The world of sports for the most part is viewed as one of the toughest realms in human life today. Athletes are considered the strongest and fastest human beings with the ability to impose brute force on everyone else.

Somewhere along the way things changed and now sports couldn’t be considered any softer in the eyes of sports lovers. The classic saying, “Back in my day” seems like it is refreshed every three years now as rule changes and more sensitivity has professional athletes looking more like Teletubbies instead of the gladiators that we all expect them to be.

The NFL was once one of the toughest leagues in professional sports and it seems like every year more and more rules are being created to protect skill players, especially quarterbacks. Of course it makes sense to take care of the marquee talent in the league, but where do we draw the line? A couple of years ago the NFL instituted new penalties on hits that are deemed excessive with fines and suspensions pending league review. Defensive players in the NFL are almost disabled on the field now as there are only so many ways they can try to make a play.

Big hits can cost a player $20,000 easily in fines, but the sad part is just because the hit was big or impactful doesn’t mean it was dirty or overly purposeful. James Harrison knows about being fined as much as anyone in the league for excessive hits as he was fined a total of $120,000 in 2010. Harrison is known as one of the league’s toughest players, but has never really been known as a dirty player. Every time the league fined Harrison it made him look worse to the general public who may not know about the game, they may view Harrison as a vicious guy who intends to maim people. The sad part is that in reality Harrison is just a good football player making great plays.

In this coming NFL season a new rule will be in place to penalize even ball-carriers for lowering their helmets outside of the tacklebox when they meet contact. Most offensive players are taught when they first start playing football not to shy away from contact and lowering your head is going to happen when you’re lowering your shoulder. This will now become illegal, as both offensive and defensive players will have to be careful of hitting each other in the open field.

This rule undermines the very fabric of the game of football; for football players not to run into each other and deliver proper punishment could signal the end of the game itself. Every time a new rule is added to protect players we are actually losing part of the essence of the game. Equipment is at an all time high as players are now asked to wear as much equipment as possible and the gear is made to keep players as safe as possible.

Don’t forget football was a sport that started from little to no equipment to having tons of it to protect players, but gear that keeps you safe clearly just isn’t doing enough. Now the NFL is taking matters into their own hands to prevent even more injuries with these rule changes that just will just add more “Bitchassness” to the game.

As for the game of basketball, things couldn’t be anymore soft. One of the best point guards in the league is afraid to return from injury after being cleared to play more than two months ago. Every one of the league’s top players cries about fouls in and after games, it’s almost to the point that you can’t even point fingers at just one player anymore. Lastly, and the most important players on every level are just too soft to receive what 20 years ago would have been the norm in terms of coaching.

Derrick Rose is arguably the best point guard in the NBA, but after suffering multiple injuries in the last three season Rose has become the most “Bitchmade” player in the league, replacing Dwight Howard. Yes Rose’s team the Bulls are beyond decent without him, as they are in position to make the playoffs and probably will upset their first round opponent without Rose. So why is Rose so afraid to come back and play? It’s simple, He is 100%, but he “doesn’t feel like himself yet.” For some reason this is okay with sports fans, if this were almost any other player, he would be made out to be the softest guy in pro-sports, not just basketball. People clowned Dwight for missing games with a bad back, but are letting a guy who has been medically cleared to get away with Bitchassness.

Players complain about fouls in the NBA probably more than any other professional sport, the sad part is the complaints are so regular that now it’s a part of the game. Just think about how often after a missed contested jumper or lay-up do we see a star player not get back on defense right away because they are arguing a call with the referee. It’s at least in every game in the league and depending on the player you could see them bitching to the ref at least five to ten times depending on the score. Seeing more and more of these players scream at refs for fouls makes the game harder to watch, who wants to see a bunch of grown men bitch and complain for 48 minutes?

Strong and stern coaching was once the staple of basketball instruction; if a coach wasn’t tough on his team, most people would view the coach as soft and the team as out of control. Now being stern on your team can get you fired, ask ex-Rutgers head Men’s basketball coach Mike Rice. After viewing the video tape of Rice saying some rather hurtful things to his players, the university fired Rice. But what did Rice do that every other coach on every level other CYO hasn’t or doesn’t do? Either Rutgers men’s team is the biggest group of bitchmade dudes in Division I basketball or we as a society have just gotten too sensitive.

Playing sports was once a sign of being tough and now it’s a sign that you’re just not as mentally tough as you may look. Hopefully we get a sports renaissance real soon.

Andrew Alvez | Elite.