thedrifter
02-03-09, 06:28 AM
Real 'Gladiators' and Their Scars
Tuesday, February 3, 2009; A14
Wendy MacLeod's Jan. 28 op-ed, "The Price Our Gladiators Pay," was stunning in its wrongheadedness.
Don't get me wrong: I love football as much as the next person -- maybe more. But it is simply indefensible to place football players, with their exorbitant lifestyles and salaries, on such a high pedestal.
Let me offer a category of "gladiators" who are perhaps more deserving of adulation: the Marines, soldiers, airmen and sailors who have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries, concussions and other grievous consequences of combat are at epic levels in the U.S. military, and the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments are struggling under the weight of the requirements imposed by the scars of war borne by these returning heroes.
The difference between these patriots and NFL players? The injuries of service members are not offset by six- and seven-figure salaries. Rather, most are young men and women who enlisted or accepted commissions out of a sense of duty and honor, or to avail themselves of educational and professional opportunities not otherwise available to them. These warriors come home, broken and bleeding, to the arms of a mostly, but perhaps superficially, grateful nation, and they must make do without the comforts of Bentleys, mansions or millions of adoring fans.
Rather than elevating professional athletes who willingly trade off their health for riches, it would be refreshing to see a more exalted status for our returning warriors, who may bear their wounds for life, or render the ultimate sacrifice for their countrymen, out of duty and honor.
ROB BRACKNELL
Norfolk
The writer is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Ellie
Tuesday, February 3, 2009; A14
Wendy MacLeod's Jan. 28 op-ed, "The Price Our Gladiators Pay," was stunning in its wrongheadedness.
Don't get me wrong: I love football as much as the next person -- maybe more. But it is simply indefensible to place football players, with their exorbitant lifestyles and salaries, on such a high pedestal.
Let me offer a category of "gladiators" who are perhaps more deserving of adulation: the Marines, soldiers, airmen and sailors who have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries, concussions and other grievous consequences of combat are at epic levels in the U.S. military, and the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments are struggling under the weight of the requirements imposed by the scars of war borne by these returning heroes.
The difference between these patriots and NFL players? The injuries of service members are not offset by six- and seven-figure salaries. Rather, most are young men and women who enlisted or accepted commissions out of a sense of duty and honor, or to avail themselves of educational and professional opportunities not otherwise available to them. These warriors come home, broken and bleeding, to the arms of a mostly, but perhaps superficially, grateful nation, and they must make do without the comforts of Bentleys, mansions or millions of adoring fans.
Rather than elevating professional athletes who willingly trade off their health for riches, it would be refreshing to see a more exalted status for our returning warriors, who may bear their wounds for life, or render the ultimate sacrifice for their countrymen, out of duty and honor.
ROB BRACKNELL
Norfolk
The writer is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Ellie