STREAM EXCLUSIVE ORIGINALS

Malcolm Gladwell Calls Football 'Moral Abomination'

Best-selling author bashes NFL for how league handles head injuries.

Malcolm Gladwell is one of the best-selling authors of our time, a scribe that comes equipped with razor-sharp opinions when prompted.

That especially holds true when discussing his feelings about the National Football League. When talking to Bloomberg TV, the intellectual author dropped the hammer on the NFL and the league’s handling of head injuries. 

“Football is a moral abomination,” Gladwell said before predicting that the sport will eventually “wither on the vine.”

At the root of Gladwell’s problem with the NFL is the long term brain damage it can cause its players.

"We're not just talking about people limping at the age of 50. We're talking about brain injuries that are causing horrible, protracted, premature death,” Gladwell continued. “This…is appalling. Can you point to another industry in America which, in the course of doing business, maims a third of its employees?”

Nobody can say that Gladwell is jumping on a wave of backlash against the NFL due to the rash of former players suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The author tackled the subject of CTE-stricken football players in a 2009 New Yorker piece.

Gladwell's segment on Bloomberg TV aired Thursday night. 

Click here to enter the Beyond the Lights sweepstakes and win an all-expense paid trip to Black Girls Rock!

Watch Kevin Hart in a new episode of Real Husbands of Hollywood every Tuesday, 10P/9C. 

BET Sports News - Get the latest news and information about African-Americans in sports including weekly recaps, celebrity news and photos of your favorite Black athletes. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter. 

(Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Tropfest)

Latest News

Subscribe for BET Updates

Provide your email address to receive our newsletter.


By clicking Subscribe, you confirm that you have read and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge our Privacy Policy. You also agree to receive marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers) and other information from BET and the Paramount family of companies. You understand that you can unsubscribe at any time.