazed that people get paid fortunes to throw a ball around and then asked for some overly complex things like: don't smoke marijuana or don't ride a motorcycle, and yet fail to do so.
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I think asking him not to ride would be unreasonable. (I don't much see the point in the pot thing, either, but that's another issue.)

All Cowher did was ask Ben to wear a $%^&ing helmet. That's not only a reasonable request, that's the smart thing to do. Ben, however, blew off his coach. Which is almost as dumb as not wearing a helmet. ;)
 
Grammatron said:
I am always amazed that people get paid fortunes to throw a ball around and then asked for some overly complex things like: don't smoke marijuana or don't ride a motorcycle, and yet fail to do so.
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Actually, I don't think the teams have very much interest in whether the players smoke marijuana (so long as they don't come to play while under the influence). That's a league issue, and it is solely about appearances.

Motorcycles, otoh, are a direct concern of the team because a motorbike wreck can invalidate their investment in a hurry. How soon will it be before Rothlesberger gets back on the football field? Certainly not in time for July camp.
 
pgwenthold said:
Do NFL players have "no-risk" clauses in their contracts? I know Aaron Boone had a "no motorcycle" clause in his contract with the Yankees. He got in trouble for violating it.
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Boone actually hurt himself playing pick-up basketball. But most contracts come with a "no risk-taking" clause that allows the team to wipe its hands from the athlete if he/she is injured. Hence Jeff Kent saying he broke his wrist "washing my truck".
 
wastepanel said:
Boone actually hurt himself playing pick-up basketball. But most contracts come with a "no risk-taking" clause that allows the team to wipe its hands from the athlete if he/she is injured. Hence Jeff Kent saying he broke his wrist "washing my truck".
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Whoops, you are right.

OTOH, Boone even had a "no basketball" clause in his contract.

You are correct it was Kent who had the motorcycle wreck.
 
wastepanel said:
Boone actually hurt himself playing pick-up basketball. But most contracts come with a "no risk-taking" clause that allows the team to wipe its hands from the athlete if he/she is injured. Hence Jeff Kent saying he broke his wrist "washing my truck".
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I guess if it wasn't for the police report Roethlisberger could have claimed he was changing a lightbulb.
 
wastepanel said:
I'm surprised noone has claimed that the woman responsible for the accident was a Bengal's fan. She better be moving NOW!
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No, Bengals fans (both of them) just get laughed at. In Pittsburgh, the thing to do is not wear brown. :)
 
Grammatron said:
I am always amazed that people get paid fortunes to throw a ball around and then asked for some overly complex things like: don't smoke marijuana or don't ride a motorcycle, and yet fail to do so.
Click to expand...
Heard on the radio coming home, they were replaying an interview with Terry Bradshaw from last season, where Bradshaw told him, essentially, "Look, you play football another 15 years, you retire, you're still in your thirties, and then you can ride your bike all you want. Why risk a multimillion dollar career?"

When Terry Bradshaw has to be your voice of hardheaded logic and good sense, you obviously have a learning disability.

Severely injured both of his knees. Yep, that'll work wonders for his career.
 
pgwenthold said:
Whoops, you are right.

OTOH, Boone even had a "no basketball" clause in his contract.

You are correct it was Kent who had the motorcycle wreck.
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Kellen Winslow Jr. blew out his knee riding a motorcycle last summer.
Not sure if he had a no-motorcycle clause in his contract, as the sources I googled only said the Bengals do not provide that information.

Even he was smart enough to wear a helmet...
 
pgwenthold said:
Do NFL players have "no-risk" clauses in their contracts? I know Aaron Boone had a "no motorcycle" clause in his contract with the Yankees. He got in trouble for violating it.
Click to expand...
Some do, some don't. I heard on the radio today that Roethlisberger did not have such a clause in his contract.
 
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