Hazel_ThesisFinal

Opportunity and Risk:
The Role of Optimism Bias in the Decision-Making Processes of College Football
Players.
Benjamin Bernard Hazel
A thesis presented in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Bachelor of Arts
Department of Sociology
Princeton University
2015

2

Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction ..................................................................................................4

Chapter 2: Literature Review .................................................................................. 11

Risk in the Workplace............................................................................................................ 12

Chasing Opportunity ............................................................................................................... 18

College Life and Risk ............................................................................................................. 25

Optimism Bias ............................................................................................................................. 30

Chapter 3: Methods ........................................................................................................ 35

Chapter 4: Perceptions of Risk ............................................................................... 49

Stigma/Stereotype & Time Management ................................................................... 49

Injury ................................................................................................................................................ 52

Career Opportunity .................................................................................................................. 66

Off-Field Opportunity ............................................................................................................ 68

Bibliography ....................................................................................................................... 83

3

I first want to say thank you to all the people that helped me throughout this
process. I want to thank the greatest parents in the WORLD who continue to
support me through everything. Thank you to my Grandma and Coco whose love
and positive spirit alone has pushed me through. Also thanks to my right hand
man, Joe, who has supported me since day one.
I cannot give enough thanks to the people who guided me every step of the way.
The greatest advising team to ever be assembled, Professor Rachael Ferguson &
Professor Matthew Lawrence. Professor Ferguson pushed me to do things I
never thought I could, this thesis does not adequately reflect the many ways she
has helped carry me, and words cannot express how thankful I am to have
worked with her. I also have to give a shout out to my little sister, Joana, who
believed in me from. WE MADE IT!!!!
Lastly, I want to thank two angels that are no longer here but are watching over
me every day. Two of the greatest men I know, Big Daddy and Papa John, I
wish they could be here see how far I have come, everything I do is to make them
proud. RIP Big Daddy and Papa John we miss you.
I am missing a few but all of these people have invested in me for which I will
forever be grateful.

4

Chapter 1: Introduction
I’d rather have the experience of playing in the NFL and die
10 to 15 years earlier than not play in the NFL and have a
long life I don’t really look toward my life after football.
Chris Conte1
On March 16th, 2015 Chris Borland, linebacker for the San Francisco
49ers, announced he was retiring at the young age of twenty-four. The reasons
for his decision as he put it, focused on his belief that the risks of head injury
were too great, as were the potential risks later in his life after a full playing
career. “Outside the Lines” presenter Mark Fainaru-Wada quoted Borland as
saying, “I just want to do what’s best for my health. From what I’ve researched
and what I’ve experienced, I don’t think it’s worth the risk” (Fainaru-Wada
2015). Borland fully explained how he assessed the risks and stated that research
he had read on the issue gave him sufficient reason to retire. This announcement
caught the football world by surprise: Borland had just completed his first year in
the NFL, led the 49ers in tackles, and had signed a four year contract worth just
under $3 million.
This thesis examines one aspect of how players handle the risks involved
in playing football. My research question asks how the decisions of football

1
2014. Conte is Safety for the Chicago Bears.

5

players at the collegiate level are affected by their understanding of the risks
involved with their sport? My data comes from interviews with nineteen college
football players and one college team physician. I focus on three themes: risk,
opportunity and optimism bias, developing hypotheses for each of these themes in
order to structure my research. Where I discuss methods in detail I will formally
discuss these hypotheses. Briefly, however, H1a and H1b address risk and
optimism bias; H2a addresses risk; H2b addresses risk and opportunity. H3a
addresses risk and optimism while H3b addresses optimism bias and opportunity.
H4 ties all these hypotheses together, questioning the affect of perceptions of risk
and opportunity felt by these football players. I chose to conduct interviews
because this method allows me to gather data on perceptions and personal
experiences. Interviews are therefore an effective method for examining how
individuals’ experiences and understandings of risk are consistent with their
actions and decisions.
Football is an aggressive sport, which many call a collision sport (versus a
contact sport). Contact sports are those such as basketball and soccer, in which
players are in constant contact with one another (Kerr et al. 2015). Football is
called a collision sport because of the “extra-contact” of aggressive running and
hitting that takes place on every play (Kerr et al. 2015). In these plays, these
young players are sometimes required to run and hit someone as hard as they can.

6

There are about 1.7 million civilian-reported concussions in the United
States every year (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). According
to the University of Pittsburgh’s Brain Trauma Research Center about 300,000
(18%) of reported concussions are sports related (Dixon et al. 2015). Moreover,
34% of college football players had sustained at least one concussion, 20% have
had multiple concussions, and athletes who play aggressive contact sports such as
football and hockey have a 19% chance of experiencing a concussion each and
every season that they play (Dixon et al. 2015).
My interest in the risks involved with football began on July 6th, 2011,
the date my grandfather passed away. My grandfather was John Mackey, an
NFL Hall of Fame tight end, renowned for how he fundamentally changed the
ways in which football is played. He passed away at the young age of sixty-nine,
as a result of dementia, which caused him a great deal of suffering. At the time of
his death he could not remember the names of his loved ones or even carry out
simple tasks like eating. My grandfather experienced the risks that all football
players face and his experience and suffering, as well as others like him, is one of
the main reason that players like Chris Borland are now taking a sober look at
these risks and deciding its not worth’s it.
College football players have a roughly 1.6% chance of making it to the
NFL, but stories such as my grandfather’s allow players to overestimate their

7

chance of playing professionally. Being a black man in America in the 1960’s,
when racial tensions were high African Americans were segregated and
marginalized and lacked opportunities, it was a great honor for my grandfather to
be able to play in the NFL even though at that time athletes were not paid large
sums of money to play: It was a game he loved and it provided him with
enormous opportunities at a time when these were rare for black men in America.
He did not know that achieving his dream would ultimately lead to his death.
The debilitating and cruel long-term effects of concussions make it such a
pressing issue. For example, we know that repeated concussions lead to Chronic
Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), defined by The Sports Legacy Institute
(2014) as “A progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in people with a
history of repetitive brain trauma, including symptomatic concussions as well as
sub-concussive hits to the head that do not cause symptoms.”
CTE is a progressive disease that can only be diagnosed in a post-mortem
brain examination. It begins to develop relatively early, but those affected do not
show symptoms until later in life. The symptoms of CTE include impaired
judgment, depression, impulse control problems, memory loss, and confusion
(Talavage et al. 2014). But CTE has a wide variety of symptoms that are
expressed in very different ways, most notably extreme aggression. And in its late

8

stages, CTE is frequently mislabeled as dementia or Alzheimer’s disease (Cantu
et al. 2014).
The risks of concussions and CTE are felt by football players at all levels.
Cantu et al. (2014) examined concussions data at the colligate level, from 1956-
2008, and found that college football players are three times more likely to have
symptoms related to CTE when compared to the general population, which is the
same as in the NFL (Cantu et al. 2014). They also estimated that approximately
fifty out of three hundred former college players would be diagnosed with CTE.
This study was a part of a lawsuit filed against the NCAA, and resulted in the
NCAA having to pay out $75 million towards the monitoring and research of
concussions and concussion symptoms.
In April 2010, Owen Thomas was found dead. He was a second-team all
Ivy player at the University of Pennsylvania when his body was discovered in his
off campus apartment. He had hung himself. In a post mortem examination of his
brain it was revealed that he suffered from CTE, a disease that is also linked with
depression and uncontrolled actions (Cantu et al. 2014). The Owen Thomas case
was particularly complex because he had no history of concussions in his entire
playing career, and had never been diagnosed with a concussion. His mother later
said however, that she believed he was the type of player who would not have
reported concussion symptoms.

9

Systematic studies on concussions and CTE have only recently begun.
CTE poses a great challenge because it can only be diagnosed post mortem, and
while we know there exists a correlation between concussions and CTE, the
strength of this correlation has yet to be fully determined (Cantu et al. 2014,
Breslow 2014). Breslow (2014) reported researchers found that of 128 football
players at the professional, semi-professional, college and high school levels 101
tested positive for CTE. The selection bias in the sample skews the results of this
to the positive, because each of the participants had requested to have their brain
studied, believing themselves to be susceptible to or affected by CTE.
Nonetheless, this statistic is cause for concern. And, as Fainaru-Wada & Fainaru
(2013) state:
The essence of football – the unavoidable head banging that occurs
on every play, like a woodpecker jackhammering at a tree – can
unleash a cascading series of neurological events that in the end
strangles your brain, leaving you unrecognizable.
Fainaru-Wada & Fainaru (2013: 71-73).
There is a very high risk of injury associated with each year of
participation in football (Fainaru-Wada & Fainaru 2013; Cantu et al. 2014), and
we know concussions are part of the cause of CTE. As mentioned, symptoms of

10

CTE emerge long after athletes retire from playing and players are essentially
rolling the dice with their health.
Many players have the same attitude towards playing football as Chris
Conte, who is quoted at the beginning, saying he would rather play and die
young than not play at all. Players accept the potential of future health problems
and even a reduced life expectancy because they believe the engagement and
opportunities created by playing football at their level are worth the health
sacrifices. But this attitude is itself troubling, and reflects a lack of understanding
about how life really is for those suffering from CTE. In the case of many,
including my grandfather, victims of CTE indeed pass away earlier but they also
experience many years of not being in control of their thoughts and actions, of
increasingly debilitating dementia, and of physical demise: My grandfather won a
Super Bowl ring, he was an NFL great, and in his late 60’s when most men are
entering their retirement years he was unable to do anything for himself without
assistance, because of the debilitating effects of CTE.

