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Diversionary Tactics Backfire
September 24, 2013
Placing a stone in your left shoe will take your mind off a blister on your right foot; but it does not solve the problem.
Faced with domestic starvation and civil unrest, many dictators have created external enemies in hopes of distracting their countrymen and women and rallying their support. Think of North Korea as just one of dozens of examples, recent to ancient. It has even ocurred in the US, recently and throughout our nation’s history: strawmen vilified to distract us from other more pressing problems.
Closer to home, it is something like this strategy that may be at work in many school districts as they restructure and rename schools, or resort to closings and charters. And something like this is behind the state and federal emphases on standardized testing and schools of choice.
And really close to home, it was something like this at work in football. Faced with thousands of former players with alleged concussion-related illnesses filing suit against the National Football League, and bad publicity mounting, the NFL focused instead on youth football. We told them this strategy would backfire; but a professional league with more money than many nations was not inclined to listen to little guys like us.
The NFL went state by state to advance concussion legislation which was long on symbolism and low on substance, and totally lacking any enforcement capabilities. In state after state, the NFL paraded young people with sad stories in front of state legislators looking for good headlines.
So today, 49 states have new “concussion” laws; and participation rates in youth football are plummeting. Big surprise. But ironically, it’s plummeting at a time when school-sponsored football is the safest it has been since it was introduced to schools 100 years ago. The equipment is the best ever, the rules the most protective ever, the coaches and officials the best trained and most safety conscious ever.
Take a look at this quick video that tells the true story about school-sponsored football.
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Unforgettable 5ive: 2021 Football Playoff Week 3
By
Jon Ross
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
November 17, 2021
Here's a look at our Playoff Week 3 "Unforgettable 5ive" from MHSAA.tv and MHSAA media partner broadcasts:
► Mason's Cason Carswell finds Dylan Badgley for the game-winning score with 10 seconds to play in a 20-17 win over Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice.
► Jason Skoczylas blocks a Detroit Country Day game-winning field goal attempt and then returns it 50 yards for a game-winning touchdown as Chelsea defeated the Yellowjackets 27-20.
► Sterling Heights Stevenson's Jordan Ramsey returns the fumble 90 yards for a touchdown in a 27-20 win over Macomb Dakota.
► Griffin Henke scores from one yard out for Rochester Adams as it edged reigning Division 1 champion West Bloomfield, 14-13.
► Suttons Bay's Shawn Bramer finishes the hook-and-ladder for a 69-yard game-tying score as his team went on to defeat Rudyard 42-36 in overtime.