By David Sutton and Stephanie Snyder
Staff Writer and Reporter
From peewee football to the NFL, football players are taught that getting hurt is all part of the game. Adam Bogdan, a North Central College student and athlete, was taught this mindset throughout his entire football career.
“A lot of it is just the culture of sports. I think most athletes will suffer through a minor injury, or something that they don’t know is major, so they can do what they love,” said Bogdan.
During his freshman year, Bogdan sustained an injury to his hip during a football practice. Upon seeing the athletic director, who is no longer employed at North Central, he was informed that the injury was just a bruise and Bogdan continued the season.
“There were times when the pain was excruciating, but it wasn’t like I was going to stop doing what I was doing. I went through summer football camp and it still hurt and I noticed that I was slower and had trouble sinking my hips,” Bogdan said.
After collapsing while weight training in his sophomore year season, Bogdan decided to seek professional medical advice based on an athletic trainer’s recommendation. He was told he would need surgery on a torn labrum. After receiving surgery, Bogdan was forced to miss the fall football season of his junior year.
Bogdan doesn’t hold the school or trainer, who wrongly advised him, accountable. Instead he places the blame on the football mentality of working through the pain.
Sara Koski, North Central head athletic trainer, agrees the “no pain, no gain” ideology is at fault. “Since an early age kids are taught to ‘walk it off’ or ‘rub some dirt on it,’ and this mentality stays with the athlete.”
Koski, who implemented drug testing and concussion protocols at her previous employer, says it is important for an athletic trainer to build trust with the coaches, which in turn would make athletes less hesitant to seek treatment.
“I realize the game is important,” Koski says, “but is it more important than picking up your grandkids at sixty?”
However, the tide may be turning on the football culture as athletes are openly discussing the problem in the mainstream media. Brandon Marshall, a receiver for the Chicago Bears, spoke about football culture during a recent press conference.
“A little boy falls down and the first thing we say as parents is ‘Get up, shake it off. When a little girl falls down we say, ‘It’s going to be OK.’ and validate their feelings.” Marshall states, “We’re teaching our men to mask their feelings… it’s that times 100 with football players. You can’t show that you’re hurt, you can’t show any pain… That’s what I mean by the culture of the NFL. And that’s what we have to change.