11

Chapter 2: Literature Review
Concussions are not a new injury but we lack a full understanding of the
effect this injury has on peoples’ lives over the longer term. Concussions and head
injuries are not only prevalent in high contact sports but also pose a problem for
many others like soldiers exposed to bomb blasts. Diehl (2010) quotes the
International Convention of Concussion in Sports, who define a concussion as “a
complex pathopsychological process affecting the brain, induced by traumatic
biomechanical forces (Diehl 201: 87).
Football organizations seek to provide better protective gear to prevent
concussions but none of the improvements in protective wear have adequately
prevented the injury (McIntosh & McCrory 2000; Brenson et al. 2009;
Daneshvar et al. 2011; Beri 2012). The helmets and protective gear continue to
evolve but the problem of concussions continues to exist. Helmets give players a
false sense of security (McIntosh & McCrory 2000; Brenson et al. 2009;
Daneshvar et al. 2011). Concussions and brain trauma cannot simply be stopped
by the advancement of protective gear because of the way players collide when
playing football (McIntosh & McCrory 2000; Brenson et al. 2009; Daneshvar et
al. 2011; Beri 2012). As protective wear advances, so does the technology to

12

improve player performance, contributing to making players much bigger and
stronger, and therefore creating much harder hits.
Injuries are a major part of why football is risky. There are many injuries
that make up these risks but this study is centered on concussions because of the
numerous health problems that can result from concussions and concussion-type
injuries. Hence, the four themes in this study: risk, opportunity, and optimism
bias. The factors that go into athletes deciding to play football are the same
factors that influence individuals to accept risky jobs and sacrifice aspects of their
life. Health risks are presented to individuals in many situations outside of
football but a sense of optimism bias is present in each.
Risk in the Workplace
College athletes are viewed as unpaid amateurs, but research shows that
NCAA athletes devote approximately forty hours a week to their sport (NCAA
Convention 2011). Athletes are forced to make sacrifices to player their respective
sport (Otto & Otto 2013) and I therefore position them somewhat as employees
in the context of this study, given that participating in an activity for forty hours
a week is widely considered to constitute ‘full time’ work (Cover 2012). Some
argue that college athletes are fairly compensated for their play by receiving full
scholarships to attend their university and play sports (Emmert 2011). Others

13

argue student athletes should be compensated for their participation (Nocera
2011; Fitt 2009; Hartnett 2013; Goplerud 1997).
“People are looking for simple things in life – health, wealth and
happiness” (Beri 2012, 1). Gallup (2004) suggests that people look to fulfill the
simple things in their life, like having a healthy family and a good job, which will
ultimately result in happiness. Individuals have been seen to sacrifice aspects of
their life, like personal health, to aid in ultimately gaining happiness (Sanne
2008; Beri 2013; Anargul & Maria 2013). There are many jobs that require
employees to incur some risk calling them to be exposed to some type of physical
hazard (Sanne 2008; Anargul & Maria 2013; Lanoie 1989; Rolston 2010).
Hazardous occupations include miners, police officers, firefighters, factory
workers, which all place workers in situations or environments that can cause
injury or harm (Sanne 2008; Rolston 2010; Anargul & Maria 2013). There are
many factors that have been seen to show trends in the type of person that
chooses to perform risky jobs (Beri 2012, Viscusi 2004). Environmental factors
and an individuals’ willingness to work have been seen to aid or harbor an
individuals’ willingness to work a risky job (Beri 2012). These environmental
factors vary along class, race, and gender lines (Beri 2012, Viscusi 2004).
When looking at risky occupations and the individuals that accept them,
scholars seek to provide further understanding on the decision-making process

14

that leads an individual to accept risk (Beri 2012; Hammitt 2000). If an
individual is not presented with a choice, and is forced into accepting a risky job
or situation, their view of the risk is less valid in this context and their acceptance
of the job is seen to exclude the individuals’ attitude toward risk (Beri 2012;
Leigh 1986). Choice is very important when studying risk, and scholars take into
account the many things that affect an individual and their attitude toward risk:
family background, family health, financial opportunity and their personal
outlook on life (Beri 2012; Hammitt 2000; Sanne 2008; Anargul & Maria 2013).
Individuals raised with lower socioeconomic statuses and constrained family
economic backgrounds are more likely to choose risky occupations when
compared to individuals of higher status (Beri 2012; Leigh 1986). Individuals
react differently when facing choices between occupations that have financial
risks verse health risks (Beri 2012). Examples of financially risky jobs are “self
employment” occupations, entrepreneurship, and people who work in the
personal care sector such as childcare workers, butlers, and hairstylists (Beri
2012). It is also seen that education plays a major factor in an individuals’
attitude towards risky occupations: People with more years of education tend to
work in less risky occupations (Beri 2012). And those who are more forward
thinking tend to take on jobs that present a lower health risk and injury risk

15

(Beri 2012). Those who focus on the short term or the “next few months” (Beri
2012: 24) are seen to be more willing accept risky occupations (Beri 2012).
Employers use many different mechanisms to encourage an individual to
take on a risky occupation (Lanoie & Fortin 2000; Sanne 2008; Robinson 2007;
McInerney 2010). Employers offer things like health insurance and improvement
in protective equipment to limit, protect, and attract workers (Lanoie 2000;
Olson 1981, Hammitt 2000). Employers use health care to protect workers in the
long term while wages can be seen to aid workers in the short and long term
(Lanoie 2000; Olson 1981, Hammitt 2000). Employees unionize to bargain with
employers to ensure that they take some responsibility for the loss these
employees face when that risk is realized (Olson 1981; Robison 2007). Unions
provide workers with adequate information to demand a higher return for
performing their jobs through the collective bargaining process (Olson 1981;
Robinson 2007). What is most important for these unions and the members they
represent is wages (Sanne 2008; Lanoie 1989; Anargul & Maria 2013):
Employers use health care to protect workers in the long term while wages can
be seen to aid workers in the short and long term.
Lanoine & Fortin (2000) and Viscusi (2004) argue that risky occupations
pay better than less risky occupations. Employers invest in work safety to combat
risk, allowing them to reduce wages and combat potential lawsuits (Viscusi

16

2008; Hammitt 2000). The risk presented by hazardous occupations is
understood and accepted by most employees who perform these jobs (Anargul &
Maria 2013; Olson 1981; Viscusi 2008; Sanne 2008). There are outside
motivations for these individuals to accept high-risk occupations (Sanne 2008;
Anargul & Maria 2013). These motivations are all aspects of an individual’s life
outside of their occupation that contribute to their overall happiness, such as
family health (Gallup 2004; Beri 2012; Sanne 2008; Anargul & Maria 2013).
This is true in Sanne’s (2008) study of US fire fighters and Swedish railway
technicians as he looks at their perception of the risk involved with their
occupation and the outside factors that drive these employees to continue to
accept the risk. The main risk for railway technicians is seen in the high voltage
equipment they use to repair the railways that still have trains running on them
(Sanne 2008). It was noted that railway technicians take occupational
responsibility for the job they perform with a sense of pride (Sanne 2008). Both
the railway technicians and firefighters overlook this risk, accepting it as a part of
the job, focusing more on the societal contributions of their jobs (Sanne 2008).
Each occupation calls upon their employees to sacrifice their own personal health
to ensure the safety of others; Sanne (2008) also points out the “macho” culture
present in these professions that supports risk taking.

17

Anargul and Maria (2013) studies risk in the work of miners’ and fire-
rescue workers. They define two types of risk “extra risk” and “risk of a delayed
result” stating:
Extra risk is the effect on body occupational hazards, the effects of
which leads to all kinds of injuries…The possibility of a collapse of
the roof, blasting and drilling produce emergency situations, where
workers have to act on the environment, this is the urgency of the
risk, which can be equated the profession of miners to fire fighter and
military occupations
Anargul & Maria (2013: 909).
The second type of risk involves “risk of a delayed result” which is the risk
of bodily harm that develops over longer periods of time (Anargul & Maria 2013).
Miners are exposed daily to risk and subject to long term health problems but
view having a job as more important for their health because it allows them to
provide for their families (Anargul & Maria 2013). One of their subjects states:
“The main purpose – to put children in footwear, shoes, so we’re full citizens, to
learn. Though I will not eat, but I will give education to their children. That’s my
main goal, and for that work will be. And then it is too late to change anything. I
try not to think about it” (Anargul & Maria, 2013: 912).

