OT: Darryl Stingley dies at 55

[Blueskies]

Football fans will know the name, but for those that dont...Darryl Stingley was a football player. He got paralyzed at age 26 in 1978 playing for the New England Patriots with a head on collision with Raiders player, Jack Tatum, during an exhibition game. Tatum was always accused of not apologizing to Stingley. He said he tried many times to talk to him but was blocked from doing so. He's been critized for saying he will never apologize for how he played the game. His name has become synonymous with cheap hits. This story is well known. Stingley's injury lead to increasing rules of what is or isnt a legal hit. Yes hard hitting is part of the game and the players know the risk they take to play. All players suffer injuries. They have had it drilled into them to go out and hit hard. So, is Tatum the villian? or should the NFL in their actions, and promotion of hard hitting for ratings and the money made from it be looked at and held responsible for the realities of the effects left on the players lifes. ...or the fans who want harder hitting and more and more action. These are just some questions to think about...we can sometimes forget its not just a game we watch , are entertained with for a couple hours. We need to remember that these are real people playing the game that have lives that are affected by the results of how much we endorse and support the growth of harder and more aggressive play. So is Tatum a villian? No, he played how he was taught to play and was doing his job. Are there dirty players out there taking cheap shots? Yes, they feel the pressure and need for job performance, recognition and money. So there are villians, there are dirty players, the NFL and their responsibilty to what and how much is tolerated and promoted for the game that they profit from and their responsibilty to players when they can no longer play. But ultimately it is us, the fans, who have to ask ourselves how much and how much further is our need to want to see the action, the hardest hits, and what that says of us. In Darryl Stingley's memory. RIP

[Ms_M]

Very sad story. I was not familiar with it, but I have seen many cheap hits in football. This last season seemed to have more than it's fair share of them. I hope this man's untimely death will remind the NFL that even though it is a VERY profitable business, it is a game. No game, profits or not, is worth someone losing their life. IMO, the NFL should punish these guys making cheap hits more severely. Longer suspensions, higher fines, something that will get their attention. Ok, I'm stepping off my soap box now. Thanks for indulging me.

[Sassie]

I remember this very well. And while I agree that there have been a lot of serious injuries. I do think they have changed the rules to make the game safer for the players. And I will admit that I hate some of those changes. I do not enjoy seeing somebody make a cheap shot though. However, that being said, I love the game and told my husband yesterday how much I miss it and can't wait for the new season to start. It's the best sport in the world to me, well that and ice skating.

[Wally_Hatchet]

I watched that game on TV when Stingley was hit and paralyzed.
He was a great player.

RIP Darryl.

[Ms_M]

Sassie - I'm with you! My team (Texans - no comments, please) is making a lot of changes. I can't wait to see how it all turns out.

[Rockindeano]

Why the need to bring cheap shots into this? NO ONE hates the Raiders more than I, and I hated Jack Tatum, but it was a clean, legal hit. It is what it is. Darryl Stingley was paralyzed by a football hit. You know when you walk out on that field it is possible that paralysis can happen.

I went to college at Washington State University, and had a friend named Mike Utley. I am sure many of you here know him. Mike was paralyzed as a member of the Detroit Lions when a bizarre strange play fucked him up. He was told he would never walk again, and basically he can't, but that guy will pull your heart strings and fire you up like no other. He actually has taken steps, out of a wheelchair. He is motivated to be the best he can be.

He started a foundation called the The Thumbs Up Foundation http://www.mikeutley.org/....

Football is a game yes, but it is a business first and foremost.

Do I feel sorry for Stingley? Sure, but it was his decision to go out there. As much as I despise any player in Silver and Black, and Tatum was a cheap sonofabitch, that particular hit was clean and legal.

[Saint John]

Why the need to bring cheap shots into this? NO ONE hates the Raiders more than I, and I hated Jack Tatum, but it was a clean, legal hit. It is what it is. Darryl Stingley was paralyzed by a football hit. You know when you walk out on that field it is possible that paralysis can happen.

I went to college at Washington State University, and had a friend named Mike Utley. I am sure many of you here know him. Mike was paralyzed as a member of the Detroit Lions when a bizarre strange play fucked him up. He was told he would never walk again, and basically he can't, but that guy will pull your heart strings and fire you up like no other. He actually has taken steps, out of a wheelchair. He is motivated to be the best he can be.

