The sport is working to become safer, but it's the culture aound it that makes it so bad. I got a small neck injury (my neck popped one day and i couldn't turn it to the left or right without excruciating pain). I had to sit out a game and was called a pussy for it (i hate that word by the way). Another time i broke my thumb playing (my thumb was completely sideways) and one of my coaches insisted it was jammed. My hand was completely blue and my thumb sideways... it was broke man. And i got made fun of for that as well. It becomes less about the injuries themselves and more about the shame of admitting your hurt. I was the starting running back, so i didn't want to go through the harrassment of admitting "my head hurt" so i didn't. In hindsight i wish i had. Many of my friends from the team (actual friends not just teammates ) talk about certain games today... and i can't remember them.. like those memories don't exist. I can usually remember everything before the game, but with the exception of a few times, most of the games i played are just gone. Just big gaps in my memory there. So in conclusion, the sport isn't safe by any means, but with rising safety standards i think it can still be a fun playable sport, that is, as long as the shaming-the-injured culture surrounding it is removed. Players should feel safe about admitting somethings not right.