Imrem: Can't worry about Chris Conte damaging himself

Let's crack some jokes about all the injuries suffered by Bears free safety Chris Conte.

Everything is fair game except the mention of Ebola.

Otherwise, it's OK to say something like, "This is Chris Conte's body and this is Chris Conte's mangled body on football."

You can say that Conte's skeleton will have to undergo considerable reconstruction before looking younger than Sue the dinosaur's in the Field Museum.

You can say that Conte maxed out the deductible on his Black and Blue Cross/Black and Blue Shield policy last week.

The only sin is not being funny; being insensitive is acceptable.

The days of worrying about the feelings and future of somebody like Chris Conte - his middle-age and old-age future - have expired.

That goes for football players in general now. If they want to keep playing a sport that keeps inflicting hardship on their physical being, that's their problem.

My problem is having trouble watching when a crushing hit leaves a player wobbly with scrambled brains or immobile with scrambled bones.

While there are times I have to divert my eyes, I no longer want to baby-sit the reckless.

It makes no sense anymore to question the mindset of injured players who insist on continuing to play and their bosses who continue to allow them to continue to play.

"He's our starter until he's uncomfortable playing," Bears head coach Marc Trestman said of Conte on Monday.

Conte was hurt again Sunday at Atlanta, this time presumably his right shoulder being victimized. Earlier this season he injured his left shoulder and also was concussed.

Every time Conte hits another guy, the other guy says you should see how bad off the other guy is - the other guy being Conte in a world of some sort of pain.

There was a time when it was appropriate to feel Conte's pain and suggest that he quit football and go to Hollywood and work in the film industry like his father and grandfather have.

Now it's appropriate to first feel the Bears' pain from possibly having to find another free safety to replace Conte.

This is a cruel attitude or at least borderline cruel. Human beings should be concerned about the well-being of other human beings.

But football players have perspectives and priorities different from ours. If normal persons like us were tackled once in the NFL, we'd never let it happen again.

Football players can't wait to get back on the field regardless of what the next blow might inflict.

Playing this freaking game is hazardous to a player's health, like smoking is to a smoker's and alcohol is to an alcoholic's.

Still, many players can't stop playing any more easily than many smokers can stop smoking and many alcoholics can stop drinking.

Something about football is addictive. Something must make players - from offense to defense to special teams - keep placing their bodies in harm's way.

Money can't be the high. Myriad players who have played long enough and well enough to be fabulously wealthy keep playing.

Perhaps the lure is running through the tunnel to cheers on gameday with the hope they can run all the way to the Super Bowl.

Players know the potential consequences, yet they are injured and do the required rehab and get injured again and do the rehab again and continue the cycle as long as a team will hire them.

If Chris Conte wants to keep playing and risking being concussed again or injuring another shoulder - a third shoulder? - that's his decision.

I'm done worrying about him and all the others … as long as their health issues don't raise the premiums on my health insurance.

That's a half joke.

mimrem@dailyherald.com