RIP Junior Seau

Junior Seau, January 19, 1969 – May 2, 2012

Hello Everyone.

Today, I had planned on reviewing the new Avengers movie. I was excited to see the advanced screening and looked forward to letting you all know how it was. I was going about my day, as we all were yesterday, and then I logged on to Facebook. 30 seconds earlier, TMZ had posted an article about the death of Junior Seau. That's when my ordinary day ended.

Being a huge sports fan, I grew up watching Junior Seau, hoping that one day, he might play for the Jets. It's funny; the other day, during the NFL Draft, I had hoped that the Jets would pick a pass rusher, and that he would be the next Junior Seau. Junior was an incredible athlete. He was a human highlight reel, and you knew that if he was in the game, you were in serious trouble. The truly amazing thing was that he was able to do this over the course of a 20 year career, which is virtually unheard of in today's NFL.

Why is it unheard of in today's NFL? Injuries. I believe the average career in the NFL is only 4 years. Sure, the superstars last for many years, but that's why they're superstars right? So many players come and go so often. Today's NFL is troubling to watch if you are a football fan. For a long time, no one cared what happened to these guys. Now, we are seeing the repercussions. 12 players from the 1994 Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl team died young, and that is way too many. The NFL has worked on player safety, but they NEED to do more. Taking away kick off returns isn't the right way of going about it.

If I remember correctly, many sports news outlets had reported that most of the head injuries in football had nothing to do with kick returns. It has to do with overly aggressive players trying to knock each other out of the game. It has to do with unsportsmanlike conduct. It has to do with a general "I don't care about you" attitude in the locker rooms. The NFL has worked hard to eliminate the head shots by handing out penalties and suspensions for head-on-head contact. This is a good start, but there needs to be more. The penalties need to be bigger, the suspensions need to be longer, and the fines need to be greater. They also need to do all they can to educate college players before they enter the NFL.

Junior Seau was a legend, on and off the field. His charitable work and all over "good guy" status is something that won't be overlooked, and shouldn't be clouded given the situation. I can only speak for myself, but watching his mother break down during the news conference was one of the most heartbreaking things I have ever seen. It was so sad, it nearly made me sick to my stomach, but not nearly as sick as I was with what followed: Junior's sister approached the microphone and asked for privacy, and asked the media not to blow this out of proportion. She asked for respect and prayers. Her request was immediately met with a reporter saying, "So, what's your name?"

That's what it is all about isn't it? The story? The scoop? Not 30 seconds after she asks for privacy and for the media to lay low. I get it, his job is to break the story, but give me a break. If I'm his employer, I am ashamed. You just watched his mother get carried away from the podium in shock and hysteria, and that was how you reacted? Give me my story? Not one other person had the guts (not the word I wanted to use, but kids read this thing) to ask a question. They remained silent throughout. In fact, if you watch the video, there seems to be an awkward silence, almost as if everyone was in shock that he continued to ask.

But that was nothing compared to how Reggie Bush reacted. If you go to his Twitter page, you'll see him saying some nice things about Junior, but keep scrolling.

What you will see is: Next thing you know we'll be playing two hand touch football! #Lame. 

This tweet came roughly 2 hours after Junior's death had been announced. You know, Junior Seau played for the Miami Dolphins, Bush's current team. Junior was also a USC alumni, just like Bush himself. You would think he would be a bit more sensitive and have a little more class. Forget the fact that this is a tragedy, and this Seau was a legend, but he is an alumni of your former school, AND formerly played for your CURRENT team. I shouldn't be surprised that this was the reaction was from someone with a spotty history to begin with, but give me a break.

Junior Seau was a football legend. He was a humanitarian, and did a lot in his community. My hope is that his legacy is not tarnished because of what happened today. What I hope comes of this is a solution to the problem. Let this be a sign to the NFL that just because a player is rich, famous, successful and seems happy, doesn't mean all is right in the world. Do what you can to keep the integrity of the game, but make the player safety a first priority. Make sure that we do all we can to see that we don't lose anymore Junior Seaus.

If you are a coach, educate your players. If you are a kid just picking up the game, learn how to play it the right way. If you are a parent of a player, remember, the game is meant to be fun. Stop living out your dreams through your 9 year old. Don't antagonize them, and teach them they smashing a kids face is the way to win. Let Junior Seau's legacy continue to grow through this. Let's hope that some good comes out of this in the future.

May Junior Seau Rest In Peace.

-Sean