High-Level Sports Competition Breeds Fragile Athletes

The fragility of top athletes as they engage in their respective sports at the highest level has become a major issue, although it's always been present. I think there are two reasons for this: one, while it's possible to improve athletic performance by changing the human body through exercise, diet, medicine and supplements, we all still have very sensitive soft tissue that is prone to injury and inflammation.  During the last two weeks, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was taken off the field twice...it appears now that he suffered a brain concussion in the first game against Buffalo, but that it was misdiagnosed, and he was wrongly cleared for the next contest against Cincinnati.  Then the injury became obvious after a hard hit, and he is now out indefinitely.  Before all this, though, Tua was already known as being injury prone...he was plagued by knee, ankle and hip injuries while playing for Alabama in college.  But although football is clearly a hard contact sport, in others like tennis injuries have come to dominate the headlines, often dictating who the eventual tournament champions will be.  Federer, Nadal, Williams...to be the best can put a heavy strain on the body, and for these champions who want to stay in the picture as they age, the prospects of career-ending injuries are increasing.  As a fan of a number of different professional and college sports, I've grown to follow the games less for who's going to win or lose, and more for appreciating the competitive moments in each sport, regardless of who's playing or my own preferences.  But maybe that's how I should have been following sports all along...