18

The risk these workers face is understood but no matter how frequently
they face them they do not constantly focus on these risks (Anargul & Maria
2013). Anargul & Maria (2013) find that what drives workers to take on high-
risk jobs is their concern for others (Anargul & Maria 2013; Sanne 2008): These
workers put the well-being of their loved ones and the people of their community
over their own personal health (Anargul & Maria 2013; Sanne 2008). In the case
of miners, work age proved to be area where there are differences in the
individuals’ decision-making process of those accepting high-risk jobs (Anargul
& Maria 2013). For younger miners, what was seen to be most important was
their health because they believed that in the near future they will be presented
with the opportunity to move to a more secure, less risky job (Anargul & Maria
2013). Older miners found more value in having a job and were more grateful to
have their job because they are believed to have limited choices and understand
the difficulty of finding stable employment (Anargul & Maria 2013). When
looking at overall happiness, individuals were willing to sacrifice their own
personal heath (Anargul & Maria 2013; Sanne 2008).
Chasing Opportunity
America is promoted as “the land of opportunity” because of its claim of
equal opportunity for all (Sawhill 2007; Johnson 2014; Fernández-Kelly 2015).
Americans are believed to be in control of their own future (Sawhill 2007;

19

Johnson 2014; Fernández-Kelly 2015). Attaining success in America is seen to be
in the hands of the individuals who are willing to sacrifice and work hard
(Sawhill; Johnson 2014; Fernández-Kelly 2015). There are many avenues for
social and economic mobility most requiring patience, diligence and persistence
(Sawhill 2007). Economic mobility can be defined across different dimensions (a
lifetime, over generations, or a short period of time) looking at individuals’
income changes over time (Sawhill 2007). Sociologists define social mobility as
the difference between “origins” and “destinations” by individuals born into
different social classes. (Goldthorpe 2007). Education is the greatest factor in
promoting social mobility, allowing individuals and households to improve their
current situation and for generations to follow (Sawhill 2007; Johnson 2014;
Papademetriou et al. 2009; Fernández-Kelly 2015; Goldthorpe 2007).
Individuals and families strategically engage in activities like attaining higher
levels of education to bring about social mobility (Goldthorpe 2007).
Opportunities to attain higher levels of education have been seen to be unequal
especially when looking along class, gender and race lines (Sawhill & Morton
2007; Johnson 2014; Fernández-Kelly 2015). Goldthorpe (2007) writes,
Educational attainment may be regarded as the single most
important factor in determining class mobility chances … it would be
naive to equate such attainment with purely individual achievement,

20

uninfluenced by the ascribed advantages or disadvantages of
differing class origins
Goldthorpe (2007: 173).
Studies suggest economic and social mobility in America is not equally
available to all Americans, contrary to what is promoted (Sawhill 2007; Breen &
Jonsson 2005; Johnson 2014; Papademetriou et al. 2009; Fernández-Kelly
2015). Fernández-Kelly (2015) writes, “The top 1 percent of Americans control
43 percent of financial wealth while the bottom 80 percent owns 7 percent. To
put it another way, the top 20 percent of the American population holds 93
percent of all financial assets in the country” (Fernández-Kelly 2015: 345).
There is vast separation of income and social class when looking along
racial lines (Sawhill 2007; Fernández-Kelly 2015). African Americans’ and low-
income people are not afforded the same opportunities, denying them social and
economic mobility (Isaacs et al. 2008; Fernández-Kelly 2015). The openness of
American society, which allows for individuals to better themselves no matter
their social status or back ground, is what makes it unique (Sawhill et al. 2006).
Education is a major factor in social and economic mobility (Isaacs et al.
2008; Breen & Jonsson 2005; Haveman & Smeeding 2006; Beller & Hout
2006; Breen & Goldthorpe 1997). Education has been widely viewed as the best
avenue for minorities to advance but also for the upper class to remain (Isaacs et

21

al. 2008; Papademetriou et al. 2009; Breen & Jonsson 2005; Hout & DiPrete
2006). Isaacs et al. (2008) write, “Most Americans believe that the road to
achieving the American dream passes through the school door” (Isaacs et al.,
2008: 91). Higher education is seen as a great tool to provide individuals with
opportunities they would not be exposed to otherwise (Isaacs et al. 2008;
Haveman & Smeeding 2006; Beller & Hout 2006). Beller & Hout (2006) state:
Opportunity is much greater among college-educated adults of
different class backgrounds that it is among adults with less
education. The United States has one of the highest levels of college
attendance but also a relatively low level of equality in overall
educational opportunity.
Beller & Hout (2006: 30).
Many of the differences in America along class and race lines is a result of
the restrictions set on specific groups to limit their ability to obtain high levels of
education (Beller & Hout 2006; Haveman & Smeeding 2006; Fernández-Kelly
2015). Low-income families are not able to invest as much into their children’s
college education as higher-income families, who are able to “make enormous
efforts to ensure their children’s academic success” (Haveman & Smeeding 2006,
125) along with having, and providing, access to greater resources (Haveman &
Smeeding 2006; Rheenen 2012).

22

The value of a college education is very high, which is why colleges
exchange education with student athletes for their participation in collegiate
sports (Rheenen 2012). The most attractive aspect of playing collegiate sports
aside from an opportunity to play professionally is it allows these student athletes
to benefit from the “economic advantages of attending college and earning a
college degree” (Rheenen 2012, 557-558). Rheenen (2012) goes on to say:
Despite rising tuition and student-loan debt levels, the long-term
benefits of earning a college degree are growing; workers with a
college degree earn much more and are much less likely to be
unemployed than those with only a high school diploma
Rheenen (2012: 558).
There are also social benefits associated with graduating from college (Rheenen
2012).
Sports present individuals with an opportunity for men and women of all
classes to attend the best universities and aid their upward mobility (Eitzen
2006). There are social barriers higher education allows individuals to push
through (Sawhill 2007; Haveman & Smeeding 2006; Breen & Jonsson 2005;
Abowitz 2005). There is a societal view and support for sports participation
because of all the different ways it is seen to aid an individual’s life providing

23

structure, self-confidence, teamwork, and an ability to handle adversity (Fraser-
Thomas et al. 2005; Gayles & Hu 2009). Many of the major benefits of higher
education, creating opportunity for mobility, are only realized in the long run
(Rheenen 2012; Haveman & Smeeding 2006).
College education is an investment in one’s future (Haveman & Smeeding
2006; Rheenen 2012). Patience and hard work to earn future success is a major
part of the American dream (Sawhill 2007; Johnson 2014). Reaching success
and economic prosperity can take many years that can span over generations as
people work hard and sacrifice for the betterment of their children’s lives
(Sawhill & Morton 2007; Anargul 2013). This is true when looking at the lives
of many entrepreneurs. People who make sacrifices plan on waiting for their
success to be realized (Anargul 2013; Lazear 2005; Schatzman 2010). An
entrepreneur is seen to “take on many roles so that they can acquire the varied
background necessary to start a business” (Lazear 2005: 676) and achieve the
goal of being a well-known, successful businessperson (Lazear 2005; Schatzman
et al. 2010). Entrepreneurship is seen as a major tool for providing individuals
and families with the opportunity to advance socially (Quadrini 2000).
Entrepreneurship is something that is an effective way of closing the wealth gap
between upper and lower classes (Johnson 2014; Quadrini 2000). Sacrificing is a
virtue promoted throughout American culture, and is a major part of how people

24

believe they will achieve the American dream (Lazear 2005; Sawhil 2007;
Papademetriou et al. 2009; Isaacs 2008). Participating in sports is seen as a
similarly great tool for developing the necessary virtues to advance in life (Gayles
& Hu 2009; Fraser-Thomas et al. 2005).
Education is labeled as the catalyst for social mobility and is a strategy that
families utilize to advance (Sawhill 2007; Johnson 2014; Papademetriou et al.
2009; Fernández-Kelly 2015; Goldthorpe 2007; Breen & Goldthorpe 1997; Hout
& DiPrete 2006). Though pursuing the attainment of higher educational levels is
promoted as a positive investment, researchers argue there is great risk involved
when families of middle and lower classes choose to invest in their child’s
education (Goldthorpe 2007; Breen & Goldthorpe 1997, Hout & DiPrete 2006).
When choosing to go to college these families face the risk of their child dropping
into a lower class (Goldthorpe 2007; Breen & Goldthorpe 1997). Breen &
Goldthorpe (1997) analyze the many differentials in educational attainment.
They point out that there has been an increase in educational attainment but that
increase is not uniform across all class backgrounds (Breen & Goldthorpe 1997).
Children and their parents choose the best course of career attainment within the
education system or chose to exit (Breen & Goldthorpe 1997). The biggest cause
for the variation in the increase of educational attainment is the cost, which
constricts lower income families, forcing children to exit the educational system

25

(Breen & Goldthorpe 1997; Goldthorpe 2007). Hout & DiPrete (2006) question
the worth of educational attainment asking, “whether the “rate of return” to
education is high enough to justify its cost” (Hout & DiPrete 2006: 7).
College Life and Risk
Choosing to attend college in pursuit of social mobility is a risky
investment (Breen & Goldthorpe 1997; Goldthorpe 2007, Hout & DiPrete 2006)
and so is college life in general. There are many theories used to better
understand college student decision-making process when faced with risky
opportunities and situations (Rimal & Real 2005; Weinstein 1984; Nordgren et
al. 2007; Martens et al. 2006; Larimer et al. 2005, Miller 2013). These theories
and intervention methods target college students’ perception of the risky behavior
they engage in (Rimal & Real 2005; Weinstein 1984; Nordgren et al. 2007;
Walter & Neighbors 2005; Marten et al. 2006). As more information arises
concerning the risky culture seen in college life there have been many studies to
understand the reasons why students choose to engage in such risky behaviors
(Cooper 2002; Cyders et al. 2009; Martens et al. 2006; McCambridge & Strang
2004; Rimal & Real 2005; Larimer et al. 2005; Walters 2005; Nordgren et al.
2007; Weinstein 1984).
When labeling someone as a risk taker all aspects of an individual’s life
and choices are used to categorize risk-taking and attitudes toward risk when

26

making decisions on whether to engage in risky behaviors (Cyders et al. 2009;
Cooper 2002; Arria et al. 2008) College life and culture expose students to
certain risks that are seen to negatively affect an individual’s life and health in the
short and long-term (Cyders et al. 2009; Arria et al. 2008; Martens et al. 2006;
Cooper 2002; McCambridge & Strang 2004). Alcohol, sex and drug use among
college students is something that has been a cause for major concern leading
universities to seek to employ intervention methods (Martens et al. 2006;
McCambridge & Strang 2004; Arria et al. 2008; Larimer 2005). There have
been an estimated 1,825 deaths a year attributed to alcohol use on college
campuses between 1998-2005 (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and
Alcoholism [NIAAA] 2013). One-fifth of college students begin drinking in their
freshmen year, it is estimated that 400,000 college students engage in
unprotected sex, and one in four college students will come in contact with an
STD during their time in college (NursingSchool.net 2010). College life and
culture is seen to give many students the opportunity to engage in very risky
behaviors like having unprotected sex, consuming large amounts of alcohol,
tobacco, marijuana, and other drugs (Arria et al. 2008; McCambridge & Strang
2004). These risks have been seen to be very problematic for college campuses
around the world and many intervention methods have been deployed in attempts
to curb this problem (McCambridge & Strang; Larimer 2005; Arria et al. 2008).

