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Video Games Criticized In NFL Player’s Paralysis

Video Games Criticized In NFL Player’s Paralysis

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Buffalo Bills’ Tight End Kevin Everett was paralyzed last Sunday following a big hit during a game.  His injury is a tragic and surprising turn of events. Also surprising is that someone found a way to place a negative light on video games following his injury.

Virginia Pilot columnist Bob Molinaro criticized video games when discussing the injury under the headline Video-game generation may be desensitized to NFL injuries .

I imagine there’s a large segment of NFL fans that envisions pro football to be the embodiment of the video games they love to play.

…I’ve got a feeling that a certain percentage of males, those whose senses have been bombarded by video violence all their lives, are attracted to pro football by the slickly edited TV images that are a variation of their virtual-reality experiences.

This makes me wonder if the catastrophic injury to Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett will make any real impression on the desensitized adolescents and adults raised with the cartoon violence of “Madden ‘08″ or “NFL Blitz,” or the absurd blood-and-guts scenarios associated with other Xbox games.

…I wonder if any of this hits home with the very large and growing demographic that comes to football through the make-believe violence of video games. In that world, jacked-up players always bounce back, returning as good as new when the game is switched on.

Kevin Everett is doing much better, having voluntarily moved his arms and legs, making it very likely that he will walk again.

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