I Was a Gladiator: Pain, Injury, and Masculinity in National Football League

• In Event: 106 - Open Refereed Roundtable Session I
  In Refereed Roundtable: A. Table 07. Gender and Violence

Abstract

Retirees from the National Football League (NFL) have been in the media spotlight for the last few years, with issues ranging from traumatic brain injury to bankruptcy and divorce. In this paper, I examine the role that hegemonic masculinity plays in the injuries and long-term health effects for NFL retirees. Using data collected through in-depth, life history interviews, I argue that, based on the nature of the sport and the qualities we associate with hegemonic masculinity, the performance of a masculine identity in football is inherently dangerous and destructive. Retirees describe their bodies as instruments or commodities (“tools of the trade”), something separate from themselves that can be controlled and used for a specific purpose. They also speak at length about suppressing pain and playing with injury. This alienation from the body as part of the larger self leads to a life of physical pain and continued disconnection of mind and body. This paper, while focused on a largely privileged group, highlights the downside to enacting a valued masculinity. The neglect of the body, and its use as a weapon against both opponents and one’s own emotions, creates an alienation from self, a divided identity that leaves many players and retirees suffering the painful consequences for years. The cruel paradox of hegemonic masculinity is that those who do it best actually lose the most.

Author

• Katie Rodgers, University of Oregon