27

In college, students are exposed to sex, drugs, and alcohol at a high rate
(Arria et al. 2008; Cooper 2002). Arria et al. (2008) in their study of drug
exposure in college life, state, “By their sophomore year in college nearly all
students had the opportunity to try alcohol and a large majority had the chance to
try marijuana and tobacco. About half had the chance to try prescription
stimulants non-medically” (Arria et al., 2008: 29-30). College students are seen
to have many social advantages when compared to students who do not attend to
college but still engage in high rates of drug use and other risky behaviors (Arria
et al. 2008).
Cooper’s (2002) study further analyzes the risky behaviors adapted by
college students focusing on alcohol use and sex. There is always some sort of
risk taken when engaging in sexual activity but she goes on to define high-risk
sexual behavior as “any behavior that increase the probability of negative
consequences associated with sexual contact, including AIDS or other sexually
transmitted diseases (STDs) and unplanned pregnancy” (Cooper 2002, 101-102).
Perception in the context of risky behaviors is very important, particularly
when looking to take preventative measures (Rimal & Real 2005; Weinstein
1984; Nordgren et al. 2007; Martens et al. 2006; Larimer et al. 2005; Walter &
Neighbors 2005). Intervention programs on campuses across the country focus
on college students’ perception of alcohol consumption, drug usage and sexual

28

behavior because it has been seen that there is a relationship between students’
perception of behavior norms and their own actions (Rimal & Real 2005; Marten
et al. 2006). Rimal & Real (2005) state
Normative restructuring strategies currently underway to combat
alcohol related problems among U.S. college students are based on
the idea that students harbor inflated perceptions about the
prevalence of drinking on campus and this if these misperceptions
can be corrected, then alcohol consumption will decrease.
Rimal & Real (2005: 389).
Martens et al.’s (2006) study further provides information strengthening
this claim, a belief that has been well studied and has been accepted as true
(NIAAA 2002; Perkins 2002; Perkins 1999; Baer & Carney 1993; Martens et al.
2006, Rimal & Real 2005).
There tends to be a difference in student perception of the risk and the
actual risk their behavior entails (Nordgren et al. 2007; Martens et al. 2006;
Rimal & Real 2005). Students have “exaggerated perceptions about the
prevalence of drinking in their midst” (Rimal & Real 2005, 390) leading them
also engage in drinking because their actions are viewed as socially normal
(Rimal & Real 2005, Walter & Neighbors 2005; Martens et al. 2006). It is also

29

seen that students engage in risky behaviors to seek the social approval of their
peers (Rimal & Real 2005). Perceptive norms are something that is a focus of
many intervention programs on college campuses including interventions for
drugs other than alcohol and risky sexual behaviors (Martens et al. 2006).
Martens et al. (2006) state:
Social norms interventions might not only provide a remedial effect
by reducing the frequency with which individuals who already
engage in a behavior choose to do so, but they might also provide a
preventative effect by correcting misperceptions among those who
are not yet frequently engaging in the behavior.
Martens et al. (2006: 299).
Rimal & Real (2005) agree that social norm interventions are effective
because of the strong connection seen in an individual’s perception of risk and
their behavior, but also point out that these interventions can be improved (Rimal
& Real 2005). They propose that these programs can be improved not merely by
making the harms of alcohol and drugs more apparent but providing students
with a dual message that “most students do not drink excessively and that most
of them derive significant benefits from responsible drinking” (Rimal & Real,
2005: 408). This advice calls for programs to go further than simply pointing out
the negative affects associated with these risky behaviors, encouraging them to

30

promote the benefits of abstaining from such behaviors while also leading
students to understand that responsible behavior is not only preferable and
socially accepted but also normal (Rimal & Real 2005).
Optimism Bias
In the previous section, perception is shown to be very important when
analyzing risk (Rimal & Real 2005; Weinstein 1987; Nordgren et al. 2007;
Walter & Neighbors 2005; Marten et al. 2006). It is seen that college students
and individuals who perform risky jobs accept this risk frequently and with a
degree of optimism bias (Weinstein 1984, 1987; Caponecchia 2010). Optimism
bias is defined as “the tendency to think that negative events are less likely to
happen to oneself than to one’s peers” (Caponecchia, 2010: 601). This is an
attitude adopted by individuals to allow them to perform without worrying about
the risk facing them (Weinstein 1984; Caponecchia 2010).
Optimism bias is fueled by misperception and is used by individuals who
face risk in even the most common situations (Weinstein 1984; Caponecchia
2010; Job et al. 1995; Spittal et al. 2005). This attitude is found to be held by
individuals drinking and driving, underestimating the likelihood of them getting
pulled over or crashing (Caponechia 2010, White et al. 2011). This is also seen in
individuals who engage in unprotected sex underestimating their chances of
contracting an STD and many other health issues (Weinstein 1987). Other well-

31

studied cases where optimism bias is seen is in high-risk sports, marriage, and
overall health (Fave et al. 2003; Helweg-Larsen et al. 2011; Renner et al. 2000;
Clarke et al. 2000).
In the case of high-risk sports Fave et al. (2003) describe the many risks
faced by individuals who engage in rock climbing (Fave et al. 2000). These risks
range from minor injuries to death (Fave et al. 2000). It has been seen that
participants in rock climbing view the risk they incur with their participation
very differently from those who do not participate (Fave et al. 2000). Fave et al.
(2000) states,
The more climbers gained experience, the more motivating factors
moved along a continuum from relatively mechanical motives, such
as learning how to climb, to more intrinsic and autotelic ones, such as
self-expression.
Fave et al. (2000: 83).
The climbers seek mastery of their craft as a symbol of experience, and to
overcome the challenges they face (Fave et al. 2000). They believe the many risks
they face to be within their control, and that these can be overcome through
technical skill resulting in the completion of the goal (Fave et al. 2000). The
positives of rock climbing for these athletes (the rush, mastery of skill, rock

32

climbing as a form of self-expression) cause them to have a distorted view of risks
they face (Fave et al. 2000).
Optimism bias is also seen in the unrealistic expectation held by
individuals concerning the future of their romantic relationships (Helweg-Larsen
et al. 2011). Marriage and divorce rates are extremely high in the United States
leaving little to no hope for individuals to be overly excited about their future
relationships (Helweg-Larsen et al. 2011). And yet, individuals believe they will
avoid divorce and have a happy marriage (Helweg-Larsen et al. 2011). Optimism
bias is credited as a major reason behind the low number of prenuptial
agreements (Mahar 2003). People do not believe divorce is possible in their
relationship causing them to avoid prenuptial agreements and overlook the value
of the agreement (Helweg-Larsen et al. 2011; Mahar 2003). The use of a
prenuptial agreement is seen to accept divorce as a probable outcome, challenging
the optimism bias held by individuals (Mahar 2003). This challenge to most
individuals’ false optimism prevents them from even engaging in conversation
about prenuptial agreements (Mahar 2003).
The same attitude of optimism bias or unrealistic optimism is seen
in individuals and their perception to risk (Renner et al. 2000; Carman &
Kooreman 2014). People tend to believe that they are less susceptible to negative
outcomes concerning their health when compared to their peers (Renner et al.

33

2000; Carman & Kooreman 2014). This optimism bias in the context of health
has a major effect on the choices individuals make concerning themselves and
their family (Renner et al. 2000; Carman & Kooreman 2014). Renner et al.
(2000) describes the optimism bias held by respondents of different ages and
body weights. Older individuals who weighed more were less optimistic about
the risk they face (Renner et al. 2000). The reason being, “Adolescents as well as
young adults display unrealistic optimism because they have not experienced a
decline in health” (Renner et al., 2000: 144). It is not until an individual faces
the effects of illness or injury that their unrealistic optimism can be challenged
(Renner et al. 2000). Through age and experience, individuals begin to adopt a
more realistic perception of risk, and all it entails (Renner et al. 2000). Carman &
Kooreman (2014) states, “Risk perceptions are significant predictor of the use of
preventive care” (Carman & Kooreman 2014, 68). Optimism bias concerning
health beliefs has had an effect on health insurance choices (Carman & Kooreman
2014). People believe health risks are more prevalent among others causing them
to pass up health insurance (Carman & Kooreman 2014). This is very similar to
those who avoid talking about prenuptial agreements in marriage. Despite the
natural advantages of investing in health insurance, some people stay away from
it because it implies that individuals are not in good health and ‘need’ healthcare
(Carman & Kooreman 2014). People are overly optimistic concerning their

34

health causing them to see no need to invest in precautionary measures like
health insurance (Carman & Kooreman 2014).

