[SOLVED] Journal Assignment Ethics

Read the case study that begins on Page 224 (if you have a different version of the book than what the syllabus calls for just looking for the correct title of the Case Study) of your book titled, “Concussions in NFL”. After reading this case study write a paper that responds to the questions listed in the book. I’ve listed some outside resources you may want to look at and go beyond answering the questions in the book. This needs to be in narrative form, not question and answer form. What I mean is I don’t want to see “Question One” –then—the answer to question one, I want you to write about the issues the questions bring up.

I highly advise that you have an introduction and summary of the case study and any observations you would like to make before you begin the analysis. You also may use outside resources if you should choose to get creative. Besides answering or addressing the questions I also expect you to get outside these questions meaning be creative and address any issues you see that I haven’t addressed in these questions.

The case study is not due for two weeks, meaning it is due on the 13th of Feb. Which should indicate to you that I want a comprehensive paper on the Case Study.

Also please remember that this is a paper, not a copy and paste into the text area of the forum, it also needs a cover page, needs to be double spaced, and have a reference page that is in compliance with the guidelines set forth in the APA manual (this means at the minimum I want a cover/title page, reference page with properly formatted references and page numbers, also remember that each new paragraph needs to be indented five spaces, usually just done by either setting it up for automatically doing that in your word processor or by using the tab key). Also, there is not a minimum or maximum page length for this paper, what counts is the quality of the content and not the quantity. This paper is not due until the 13th of Feb, yes you have TWO Weeks to do it. Yes, I said it twice to make sure everyone understood that you have TWO Weeks to finish this paper.

ARTICLE
Concussions in the NFL ETHICS CASE
The NFL has known for some time that serious brain damage could be caused by the head trauma that is part of a normal football game. The sudden serious jarring of a football player’s head in normal tackling and blocking has been suspected for decades of causing lasting health problems. But it took the sensational film, Concussion (2015), about Dr. Bennet Omalu’s discovery that this head trauma was linked to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and that the NFL was covering it up for many years to raise the public’s awareness of the full extent of the problem.

Dr. Omalu, a medical examiner in Pittsburgh, began his studies in 2002. Although the NF began studying the problem in 1994, the NFL initially denied or downplayed the risks and began to introduce preventive measures only in 2009. By 2013, the NFL required players suspected of suffering concussions during a game to submit to specific sideline tests conducted by an independent neurologist before returning to play. The NFL has committed $130 million to research and has agreed to a payment of $765 million to settle a lawsuit from retired players.

Many NFL players have reportedly committed suicide because of the depression and dementia associated with the head trauma they suffered while playing the game they loved. Others have reportedly suffered CTE and other brain disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease.

According to Boston University, Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in athletes (and others) with a history of repetitive brain trauma, including symptomatic concussions as well as asymptomatic sub-concussive hits to the head… This trauma triggers progressive degeneration of the brain tissue, including the build-up of an abnormal protein called tau. These changes in the brain can begin months, years, or even decades after the last brain trauma or end of active athletic involvement.

Related: [SOLVED] Case Study and Your System of Ethics

Brain degeneration is associated with memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, impulse control problems, aggression, depression, and, eventually, progressive dementia. Although questions are continually raised about the efficacy of the NFL’s measures to protect players from head injuries, the NFL continues to play. Many owners, management, players, and fans consider CTE to be just an occupational hazard.

Questions

1. Is the NFL’s stance on controlling the harm of concussions ethical?
2. Should the NFL have moved earlier on the concussion problem? If so, when, and how?
3. If the concussion problem had been analyzed using virtue ethics, what would the analysis have included and concluded?
4. Should the NFL continue to play football? Consider consequences, impacts on rights, and virtue ethics in your answer.