Big-time sports in every culture have always included the same dangers, and deaths are not particularly rare. Hugh school football kills a few boys nearly year—but it’s not on national tv. Concussive brain injuries show up in the lives of rugby, soccer, and hockey players in amateur and pro sports regularly. Hearts are stopped by impacts to the chest in nearly all sports involving running, hard sticks and balls. The issue isn’t capitalism. Maybe it’s not even an issue. Athletes, amateur or pro, male or female, love the competition and thrill of being part of a team and struggling to win. I did from age 8-30, and only stopped after fracturing my tibia playing club rugby. Thereafter I went for less aggressive sports like basketball, but I always loved the thrill of the team, the companionship and dependence on others, and the love of competition. I never was good enough to be capitalistic about it. Sport has been a significant part of every culture in history. That some make money from it is only a modern adaptation that allows more folks to live vicariously watching the skills of others doing what we cannot. I pray for his recovery, not for the end of his love of the game.