35

Chapter 3: Methods
I collected data through face-to-face interviews with nineteen male
collegiate football players and one team physician. Each interview lasted
approximately thirty minutes, and focused on questions that addressed their
experiences as football players, in order to answer the research question: How are
the decisions of football players at the collegiate level affected by their
understanding of the risks involved?
I designed a set of interview questions centered on a set of hypotheses I
discuss in more detail later in this chapter, and which focus on risk perception,
opportunity, and players’ motivation to play. As I will describe in more detail, I
coded the participants’ responses according to a scheme of specific words and
phrases (and their synonyms) that indicate certain attitudes, perceptions and
themes.
The participants are all athletes at the same university, with the exception
of one who is a campus health center physician. The athlete participants were all
recruited from my personal friend network, and I conducted interviews with
them in their 2014-15 post-season. Each participant has specific characteristics
and a playing-background that involves such factors as cohort year, level of
participation, concussion history, and position. These characteristics shape their

36

views, experiences, and how they handle their perception of risk. The
participants range from college freshmen to seniors. The freshmen had completed
their first college season and seniors had completed their final season. The
inclusion of these different cohorts shines light on any differences that may exist
in these athletes’ understanding and perception of the risks they face in playing
football. I interviewed eight seniors, eight juniors, two sophomores, and one
freshman athlete.
The participants also play in various positions: five are wide receivers, two
are running backs, one plays at quarterback and one at tight end, there are three
offensive linemen, two defensive linemen, three cornerbacks, and one safety. The
defensive positions (defensive linemen, cornerbacks, safeties) initiate most of the
hits because their positions require that they tackle the runner with the ball. The
quarterback, wide receivers, running backs, cornerbacks, and safety are the
“skilled positions”, requiring the most technical skill. Players are taught to hit
and tackle to protect them from concussions, and the types of hits players
typically engage in vary by position. But across the board there is technique
required in every hit and tackle, designed to prevent concussions and head
injuries.
Interviews are the best method for gathering the data I would need here to
help analyze the decision making processes of these athletes, and their

37

perceptions of their sport as well as of the risks they face, especially the risk of
concussions. In interview, they can reveal their beliefs and observations,
providing an honest account of their experiences and of their understanding of
the risks, acknowledging the presence of risk and its effect on their views. Each
interview was recorded and took place in a private location to ensure that the
participants could comfortably speak freely. To ensure the confidentiality of these
individuals, I have changed their names and other pieces of identifying
information, further contributing to their sense that they can speak honestly and
freely in their responses to my questions.
Two of the participants play more than one sport at the varsity level:
Grant and Alex play football and run track but were recruited to play Division I
football. Two of the participants decided to stop playing football before they
completed their senior season: Jamal decided to end his football career after his
freshman season and Sam decided to end his career after suffering a concussion
his sophomore season. Jackson (Quarterback) and Chris (Wide Receiver) are
two seniors who hope to continue playing at the professional level.
Three of the participants in this study can be considered to be outliers. At
the completion of their freshman and sophomore years, Jamal & Sam
(respectively) decided to retire from playing football because of the risks involved.
Another respondent, Kevin, was recruited to play basketball and at the end of his

38

junior year, he is currently in the process of switching to football. His case is an
interesting exception to the typical trajectory of a college player because he has
never played football before. The other athletes that participated have either
completed or are in the process of completing four years of collegiate football.
These athletes play football in the Ivy League where, unlike most
universities at the Division I level, student athletes are not offered athletic
scholarships. Because of this, Ivy League athletes are not financially rewarded for
playing and therefore are not incentivized by money but by other factors, which
this study examines. Ivy athletes also tend to be more academically driven than
athletes at non-Ivy universities, placing further demands on their time.
The interviews were conversational but I asked all participants the same
questions in order to systematically analyze specific themes. I opened up each
interview by asking when they started playing football and why they decided to
play. I ask these questions to see what went into their decisions to initially play
and at what age. This also shows the different influences that played into those
decisions. I followed this question with a question of whether the participants
played any other sports, to see if they were able to experience other sports. This
allows us to see what other sports they were exposed to and compare the different
risks associated with these sports.

39

This also sets up my next question, which asks when they decided to play
football at the collegiate level and why. Some of the participants play other sports
at the collegiate level but as their secondary athletic focus. This allows
participants to show what went into their decision to just play football or to
continue to play football along with other sports. This question also reveals the
specific opportunities that football provides to players, opportunities that are seen
to not be present in other sports. I also ask what went into to them deciding to
stop playing different sports throughout their lives, highlighting the
opportunities provided by football. And I asked what makes football attractive to
them showing why they continue to play, exploring whether it is the sport itself,
other advantages from the sport, or the combination of the two. These questions
help us start to assess any positive influences football has on the participants’ lives
and their motives behind playing football.
I continue by asking how much of an impact playing football had on their
decision to attend their university. Here, I am attempting to understand the
degree to which playing football has affected their lives outside of their sport. I
also asked when it was that they decided they were going to play football in
college; it is not uncommon for high school athletes to play multiple sports
throughout high school, but these individuals all committed to play college
football. This question also reveals the many opportunities college football

40

provides to athletes. Grant and Alex are special cases as they play multiple sports
at the collegiate level, and I ask them why they decided to continue to play
multiple sports, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of this decision.
I then ask questions designed to help us better understand their
perceptions of the risks involved with playing football, and how these affect them.
I first ask if they have ever been injured playing football to see what type of
injuries they have experienced. Based on their experience, I then ask what they
believe is the most common injury in football, to examine their beliefs about
concussions and other injures that are perhaps more of a cause for concern than
those they might have sustained, I go on to ask what they think are the most
serious injuries commonly seen in football and why they believe these injuries to
be serious, which will reveal how they define a “serious” injury.
I then ask what they think are the most serious injuries to affect most
football players; this will provide insight into their perceptions of concussions,
and how serious of an injury they believe them to be. If they list concussions as a
serious injury I ask why, which allows me to analyze any variation in their
perception of the long and / or short term symptoms of concussions and whether
this has any effect on their stance or if there are other reasons besides health that
make them see this, and other injury types as ‘serious’.

41

The game of football is seen as risky because of the many different injuries
that can affect players. These injuries vary from mild bumps and bruises,
sprained ankles and pulled muscles, to more traumatic injuries like torn ACLs,
broken bones, and head and neck injuries; more traumatic injuries require more
time to recover before returning to play. Concussions require an unspecified
recovery time, and when concussed athletes no longer feel symptoms from the
injury they still might not be cleared to play. Time off from competition due to an
injury is something that athletes are very conscious of and try to avoid: during
time off ‘for injuries’, athletes are forced to stop training for a period of time until
they have been cleared to play again, an undesirable situation for an athlete to be
in. This is one of the main reasons why so many concussions go unreported,
particularly among goal-driven, focused young athletes at the start of their careers.
Concussions affect each individual differently in the short and long term.
The symptoms from concussions and the potential for long term brain damage is
a major part of why football is risky and is at the essence of my interview
questions. I ask the respondents whether they have ever experienced a concussion
when playing football. With those who have experienced a concussion I ask more
questions concerning their experience of concussion(s), as I attempt to build a
timeline of their injury history. I also ask about their recovery and their return to

42

playing after suffering a concussion, and the reaction of their coaches and peers
when they themselves or a teammate have received a concussion
Dr. Peddie represents the perspective of the individuals on the medical
staff, who are responsible for treating injured athletes. She has a very extensive
knowledge of concussion research and concussion treatment and risk, making her
perspective a critically important component in this study. I asked her to describe
the extent to which she sees concussions, the frequency that they are presented to
her for treatment, to see if her observation matches the perceived frequencies
reported by student athletes in interview. I asked Dr. Peddie very similar
questions to those I asked the athlete participants, getting a slightly outsider’s
perspective of college football culture and how she sees athletes deal with the
risks they face, as well as perspective on why so many concussions go unreported
and why this is such a huge risk factor. She also has a great deal of expertise in
limiting athlete-risk and in the latest developments intended to reduce the
probability of injury for student athletes. For example, some researchers argue
that helmets are effective in preventing catastrophic head injuries but are not
effective in preventing concussions (McIntosh & McCrory 2000; Brenson et al.
2009; Daneshvar et al. 2011). I also ask Dr. Peddie about how much control she
believes athletes have in reducing their risks, and how knowledgeable she thinks

43

athletes are when it comes to the long and short-term risks associated with
concussion injuries.
I analyze my interview data along the lines of four major themes: (1) The
relationship between student athletes’ perceived risk compared to actual risks;
(2) The on-and-off-the-field positive aspects of participation in football for
athletes; (3) The combination of optimism bias and the benefits they see to
accrue from playing, and how these shape their decisions for or against
continuing to play; (4) Whether serious injuries like concussions are currently
preventable in the way football is played, making connections between exposure
to risk and their sense of the general risks presented in college life.
In order to systematically analyze the interviews along the specified
themes, certain terms were coded to signify specific attitudes and understanding.

44

Table 1 (below) is the list of coded terms, sorted by theme.
There are terms that appear in multiple themes making the context of
where they are found very important. The terms ‘career’ and ‘success’ are coded
in opportunity and optimism: ‘career’ is used in ‘opportunity’ in the sense of
providing career opportunities on and off the field, and is coded in ‘optimism bias’
to show how the pursuit of playing professionally influences optimism regarding
one’s perceived career prospects.

