Caleb Moore passed away on Thursday from injuries after suffering a horrific accident during the X Games competition. President Barack Obama has expressed his need to make the NFL safer, will he try to comment on the tragedy and petition for changes to be made for the X Games?
Recently, President Obama said he would not allow his son to play the American football as the sport seems outdated and in need for safer upgrades. Many people on Twitter were harsh on the president's remark announcing that the sport will likely disappear in a couple of years.
Here's one example of an infuriated fan who wants to continue seeing football being played in the same fashion despite the health risks players in the pros, college and high school face.
The argument with football is that players resemble gladiators and being cheered on by fans to hurt another player. Their intent is usually never to injure, but what other ending can be expected as guys possess incredible strength and speeds? Extremely violent headbutts are still a part of the game despite the penalties and fines placed by the league.
By no means are the X Games like the NFL or have the same history as America's new past time, but a dead athlete is a dead athlete.
The "X" in X Games stands for extreme. There is almost no way you can change the action taking place at the games and expect it to have the same impact. The athletes push themselves to accomplish these daredevil feats.
We've seen terrible accidents, like Jake Brown surviving a 50-foot fall without no cushion to protect him aside from the pads and helmet he wore.
No skateboard and no landing, Brown goes straight into the ground after completing the 720 spin and going for a required second trick. You can tell the fans are excited to see what Brown has in store, but they are shocked when the pro can't stick the landing.
It is difficult to compare a skateboard, that weighs nothing, to a snowmobile that weighs 450 pounds. This is truly tough to watch.
Caleb was a four-time bronze medal winner and experienced in the sport. He had performed the same trick that ended his life numerous times in the past. It was a mishap, but these athletes know they are risking their lives every time they step out on the course.
Fellow competitors can use this as a learning experience, like Levi LaVallee who shared his thoughts, "The only thing we can do is we can look at that and learn from it and look at how we can try to prevent that. Other than that, you look at it, what happened to him, was an accident. He's done that trick multiple times. He's practiced. He's done everything he can to prevent that."
Conditions at the X Games have bettered as other competitors and organizers of the event will point out.
"We've worked closely on safety issues with athletes, course designers and other experts for each of the 18 years of X Games. Still, when the world's best compete at the highest level in any sport, risks remain. Caleb is a four-time X Games medalist who fell short on his rotation on a move he has landed several times previously," said ESPN in a report.
Changing any other rules or setting barriers for the X Games would be the equivalent of limiting movie producers from having certain stunts performed in their films.
Losing an athlete is tough, but Moore was a professional and he passed away doing something that he loved.
The NFL still faces a lot of questions and is attempting to find answers in relation to the effects of playing in the league for an extended period of time.
By no means should Obama worry about changing any regulation in the X Games. It is a sport where athletes naturally push themselves to accomplish the unbelievable.
