Should good pacifists (Friends) be fans of pro football and hockey?

Fellow members of the peace churches, I am in  a quandary. I love to watch professional football (American) and ice hockey.  But both sports have their violent tendencies whereby it is considered good form to tackle a football player carrying or catching the ball as hard as one can (hoping to dislodge the ball, perchance to knock them out of the game?) or smash a hockey player with the puck up against the boards to try to wrest the puck away.  Multiple concussions seem to be happening more and more even though the leagues have instituted many new rules. In football players are watched more closely if they suffer a first concussion, but there is evidence that many players hide their concussions so they can keep playing.  Multiple concussions close together can be fatal and over time the syndrome of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) which leads to a dementia state not that different from Alzheimers. Recently there have been lawsuits by formal NFL players against the league for allegedly hiding and/or ignoring evidence for CTE.

As for hockey, in addition to the inherent violence in the sport with speedy heavy players skating on ice and slapping hard rubber pucks at the goal and each other, there is fighting. Not allowed in collegiate or international/Olympic hockey, but very big in junior and minor league hockey as well as the NHL (major league).  A recent series in the NY Times highlighted the story of Derek Boogaard, a hockey enforcer, who sustained multiple concussions over six NHL seasons and many junior and minor league seasons as well. He died of an overdose but was showing clear signs of an encephalopathy along with his addiction. His brain at autopsy showed clear evidence of CTE.

To glorify violence and be a non-violent person who abhors all war is quite philosophically inconsistent. I love pro sports perhaps because I am still a boy at heart, I don't know....but I am having to seek clearness on this for myself.

But the fighting is too much. These sports are dangerous enough. I say maybe fans should boycott NHL until they outlaw fighting and continue to call for good referee calls of excessive force in the NFL.