45

‘Success’ coded under ‘opportunity’ explores how playing football at the
collegiate level is seen as opportunistic in pursuit of greater success. Coded in the
context of ‘optimism bias’, however, ‘success’ highlights the pursuit of success as
influential to how these respondents perceive risk. ‘Sacrifice’ is coded under both
‘risk’ and ‘opportunity’: The sense of sacrifice experienced by college football
players creates a connection and a sense of shared experience between members
of the team, in much the same way as the bonding experience felt by members of
the military, fraternities, and other such tightly bound groups. ‘Academic’ is
coded within two themes because football offers athletes academic opportunity
but also is something that is sacrificed by student athletes facing competing
demands on their limited time.
There are many occupations and sports where individuals are placed in
high-risk situations, taking on risks for different reasons, all of which fuel some
degree of optimism bias, which enables them to accept the risks that they are
taking. To reiterate, my research question asks: How are the decisions of
collegiate football players affected by their understanding of the risk involved?
Table 2 (below) shows the hypotheses guiding this study, this can also be
found in the Appendices. Each hypothesis is relevant to certain themes connecting
them to specific code words.

46

The H1a and H1b hypotheses highlight the opportunities that are
attached to playing football. This is sociologically of interest because opportunity
has been repeatedly shown to be a motivating factor for athletes at the high
school and collegiate level. These opportunities take various forms, most notably
as career opportunities on and off the field, but also by providing students with
the opportunity to go to college in the first place. Hence the coding scheme for
words such as ‘college,’ ‘academic,’ and ‘goal.’ Moreover, football provides
structure in the lives of student athletes, given the large amounts of time and
attention that they must give to football when playing at the college level, and the
internal discipline this requires of the individuals. Attributes such as ‘discipline’
and ‘sacrifice’ connect athletes (H1b), leading to the coding of words and phrases
such as ‘team spirit,’ ‘brotherhood,’ and ‘bond.’ The term ‘network’ is used in this
coding to reference the alumni network available to university athletes in a

47

number of ways, most significantly as they begin looking for jobs in their senior
year
The H2a-H2b hypotheses address the risks involved in playing football, as
it relates to the many opportunities afforded these athletes. The risks in college
sports in extremely relevant and timely because of the stereotype that young
football players do not fully understand the risks they are taking. Similarly, it is
an important theme to address in research such as this, in large part due to recent
early retirements of a number of NFL players that show this stereotype not to be
the case in reality. Indeed, there is some naivety in student athletes’
understandings of the risks they face, and this is addressed here, but it is
optimistic naivety rather than ignorance. H2b claims that athletes understand the
risks they are taking but are nonetheless motivated to play for other reasons. The
H2 hypotheses combine two of the central themes in this study: risk and
opportunity. Athletes assume risks, coded here as ‘injury,’ ‘concussion,’ and
‘sacrifice,’ in order that they may take advantage of opportunities, coded here in
terms such as ‘career,’ ‘college,’ and ‘success.’
The hypotheses H3a-b examine the optimism of athletes when they are in
the process of considering opportunities. We know that there is an optimism bias
among professional athletes when it comes to their health: football and hockey
players, and boxers, routinely compete while suffering the symptoms of

48

concussion. Athletes perceive of the risks differently, and this is why optimism
bias persists. Optimism bias among college athletes generally suggests that
athletes don’t think injury will happen to them. As mentioned, college players
have a skewed perception of their chances of making it to the professional level;
the same is true when it comes to their perceptions of the risks of injury. H3a
examines these misconceptions of risk and is coded through terms such as
‘realize,’ which reveals instances of this type of misconception. H3b addresses
optimism bias in the context of perceptions of future playing opportunities on the
professional level. As athletes pursue opportunities on and off the field, they hold
biased beliefs regarding their own abilities and opportunities as well as the risks
that they are assuming by playing football.
The hypothesis H4 combines all of these major themes, and seeks to reveal
similarities and differences, variation, between my respondents’ answers within
each theme presented here.

49

Chapter 4: Perceptions of Risk
The perception of risk is critically important in the decision-making
processes of the athletes in this study. How they perceive the risks related to
playing football is one variable used here, enabling me to examine the ways in
which these athletes view and understand the risks that they are taking. Their
perception of these risks varies, influencing each of them to adapt and behave in
response to their understanding of this factor. Each subsection of this chapter
highlights the challenges facing athletes who play football, a set of challenges that
affects student athletes on and off the field in a variety of ways.
Stigma/Stereotype & Time Management
College athletes, especially football players, are often categorized in
one general social category, under which they are subjected to stereotyping by
their non-athlete peers and other members of their campus community. Football
players are seen to perform at a lower academic standard and to care very little
about things outside of football. This “dumb jock” stereotype unfairly ignores the
extensive time management required of athletes who play at the collegiate level,
who face intense competing demands of their academic and athletic lives.
Balancing their time is not only challenging but also prevents athletes from
participating more widely in campus life.

50

Athletes sacrifice many other opportunities to be able to play football. I
asked these athletes about any other interests they have outside of football, and
how they are able to balance their academics with athletics. Jamal talks about
balancing the two stating, “I felt school was a struggle because of football. I
didn’t have time to do any of the things I wanted to do. I couldn’t put the amount
of time I needed to academics to be successful”. Football is clearly time-
consuming leaving less time for these athletes to explore other avenues of their
life. Chris agreed saying: “When you focus so heavily on a sport you kind of lose
other aspects of your life. I have an interest in art but football takes all the time I
would have for that. You’re focused on your sport even in the summers starting
in high school all the way through college”.
Chris admitted he had an interest in art but was not able to explore these
interests because of the amount of time he dedicated to football. Jamal had the
same feelings of sacrifice but he viewed this sacrifice in a negative light giving
him reason to decide to end his career after his freshman year.
All of the other athletes said they felt differently. Michael stated, “My
grades were better during the season”, and many of the other athletes felt the
same way. Jason stated, “I actually have better grades during the season because
I have set times everyday to do school work before or after practice and meetings”.
While not all of them think their grades are necessarily better during the season,

51

none of the athletes except Jamal said playing football hurts their grades. Also
none of the current athletes feel they are missing out on other opportunities
because of football. Joseph said, “We don’t miss out on that much we are a fall
sport so we don’t play that deep in to the year”. The consistency of their football
schedule forces these athletes to work on a schedule for academic work as well.
Jason said, “The time commitment is obviously crazy. It’s definitely an
adjustment but I’m glad I did it because if I would have had to much free time I
wouldn’t get anything done”. The participants also said they felt time
management and balancing football with other interest is a skill that is developed
over time. When I asked Brian about balancing his academic requirement with
his athletic requirements he said, “It was a struggle to balance my freshman year.
But then I eventually got the hang of it”.
Athletes are required to focus on their sport but it is not something that the
athletes talk about as a negative. When I asked Alex if football affected him
negatively off the field he replied, “No. At the beginning you do have to make an
adjustment but that’s about it”. The focus and time commitment of football is
seen as a positive for athletes. As Chris talked about losing out on part taking in
art he concludes by saying the sacrifice is “ultimately worth it”. These athletes
are forced to sacrifice much of their time because they are constantly engaged in

52

rigorous athletic training. They view the sacrifice and dedication to playing
football as necessary to help them ultimately achieve their goal. Jackson states,
“I have a hard time explaining it but its probably similar to the army.
I feel like there is nothing like waking up for a 6am run and you
don’t feel like doing it and no one wants to do it but you have 100
other guys who are expecting you to do it and you to do it well and
lead your team or be a guy that exemplifies everything that your
team wants. When you know others are looking at you and expecting
that from you, you are more willing to sacrifice to achieve the things
your team has set out to accomplish”.
This “sacrifice” is what builds the bond between the current football
players and alumni. The shared experience and sense of having made scarifies for
the same cause is a powerful bonding agent, and helps graduating players find
jobs from alumni.
Injury
The game of football requires players to aggressively hit and tackle,
exposing them to various risks. These injuries are all factors in the overall risks
involved with playing. Specifically, injuries like ankle sprains, broken bones and
ACL tears are very common but vary in severity and time off influencing the

53

athletes’ perceptions of the risks. These injuries exclude concussions but are
nonetheless essential in the athletes’ decision-making process.
Almost all injuries in football result from hitting and tackling, which is a
major part of how football is played. While hitting and tackling can cause very
severe injuries, athletes did not speak negatively about it. When I asked Aaron
why he liked hitting he responded saying, “I’m an aggressive person so it was
just something that was just fun to do. To go and put your body on the line and
just go up and smack someone was fun” For many of the athletes hitting and
tackling was a part of the game they liked. The reason hitting is attractive is
because it is a place where athletes can let out aggression, Joseph went on to say,
“Football matched up with my personality. I’m an aggressive person so I was
attracted to the hitting part of football”. Hitting and tackling is an aspect of
football that was attractive for many of the athletes. The risks involved with
hitting and tackling is not present in their thought process because hitting is a
part of the game, which many football players started doing at a very young age.
When athletes begin playing at a young age there are not very many injuries,
which is why most of the athletes do not automatically associate hitting and
tackling with risk of injury.
Kevin has never hit or tackled but as he transitions over to playing football
I asked him what he thinks about this aspect of playing football. He said, “The

