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<p>Who would have thought that one of the greatest labor victories this year would come from professional sports players? While attacks on organized labor continue in places like Wisconsin and Ohio, the National Football League players’ union has reached an agreement with owners that actually can be counted as a win for workers–in this case, NFL players–by improving health and safety standards. </p>
<p>Some of the statistics on player health are shocking. In a new documentary, <i>Not Just A Game</i>, <a href=”https://www.utne.com/politics/dave-zirin-sports-columnist-thinking-sportswriting.aspx”>Utne Visionary</a>, radio host, and <b>Nation</b> contributor Dave Zirin highlights some of the scarier ones, including this: football players die an average of twenty years earlier than the general population. Even more shocking may be the NFL’s attempt, until very recently, to deny links between the extremely violent sport and head injuries. In the clip below, <a href=”http://www.thenation.com/video/162315/dave-zirin-resolution-nfl-lockout-labor-victory”>Zirin tells a story</a> about a congressperson comparing an NFL doctor who denied this connection to doctors who previously denied the fact that cigarettes had anything to do with lung cancer. To any logical person, both seem impossible to deny. </p>
<p>Zirin also discusses the NBA lockout and the victory for the Japanese women’s soccer team in the World Cup.</p>
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<em>Related: In addition to being named an </em>
<a href=”https://www.utne.com/politics/dave-zirin-sports-columnist-thinking-sportswriting.aspx”>Utne Reader Visionary</a>
<em>, Zirin also recently wrote a piece for us about </em>
<a href=”https://www.utne.com/politics/balls-and-stripes-patriotism-sports-pat-tillman.aspx”>
<em>patriotism and the militarization of American sports</em>
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<em>.</em>
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<b>Source: <a href=”http://www.thenation.com/video/162315/dave-zirin-resolution-nfl-lockout-labor-victory”>The Nation</a>, <a href=”http://www.democracynow.org/2011/7/27/dave_zirin_on_nfl_players_remarkable”>Democracy Now!</a>
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