Action Sports at the expense of athletes' lives?

Who is going to step up?

Sadly, no one until either athletes do something along the lines of uninization or events like the X-games start to see an appreciable loss from athletes killing themselves.

Regardless of what that author thinks, this still is a new endeavor. Take something like the NFL headblow rules or the nascar speed curtailing, realize how long those took and how many lives lost or destroyed before them.......and you have to realize something like the x games is still an infant in it's lifespan. Until then there will always be athletes willing to risk themselves for a monster energy contract. That's not going to change and that's what truly drives the risk.

Either way, good to see someone at least bringing it up.

Look at how many "pro" riders we know that risk hospital time for no money at all. I think our sport needs a wake up more than any other. This industry has and continues to exploit the fact that we mostly do this because we love it. It also continues to give more money to those that already have enough, and fails it's up and coming riders when it come to getting them to a higher level. Let alone taking care of them when they get hurt.

When John Waddel got hurt racing Rob Roskopp kept him on Syndicate and I think still give him a pay check. Not a story you hear too often in MTB. I often ask myself, and maybe I'm way off base on this. I'm gonna say it anyway! Should Tara have to have a race to raise money for her recovery or should Giant be covering those expenses??? ALL OF THEM! For all intents and purposes she got hurt on the job while at Giant.

I think times have just changed. Sports are so corporate now that the guy/gals in the trenches bust there humps so that some guy/gal with a marketing degree can exploit them and get a fatter check. The extreme athlete is just cheep labor in their eyes.

There are extreme sports that put the lives of the athletes at risk and though for some, it only means getting the best profit out of it, there are also the people who find fulfillment in going through life's rough side and emerging victorious whether they win or lose.