54

hitting will be the biggest adjustment for me. I just need to get used to how it
feels and I think I will be fine. I’m a big guy especially for someone who is going
to play wide-receiver so I think I will be able to take it”
Not all of the athletes liked the aspect of hitting. Trey said, “Its not that I
don’t like hitting but if I don’t have to I won’t”. Hitting and tackling are a major
part of football, making it almost impossible to play if the individual has a dislike
for hitting. All of the athletes are either attracted to hitting or are indifferent
towards it. Jason describes hitting in the positive light seeing it as a motivating
tool that can provide a lift to his team and teammates. He goes on to say “Getting
your teammates pumped up or having the crowd go crazy when you make a big
hit is a part of playing football. I don’t like inflicting pain on other people but I
think it can be cool”. It is true that players hit each other as hard as they can but
do not have the intent of inflicting pain on others. Zach said, “I could hit and I
was good at it”. These athletes tend to be successful players especially at the high
school levels and below. They are bigger and stronger allowing for them to
develop an attraction to hitting which carries over to college even if the physical
dominance does not continue. Many of the participants point out that hitting did
not start to become a challenge for them until they got to college. Sam talked
about football becoming more risky as athletes competed at higher levels, saying:
“As you get older I believe football gets more and more risky. For me didn’t feel

55

it was risky at all in high school because I was bigger than almost everyone. The
contact was hard but it was not vicious. As you get older and older the contact is
more fierce”.
Football players face constant risks when playing football. The most severe
injuries they face involve concussions, because of the potentially devastating
short- and long-term symptoms and effects. CTE and its correlation to brain
injuries is a major reason why concussions are such a cause for concern, and
concussions expose players to the greatest health risks as well as affecting players
over varying time periods.
When asked if he had ever experienced a concussion Jackson responded,
“Yes I’ve had several concussions. The first one was in eighth grade which I had
two that season”. Aaron responded to the same question saying, “I’ve never had a
diagnosed concussion”. Aaron’s response, points out that he has never had
“diagnosed concussion”, is similar to many of the participants who say they have
never had a concussion. They make it clear that its not that they believe they have
never gotten a concussion but that they have never been officially diagnosed with
a concussion. Many of them noted that they have had their “bell rung”. Getting
your “bell rung” is a feeling experienced when taking a hard hit but James
described some of the symptoms of getting your bell rung as “blurry vision” or
being “shaken up”. As Aaron reflected on some of the times he had been shaken

56

up saying, “I think if I were to describe some of the symptoms that I had my
freshman year when I started playing when my body was the least developed you
probably would say I had a minor concussion”.
James described getting his bell rung, telling me:
“It happened a lot but I remember some distinct times. I remember
once my sophomore year in high school we did a lot of hitting drills
and killed each other in practice…I remember hitting a guy in this
drill that after when I got up I felt fine but my whole color scheme
was off. The grass was yellow and the sky was purple for like 2
minutes. After it went away and I was fine”
When I asked James if he thought that when he got his bell rung he
experienced a concussion, he responded by saying, “No I don’t think I had a
concussion because there are concussion symptoms as I know them go beyond the
time of impact that I never had”. The symptoms he described in the instances
where he got his bell rung only lasted a few seconds to a few minutes, which was
not alarming enough for James to feel like he needed to report an injury. All the
athletes that believed they have had an undiagnosed concussion do not think
about how they put themselves at a higher risk of suffering an even worse
concussion. The main reason behind the athletes not reporting very mild

57

concussions is because the symptoms do not last very long and they did not feel it
was necessary to risk time off from competition when the symptoms had cleared.
The plays where the athletes describe how they get their bell rung tend to be
routine plays that would not be seen as alarming to viewers like the coaching and
medical staff. Many of the plays that cause concussions are not visible like
injuries to the athletes’ exterior.
The self-reporting of concussions is what allows for so many to go
unreported. Among the participants that had concussions none had the ability to
conclude at the moment after the play that they had a concussion. Chris described
his concussion experience by saying, “I didn’t pass out or anything but when I
came to the sideline I was really confused and my teammates actually noticed I
was out of it and had no clue what was going on. They are the ones who actually
notified the trainers.” He continued, saying, “I was angry that I didn’t know
what was going on and I was so confused. I was a nervous angry because the next
week we had a huge game in my hometown so the game was personal to me and
I didn’t want that”. Sam described when he got a concussion by telling me:
“I actually didn’t realize I had a concussion until the night after the
practice. I was doing homework with a group of people and my mind
was just kind of drifting and I couldn’t stay focused on the basic

58

steps of solving the problem for our homework. I would try to focus
and my head would just space out”
This led him to report the concussion.
The concussions that were reported and diagnosed were either reported
because the athlete went unconscious on the play or his teammates notices a
change in behavior, taking it upon themselves to alert the medical staff.
Concussions are reported when the athlete cannot hide the immediate symptoms
of the concussion. According to the athletes they have never heard of anyone
going to the medical staff to get test for a concussion and the results coming back
negative. Dr. Peddie concurs, she said, “I have never had an athlete come up to
me and say they think they might have a concussion. I test them for it and the
results come back negative”.
When concussions are reported it tends to be when the symptoms are
undeniable. Chris experienced a concussion on a hard hit, which his teammate
Aaron described the play as “his head got mashed in the ground” but was not
aware of what happened. The participants at the point of their concussion are
dazed and do not have the wherewithal to get themselves checked out. It is only
until they talk to their teammates does the individual being to realize they are
being affected by concussion symptoms like memory-loss and confusion.

59

One of the major worries for the players when facing injury, especially
concussions, was the potential time off from play. Jackson says, “Football is such
a high priority to me that if I get hurt then I’m going to get back out their as fast
I can and keep pushing myself and keep doing it until someone tells me I
absolutely can’t”. Chris talked about how his biggest worry when he experienced
a pretty severe concussion was the thought that he could miss playing in the next
upcoming game. He said he was angry when he experienced a concussion because
the “next week we had a huge game to earn first place and it was in my home
town so the game was personal to me and I didn’t want to miss that”. Tim talked
about the pressure he felt to return after suffering a concussion because, as he
said, “The longer I waited the less chance I had to get back on the field and earn
my spot”. When I asked the participants about their experience when seeing
someone else get a concussion, but none of the athletes thought much about it
and viewed incidents of other players getting injured as just something that
“happens” and is a part of the game.
There is very little presence of CTE in the thought process of the athletes.
These athletes are very short term in their thinking when talking about
concussions and the potential long-term symptoms. When asked if they believe
they will be affected after they are done playing football all of the participants
stated they do no believe they will be affected by concussions later in life. Andre,

60

who has had multiple concussions said, “I think the only thing that will affect me
later in life will be my knee because the micro fracture surgery I had. If I do
anything to hurt it again I will need total knee replacement surgery”. All of the
participants that talked about other injuries they have experienced believed these
injuries would affect them later in life.
The same is not true for all of the participants that had experienced a
concussion. The injuries my participants believed would affect them later in life
are all injuries that require surgery. Only three of the athletes referenced CTE:
directly, Alex, Sam, and Jackson. Their referring to CTE is evidence of a better
understanding of the reality of the risks involved with playing football. With the
exception of Jackson, all of the respondents said they didn’t believe that they
would have problems later in life related to concussions.
Jackson, who had experienced several concussions throughout his playing
career, responded to this question by saying,
“I am nervous about when I get older that I will start to develop
symptoms of CTE. The last concussion I was diagnosed I had I had
headaches for 7 weeks after, which was the longest I’ve experienced.
The symptoms have definitely gotten worse with each concussion.
Then with some other injuries I’ve had. I’ve had back surgery. I’ve
just accepted the fact that when I get older I’m going to be in some

61

pain and I’m going to pay for some of the memories and experiences
I’ve had playing football”
Jackson is the only player that recognized that he is at a greater chance of
developing CTE in his future because of the concussion history he has had but
the other athletes believe it will not happen to them.
All the participants with or without a concussion history believe they will
be free of the symptoms of post-concussion syndrome and brain trauma when
they are older. This is where the most optimism bias is most powerfully observed.
Alex said,
“I don’t think I will be affected later in life but I know a lot of people
that will be affected later in life. There are people that have knee
injuries, which is very popular, and ankle injuries and will have bad
knees and a bad back when they’re old. There are some many
concussions that might not affect you after you recover but when you
get older and your brain is not as strong it might come back and hurt
you, like CTE”
Even Jackson, in recognizing that he has a real chance of having problems
later in life as a result of football, remains optimistic in his outlook on life as he
hoped that there will be advancements in technology and medicine to help treat

62

any problems he will have when the time comes. Almost all of the athletes said
they “hoped” they will not have not have problems later in life but still
recognizing it is a problem that many other football players will face. Serious
longer-term injuries as a result of concussions are something that the athletes
hope will not happen but is something the athletes confidently believe will affect
others. They understand that CTE as a result of concussions is something that
affects football players but it not something they actively think about. Athletes
like Sam and Jamal are the only players that did not have this optimism bias,
leading them to decide to not play any longer. Sam said about CTE, “I believe
that the more concussions you have the better chance that it will affect you later
in life. I’ve done a little bit of research and learned about CTE. It’s a growing
concern with concussion research. I’m glad it’s occurring and I look forward to
seeing the results” These athletes, Jamal and Sam, realized the risks involved in
getting multiple concussions and the connection with CTE. These risks were
something that they viewed as inevitable with the way football is played, and
something they hoped to avoid by ending their careers.
Football is a sport that requires a lot of hitting but in each hit there is a lot
of technique used to safely hit players. Players who have never experienced a
concussion believe they are very fortunate and they focus on techniques that

