It’s amusing (in a sad way) that the biggest story from the NFL last week was that a couple of New York Giants faked injuries to disrupt The Rams’ hurry-up offense. It was a minor footnote blown up into a huge sensation and the sport’s biggest story, a parallel one, was all but ignored. And that’s because sports reporters are part of the same machinery as the NFL, more concerned with keeping the cash register humming than offering any rational analysis.

Last Sunday, quarterback Michael Vick received a concussion  and bit his tongue so badly that he was spitting up blood on the field. QB Tony Romo was also seriously injured and this (approximate) sentence was uttered on the NFL Network on Tuesday: “It’s been learned that Romo suffered a collapsed lung as well as cracked ribs. It’s not sure if he will play on Monday.”

The question sports reporters are asking: Will Romo play this Monday? The question they should be asking: Why the hell would Romo be playing this Monday? Why would he be playing a brutal car-crash sport just eight days after his lung–a vital organ–stopped working because it was so severely damaged in an on-the-field injury? I’m assuming a couple of talking heads asked these latter questions, but I guarantee they were in the vast minority. That’s because few people care about the players’ health and everyone cares about the violent diversion and, especially, the money. And, yes, Romo was just cleared to play this Monday.

I know there are other people in our society who risk their lives all the time, most notably members of the military, but the military is important and football is certainly not important. My assumption is this insane attitude will continue until a player dies on the field. Does anyone think that’s impossible?•

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From Rollerball, 1975: “You know how the game serves us. It has a definite social purpose.”