“It’s the same way that, if we can’t run the football, Coach better be addressing what we’re going to do to change,” Fedora said. “If not, I’ve got my head stuck in the sand, and they’re going to start wondering about me. I better have the answer. So that’s part of it, and that’s reacting to what had happened and making sure guys know that I’m going to meet their needs.”
NCAA coach warns football is 'under attack,' could lead to country's downfall
North Carolina football coach Larry Fedora became a lightning rod of controversy after fiercely defending the merits of football in the wake of growing concerns over CTE and head trauma.
“Our game is under attack,” Fedora told reporters at the ACC Kickoff event on Wednesday in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The coach raised eyebrows when he linked the downfall of football to the downfall of the United States.
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“I fear the game will be pushed so far from what we know that we won’t recognize it in 10 years,” Fedora said. “And if it does, our country will go down, too.”
Here's Larry Fedora on the importance of keeping football football as it were, both for the sake of the game and the country at large: pic.twitter.com/V6Xwqjopfb
— Mark Armstrong (@MarkPArmstrong) July 18, 2018
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Fedora was defiant as many of the reporters pushed back against his comments.
In fact, the coach doubled down on the value of football by citing the sport’s importance to America’s military.
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https://twitter.com/NicoleAuerbach/status/1019625554016964610
Fedora came down hard against studies asserting a link between football and the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
Do you agree that football is "under attack"?
“I’m not sure that anything is proven that football, itself, causes [CTE],” he said.
Despite evidence linking CTE to football players, it’s still important to note that correlation and causation are two very different things.
“My understanding is repeated blows to the head cause it, so I’m assuming that every sport, football included, could be a problem with that if you’ve got any kind of contact,” Fedora said. “That doesn’t diminish the fact that the game is still safer than it’s ever been because we continue to tweak the game to try to make it safer for our players.”
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The coach also blasted people who carelessly claim football leads to CTE, noting that they were having a tangible impact on youth football participation (which is down).
“If you’re involved in the game of football you have to worry about that,” Fedora said.
He also made the argument that players know what they’re getting into when they participate in football, an almost irrefutable fact.
“Are there still injuries? Yeah. It’s a violent sport,” Fedora said. “You’ve got big, fast, strong guys running into each other. Something is going to give. But there are risks involved in the game, and everybody that plays the game understands those risks. It’s not like they’re going into it not knowing that something could happen. And so they have to — personally have to weigh those risks versus the rewards.”
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Condemnation against Fedora was swift, with some even calling for him to be fired immediately.
COLUMN: If UNC’s Larry Fedora can’t acknowledge link between CTE and football, he’s too dumb to coach college football and should be fired immediately. https://t.co/11aLIU3F1y via @USATODAY
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) July 18, 2018
Larry is an idiot and a danger to his players.
— Cyrus (@GrammercyRiffs) July 18, 2018
Football should be in decline if not totally banned in the US. Is Larry Fedora able to face the families of players in the NFL whose lives were impacted by #CTE https://t.co/mghufwNqrF https://t.co/UGyKYwznpp
— Mayra SGdT🇨🇺🇺🇸 (@SamSofiMama) July 18, 2018
Of note, Fedora’s UNC Tar Heels were ravaged by injuries last season. He made no excuses about it and vowed to do better as a coach. He already has overhauled the team’s strength and conditioning program.
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