NBC took Bob Costas off the Super Bowl for speaking out about concussions
For anyone who has ever wondered why American Football is so popular in the US in spite of being fairly boring to watch (and in spite of being fairly unpopular nearly everywhere else in the world), the NFL receives significant funding every year from the US Government and is part of the PR strategy to promote military enlistment as a patriotic act (1).<p>I&#x27;d argue that many Americans view watching football to itself be a patriotic act.<p>NBC removing Costas for speaking out about the injuries is significant because increased awareness of concussive and spinal column injuries would have no negative impact on the entertainment value of the sport. Nobody wants to see athletes who have worked their entire lives to get to the NFL suffer career ending injuries.<p>So why suppress Costas? His effort to spread awareness was viewed as undermining the foundation of the game. The idea that the athletes are extremely tough, etc.  Worrying about injuries makes the game less manly, and it is the association with manly duty and physical strength that makes the tie-in with military and patriotism so powerful.<p>It&#x27;s really absurd how Football announcers have these gruff, hyper-masculine voices and how the entire sport coalesces nearly every negative aspect of masculinity and bro culture (2).<p>In reality, the NFL has blocked overhead cameras from the telecast (3) because they would reveal significant coaching and execution mistakes that would make the sport seem far less professional.<p>1) <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;thinkprogress.org&#x2F;nfl-dod-national-anthem-6f682cebc7cd&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;thinkprogress.org&#x2F;nfl-dod-national-anthem-6f682cebc7...</a><p>2) <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;theconversation.com&#x2F;big-game-days-in-college-football-linked-with-sexual-assault-92725" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;theconversation.com&#x2F;big-game-days-in-college-football...</a><p>3) <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.theatlantic.com&#x2F;entertainment&#x2F;archive&#x2F;2012&#x2F;01&#x2F;what-the-nfl-wont-show-you&#x2F;252240&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.theatlantic.com&#x2F;entertainment&#x2F;archive&#x2F;2012&#x2F;01&#x2F;wh...</a>