Nechoma, what you say makes absolute sense regarding football but then the addiction theory kicks in. I can put my desire to watch NFL games in remission but not fully kick the habit.
Basket ball maybe also but less so. Baseball there is limited chance of severe injury ( you can make the same argument about doing dangerous professions, can one be a cop?),
but football Lechatchila, is barbaric. On nearly every play the hits they make on players are extreme.
Perhaps this is why American society itself is so barbaric.