He started a foundation called the The Thumbs Up Foundation http://www.mikeutley.org/....

Football is a game yes, but it is a business first and foremost.

Do I feel sorry for Stingley? Sure, but it was his decision to go out there. As much as I despise any player in Silver and Black, and Tatum was a cheap sonofabitch, that particular hit was clean and legal.

VERY well said. I think Stingley never spoke to to Tatum, and refused to do so, because it would have made him replay the hit again. Tatum never apologized because, really, he had nothing to apologize for. Just a svery sad set of circumstances where no one did anything wrong yet the outcome was disastrous. Kind of like the Dale Earnhardt tragedy. As Dean said, the possibility is always there. Part of the business.

[Ms_M]

Do I feel sorry for Stingley? Sure, but it was his decision to go out there. As much as I despise any player in Silver and Black, and Tatum was a cheap sonofabitch, that particular hit was clean and legal.

I completely agree with this... They do take on a certain amount of risk playing the game - even practice. As for this particular hit being a "cheap shot" - I don't know. I didn't see the play, although I could probably find it on YouTube, so I don't know if it was or not. I just know there have been cheap shots and they should not be tolerated. Wasn't it a Raiders player that kicked a guy in the balls this last season?

[Rockindeano]

Do I feel sorry for Stingley? Sure, but it was his decision to go out there. As much as I despise any player in Silver and Black, and Tatum was a cheap sonofabitch, that particular hit was clean and legal.

I completely agree with this... They do take on a certain amount of risk playing the game - even practice. As for this particular hit being a "cheap shot" - I don't know. I didn't see the play, although I could probably find it on YouTube, so I don't know if it was or not. I just know there have been cheap shots and they should not be tolerated. Wasn't it a Raiders player that kicked a guy in the balls this last season?

I agree with you too. That's why Hockey is better. They police their own. If some bastard wants to take a cheap run on a player, he knows that he will not only get fined, penalties and maybe games missed, he will get his chiclettes busted right there on the ice by a Big bad Bruiser on the opposing team. And, if he somehow gets away without a public ass beating, a teammate of his, will most likely take a beat down for his crime. So, in short, cheap shots are limited in hockey than they are in football.

Mutual respect in the NHL is much higher than in the NFL. These guys know careers are at stake. Look at baseball too. Headhunting is bullshit. I love a good brawl, but throwing a 95 mph fastball at some guys dome is not manly, it's bullshit. Roger Clemens, who is a stud, threw at Mike Piazzas', (another stud) head in the 2001 World Series. Not cool. Piazza should have went out there and shoved the Louisville slugger up Clemens asshole and then turned it about 5 times to ensure a proper fit. Nothing wrong with moving a guy off the plate...but deliberately throwing at a guys head is cheap.

The NBA doesn't have cheap shots because all the players are pretty much gigantic pussies. Ever see a basketball fight? neither have I. I see grown men backing awy, flailing their arms about, trying to get someone to restrain them, to at least make them look tough. NBA isn't worth fighting over. Their game is a show anyway, with the ending and final teams completely rigged.

[Blueskies]

I, in no way, said that I thought that the hit was a cheap shot, it was not, and I dont think Tatum has to or had to apologize for it. I dont believe he does either, and maybe thats why Stingley refused to see him or get into it because he didnt want an apology, who knows. If you read what I wrote again, it was supportive of Tatum. I was trying to relay the story in a broader sense to the fallout effect of that one hit and what happened to these two men because of it. I didnt say Tatum gave a cheap shot, I said that his name became synonomous with cheap shots, that is why the mention of them relates in the telling. The issue became more than these two individuals and brought about rule changes. The question is if the rules have made things better or not and despite rules, if the pressure and thirst for more heavy hitting has increased? Who is responsible for it? The NFL, the players, or the fans? Do we call for and want ever increasing violence in sport to be entertained? Like in the collisiums of Rome? Off with his head? That is the question and of who is ultimately responsible. Yes, football has always has been a violent sport and the players who play the game know the risk they are taking when going in, but how far will it go? Are more rules, fines and restrictions required? Will the thirst from a large segment of the fans be increasing an escalation in harder hitting to sell tickets and have viewers? Were is the line drawn and what is enough? Many people view sports and root for their team to win at any and all costs for their entertainment, while they may be forgetting that there are real people playing the game, it's not just a video. People who's lives can be forever affected, like in the case of both Stingley and Tatum.

