Why America Needs Football

By now, you’ve probably heard all the arguments lodged against the most popular sport in America. There were plenty of them in the aftermath of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin nearly losing his life after getting body-slammed during a January 2 game with the Cincinnati Bengals. The New York Times, reacting to Hamlin’s on-field cardiac arrest, declared: “We’re All Complicit in the N.F.L.’s Violent Spectacle.” Ryan Clark, the NFL player-turned-ESPN commentator, informed us: “Tonight we got to see a side of football that is extremely ugly, a side of football that no one ever wants to see, and never wants to admit exists.”