Baptist Theologian Likens Football to 'Gladiators Killing Each Other'
While much of America was watching Super Bowl LII and hailing the Philadelphia Eagles' championship win, a Baptist theologian argued that the sport causes brain damage and likened its celebration to people cheering on gladiators fighting to the death.
Roger E. Olson, professor of Christian Theology of Ethics at George W. Truett Theological Seminary of Baylor University, wrote in a blog post Saturday, the day before the Super Bowl, that the facts are "irrefutable" when it comes to "long-term and irreversible brain damage in many players."
"Anyone who doesn't know this simply hasn't been paying attention. And in some cases, that brain damage has probably led to violent behavior, including suicides and murders, that probably would not have happened otherwise," he argued....