[Saint John]

The NHL does a poor job of "policing itself." For the most, they know people are there to see fights. If they ever eliminated something (fighting) that isn't even a part of the game, attendance might suffer. Makes you wonder what people are there to see. The product put out on the ice (hockey) or the possibility of a fight. Personally, some guy hitting me in the face and altering the way I look is worth much more than a game misconduct. These guys look like shit when they retire...with the exception of Gretzky, who had special rules implemented to save his pretty face. Retiring looking like you in a war, rather than playing a sport, makes you wonder what the NHL REALLY stands for. Besides, no one watches that shit on TV. They tried to put in on TV and it was a colossal failure. Hockey remains an executive, live only event with the majority of its fans being a bunch of corporate fuckheads, like basketball. Unless of course, you like sitting far away from the ice. If they ever implemented a 4-6 game suspension for fighting of any sort, it will quickly eliminate fighting and attendance would suffer. The loudest ovations are for fighting usually. It tells me that something that doesn't belong in any sport is a huge part of a game that might not be able to survive without it...and I love to fight. Just not during sports. You can put up all the stats you want, but no one gives a shit about hockey and its failure to make it on FREE TV proves that. Shit, even bowling (a gay activity) is on ESPN.

[Rockindeano]

Never said YOU accused him Phyliss.

I believe the second poster did.

[Saint John]

Never said YOU accused him Phyliss.

I believe the second poster did.

Take that fruity shit off of your avatar. He's a legend and the way you have him now makes him look like a fuckin' cross-dresser.

[Rockindeano]

Never said YOU accused him Phyliss.

I believe the second poster did.

Take that fruity shit off of your avatar. He's a legend and the way you have him now makes him look like a fuckin' cross-dresser.

Can you please respect Easter. I have a special Passover/resurrection one ready to go.

[Blueskies]

Never said YOU accused him Phyliss.

I believe the second poster did.

ok

[Saint John]

Never said YOU accused him Phyliss.

I believe the second poster did.

Take that fruity shit off of your avatar. He's a legend and the way you have him now makes him look like a fuckin' cross-dresser.

Can you please respect Easter. I have a special Passover/resurrection one ready to go.

Easter is for kids and a great excuse for priests to play with little boys. It's NOT for bad motherfuckers like Avatar. Change it, dude.

[Sassie]

I don't think it was a cheap shot either. I just meant that I don't enjoy seeing them when they do happen. But that is the game and those guys all know that it could possibly happen when they play. We all know it could happen when we watch. I just think it's a great game. Ms_M my favorite team is Dallas.

[Ms_M]

I don't think it was a cheap shot either. I just meant that I don't enjoy seeing them when they do happen. But that is the game and those guys all know that it could possibly happen when they play. We all know it could happen when we watch. I just think it's a great game. Ms_M my favorite team is Dallas.

That's it - I think the conversation got on that track because Tatum did make cheap shots in his career - not that this particular one was. I think that people who make cheap shots, regardless of the sport, should be have consequences. It seems that those are not always that severe, but they need to be.

As for seeing the Tatum tackle of Stingly, believe it or not, I couldn't find the thing on You Tube (I thought everything was there), so I still haven't seen it.

Sassie - we will have to agree to disagree on our teams...

[SunshineTwilight]

Never said YOU accused him Phyliss.

I believe the second poster did.

Take that fruity shit off of your avatar. He's a legend and the way you have him now makes him look like a fuckin' cross-dresser.

Can you please respect Easter. I have a special Passover/resurrection one ready to go.

Dean,

Can't wait to see THAT one!! Your avatar cracks me up everytime I look at it. Never a dull moment!

[AR]

I remember the hit.

RIP.

[Rick]

Well my take on this who's to blame shit is that it belongs to each player. Each player knows the risks involved when they sign up. I get so sick and tired of people blaming McDonalds for hot coffee and the NFL for player injuries, when it is widely known that football is a dangerous sport, and many before them have fallen as a result. Anyone that sues the NFL because they got hurt playing should be publicly ridiculed and humiliated. Players play because they want to and because the money is good, nobody and I mean nobody forces anyone out on that field.

[CatEyes]

The NFL is a major supporter of the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis and the Mark Buonoconti Fund.

Cat