Police officers often must combat criminals with little or no light whatsoever. If a football player is winded or temporarily unable to continue to play, he just calls for a time out and the team regroups. A police officer struggling with a violent criminal gets no breaks, no time outs, no second chances. It s accepted as an unfortunate consequence of competition. It s just part of the game.
Police officers operate under conditions that football players wouldn t even consider.
They engage in confrontations that are much more violent than any football game. And if a violent criminal gets injured, the perception is that the officer must have done something wrong. It s time for the public and governing bodies to make a decision. To do so is to ask for the impossible. If it was a choice, football players would never be injured, crippled or killed.