Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-15
Tho Death Sport.

When Cadet Byrne died as result OF
injuries received In a game the author
tiles at West Point announced the aban-
donment Of the foot ball schedule Tor
the remainder OF the season, out OF re-
spect 10 the memory Of the dead player.
Yesterday when young Christian sue
cumbed to his injuries received In Sat
urday's game the abandonment OF the
remaining games by the Georgetown team
was announced for a similar reason.
Commendable as these actions are, they
do not strike at the root Of the foot ball
evil. They are both ineffective as prom
Using the reform that is necessary TO
safeguard the lives Of the young men who
are now attending school and college
In this country.
One Of the serious accidents Of the foot
ball season occurred early. Cadet Wilson
of the Naval Academy suffered a fracture
of the spine and has since been lying
In q desperate condition. with only q
slight chance of life The Naval Academy
authorities, however, took no action to-
ward the suspension of the games. This
failure, viewed In the light Of the aban-
donment of schedule at West Point and at
GEORGETOWN. suggests that a player must
is realized.
An incomplete record of casualties on
the foot ball field this season up to date
shows twenty-three dead and forty seri-
ously injured. A few years ago an
outcry against the brutality Of the game
resulted in a so-called reformation of
the rules. Certain features Of play were
forbidden, with the object Of preventing
the fierce onsets and mass plays respon-
sible for the majority of the casualties.
Steadily year by year the record Of mis-
haps has mounted since that time. until
IT is at the highest point known 1t Is as
plain as possible that the rules are still
in need of drastic change.
College authorities throughout the coun-
try cannot fail to see the obvious lesson
of these repeated foot ball tragedies. No
player is today safe on the gridiron field.
No matter how large or strong or skilled.
no matter how well armored In the pan
oply of the sport. which Is. in itself. an
Acknowledgement of its deadly hazards.
the player is in peril from the moment
the ball Is kicked off. The mortal stroke
may come In tackle or in a down on
the line; 1t may come to the attacking
or to the defensive player, to the man
with the ball or the man seeking the ball.
It may come in a manner to leave the
enc who administers it wholly uncon-
ocious OF his action.
: 1t is futile to seek for an individual
responsibility I'm such cases. The players
involved in the particular action that
caused Christians death Saturday are
not accountable. The real cause lies far
beyond them. 1t lies In the college
spirit that supports the game and rem
ders of 1t a spectacle for the entertain
0ent Of the multitude; In the competitive
enterprise Of college authorities seeking
to enhance the prestige Of their partic-
ular institutions BY encouraging and sup
porting the game: 1t lies In the parents
who permit their sons to engage In
foot ball at school and college under the
present rules.
If this shocking record Of deaths and
disablements on the foot ball field does
not bring the educators of the country
and the parents Of college students to
q realization of the risk that Is daily
run every autumn, there is little hope of
a reform. 1t Is the urgent duty Of the
head OF every educational institution In
this country at this time to consider the
twenty-three deaths and the forty serious
injuries caused by this game already dur
ing the present season. and weigh them
against the advantages that are attributed
to the maintenance of this barbaric. man.
Shaving snort