63

prevent them from suffering major injuries. When asked about this control and
technique Alex stated:
“I think that’s the reason why I haven’t had any concussions because
most people play off instinct and not thinking. That’s what is part of
my skill set. I think about doing everything the right way which has
kept me safe. If you’re not doing that there are so many ways to get
injured because your getting hit every single play. If your technically
sound it drastically decreases your chances of being injured”
The athletes believe they have control over the types of hits they take and believe
that when athletes play the game correctly they will not be injured. James goes
on to say:
“There is a technique, mentality, and style of football that give you
longevity or takes it away which is basically knowing how to use
your body and knowing when to go down. Knowing how to use your
body means you know how to take a hit and absorb the blow. Its
more than being tough its training your body to take impact keeping
your body loose and rhythmic so you are loose and you take the blow
over a longer period of time which will prevent you from getting
injured. The other thing is if you got 10 guys wrapped around you

64

ankles don’t try to keep fighting for an extra yard and risk taking a
big blow smart players will just go down. Guys that play like that are
smart and have longevity”
James goes even further talking about this control, saying that there is a
way in which athletes should play that will drastically reduce their chances of
suffering injuries like concussions. Aaron points out the importance of muscle
development in his career as he described his experience as a freshman. He
believed the game became safer for him as he go older because he was able to get
bigger and stronger to help him better avoid injury. Trey stated, “There are so
many factors that go into someone getting hurt than just the sport they play.
Every sport is risky in some way but if you play it the right way it negates a lot of
the risk”.
Avoiding injuries to these athletes is an acquired skill that is
developed over time. Throughout their careers athletes learn the way to play to
not only be successful on the field but also to prevent injury. The sense of control
is not congruent with many of the descriptions provided by these athletes, in
them viewing someone else get a concussion and the experiences of those who got
a concussion, considering many of them did not know they had a concussion at
the time of the injury. Plays like the one that caused Jason to have a concussion
are out of their control: Jason went to tackle someone and took a knee to the head.

65

The sense of control is an aid to these athletes’ optimism bias, in the context of
the risk of injury. There is a sense of pride among athletes that avoid injury
because they are seen to play the “right way”. Trey stated, playing football and
preventing injury “just depends on the way you play the game”

66

Chapter 5: Perceptions of Opportunity
A perception of opportunity is essential in the decision making process of
the athletes in this study. The way in which football players perceive the
opportunities football affords them allows me to analyze the various reasons why
they take on these health risks. College football players are given various
opportunities throughout their lives, and they perceive and prioritize these
opportunities in various ways, influencing the decision that ultimately brought
them to play football. Each subsection of this chapter highlights the numerous
opportunities football provides players, and the set of opportunities provided to
student athletes on and off the field, in a variety of ways.
Career Opportunity
College athletes often have an inflated perception of the
opportunities they face, particularly when it comes to their ability to play
professionally. This opportunity is dependent on their on-field performance and
development. Pursuing football as a career requires more focus and preparation
than playing at college, and the opportunity to play professionally is one that
most college athletes decide to pursue, if presented with it, for various reasons.

67

Their decisions are typically made according to their perceptions of the
opportunities available to them.
Only Chris and Jackson have aspirations of playing professionally. The
rest of the respondents do not have unrealistic aspirations of playing football at
the professional level. There are very few players that make it to the NFL, and
few players even continue to play after the completion of their senior season.
When I asked Jackson about his aspirations to play in the NFL he responded by
saying,
“I don’t think I will get drafted but there is a pro day here where a
couple of NFL scouts will be. Hopefully I will get invited to a camp
and make a team. I am also looking at some teams in the CFL. I have
talked to coaches from teams in both organizations. I just want to
keep playing”
Jackson and Chris realize the odds of making it to the NFL but are not willing to
give up all the other things that football does for them. Jackson went on to say,
“I can’t think of a better situation than being paid to play a
professional sport. I just like the process. Whenever I wake up in the
morning that’s the first thing on my mind. I think about what I am
doing that day to train and map my day around football. That’s just

68

always been apart of me even when it was up in the air on whether I
was going to play professionally. I still wanted to push myself for
even a small chance of that. I can not really see my life with out
sports”.
They take value in the structure football contributes to their lives, a structure that
is provided by their practice and training schedule.
All of the participants said if they had stronger collegiate careers they
would love the opportunity to try and play in the NFL. Michael stated, “If I
could play in the NFL I definitely would but my college career didn’t work out
for that to ever have been a thought for me”.
Off-Field Opportunity
Most of the opportunities that benefit college football players are
found off the field. These opportunities are found in the short- and long-term,
and involve each athlete differently. These off field opportunities affect college
football players’ lives in various ways and are not dependent on their athletic
ability or success on the field, and all football players at the college level are
exposed to these opportunities in various capacities.
All of the participants used football as a tool to provide greater
opportunity to attend college and is part of the reason why athletes decide to

69

continue to play college football. When I asked Michael why he wanted to play at
the collegiate level he said, “I liked football, it was something to do. I didn’t love
it and I knew I wasn’t going to play professionally but I knew it knew it was a
good way to get into a good school”. The opportunity to go to a good school is a
major aspect of why these athletes play. These athletes were not recruited to play
football at the ‘major division’ level2
and have more realistic views of their
chances of playing professionally, so they focus on their academics to allow them
to seize other future opportunities as they arise. James said, “I loved basketball
and I loved track but I decided to focus on football because I figured I had the
best shot at getting a scholarship. There are 60 scholarship per team which is
way more than any other sport”
The ability to earn a scholarship and have the chance to attend college is
much greater in football, which is another attractive quality about the sport,
which leads them to choose to play football over other sports. Aaron stated, “I
used football to get these schools to want me and then picked from there. So I
know of just used football to open up my options”.
All of the athletes used football to attend college, which is evident in every
athlete’s stories about being recruited. Football was the biggest reason for why
they choose to attend their university. Most of the athletes were not aggressively

2
The schools that make up the power 5 conferences are considered the major division I level where
the competition is the greatest.

70

recruited and did not have a large number of schools to consider when choosing
where to attend college and play football. It was the combination of being a good
fit athletically and academically that inspired their decisions regarding where to
attend school. When I asked if they believe they would still be able to still attend
this university if they did not play football, all of these athletes simply said, “No”:
They depended on football to get into college.
While Ivy universities do not give out athletic scholarships, athletes use
recruitment as a way to get them into university and these individuals only
considered universities that recruited them for football. Grant explained the
advantages of playing football in the application process. He said, “Football
provided a balance to offset the areas I lacked compared to other students that are
trying to come here have. My grades and test scores were good but not as good as
the other students but in order to give admissions a reason to look at me and let
me in was football”. Many of the athletes played multiple sports when they were
younger, all the way through high school, but their ability to attract colleges
based upon their sporting qualifications is what influenced them to focus on
football.
Another quality that all of the athletes recognize as a major positive of
playing football in college is having access to the alumni network and building a
tight bond with their teammates. These are all things that aid these athletes on

71

and off the field. The bond between teammates is something that all of them take
great value in. Alex stated, “You start off college with 100 friends”. This bond is
made so deep thought the large amount of sacrifice the athletes make to continue
a career in college football. Zach describes one of the major positives of playing
college football is that:
“I like my teammates a lot we have a special bond because if it
weren’t for my teammates I probably would have quite my freshman
year because it was so hard. You go from being the top dog as a
senior to a little freshman who doesn’t know anything. It’s something
everyone goes through and I just relied on the older guys”
The shared experience between the members of the team, whether they be
good or bad, is what unifies them. This sacrifice and dependence on one and
other to overcome obstacles is something that promotes a very tight bond among
its members. All of the participants reference the bond developed with their
teammates.
This bond through shared sacrifice grants the players access to a
strong alumni network. Grant talks about the alumni network as a tool by saying,
“The alumni network here is great. The alumni football players help us get jobs
and give us career advice”. Playing football gives players access to an even more

72

selective group of alumni who tend to be more willing to help other football
players compared helping to the general student body. The athletes connect with
football alumni in various ways. Tim talks about the formal places he had
connected with alumni saying, “The alumni network from playing football is
great. They come to games and talk to us after at our team tailgate. We also have
alumni at our banquet and other events we have throughout the year”. Many
alumni stay closely connected with the program, and some even go as far to offer
post-graduation employment to athletes on the team.

73

Chapter 6: Optimism Bias
Optimism bias is essential in understanding the decisions football players
make. The skewed ways in which these athletes perceive the risks involved in
playing football is a result of different factors. Athletes’ believe their chances of
injury are less than others as a result of various influences allowing for these
athletes to all have different perceptions of the risks involved.
There is a clear variation between the athletes’ playing-position and their
risk perception. All of the athletes believe their position is the position where they
are exposed less to the risks of injury like concussions. Almost of all of the
athletes made a reference to their position making the distinction between other
positions, because they believed the players of other positions to be more
vulnerable to injury. On this topic Alex stated:
“I played defense for most of my career so I’m doing most of the
hitting. I’m delivering the hit so it is all about how I deliver the blow.
I’ve had good technique so I’ve never been put in a position to get a
bad injury. The offensive positions don’t have as much to protect
themselves. Concussions are definitely less relevant for guys who play
my position”

Hazel_ThesisFinal

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (10)

Hazel_ThesisFinal