zip95843 said:
Making bravier. Hmm... Another words, he would make moves that he would not without mask?
Isn't it cheating? I think if you injured - that's sport and other player must have an advantage of such event. But when you deny them the advantage - using mask or drugs or better schedule or always playing at home - that's I call cheating.
So then all players in all sports should have to play without any protective gear for their various injuries at all? That's not reasonable. Especially since the players on the other side can not be categorically trusted not to go after those injuries in order to gain an advantage. And guys get braver for all sorts of reasons. Maybe they do drink, maybe they listen to inspirational music before the game, maybe they pop a few Advil to dull the pain, maybe the home crowd pumps them up, or their girlfriend who they want to impress is in the stands.
In any case, I'm not even sure injuries really area part of sport. They are inevitably going to happen, but aren't they themselves perversions? If one guy's hurt then the best man doesn't always win. Just a lucky break for the healthy guy that has nothing to do with talent, desire etc. That only has marginally more to do with sport than if the other guy just got caught in traffic.
There are limits of course. Giving Shaq shoulder pads might just be acknowledging the obvious in his case, but also would be going too far and would actually give him an advantage (you can use shoulder pads aggressively to hurt others without hurting yourself). But a protective mask for the face? Doubt you see many people assaulting others with their face regardless of the mask. Look at it this way, nobody is SUSPOSED to be hitting you in the face in the NBA anyway -- that's generally a foul. So in order for the mask to matter, the other guy is probably already cheating.