&gt; <i>If football came into being today, people would riot in the streets. Who would pay money to watch mostly lower-class, mostly black[1] players permanently damage each other&#x27;s brains and bodies?</i><p>Mixed Martial Arts is a very popular sport which is exactly this (maybe not the &#x27;mostly black&#x27; part), and as a spectator sport in the US has only really risen recently. No rioting in the streets against it yet.<p>Also, given your criticisms, how do you find football more repugnant than professional boxing, given that the latter&#x27;s explicit goal is to literally beat your opponent into submission?