Bruce Arians tries to clarify comment on moms attacking football

On Friday, Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians spoke at a coaches clinic at the team's facility, saying a few things about the future of football that got him called out by more than a few people. On Sunday, Arians tried to clarify his controversial comments.

Asked at the clinic about football in light of concussions and CTE and the game being subject to more scrutiny over health and safety than ever before, Arians had some interesting observations.

"This is our sport, it’s being attacked," he said Friday. "We have to stop it at the grassroots. It’s the best game that’s ever been [bleeping] invented, and we have to make sure that moms get the message, because that’s who’s afraid of our game right now. It’s not dads, it’s moms.

"Our job is to make sure the game is safe at all levels. The head really has no business being in the game. There’s a lot of different teachers, but when I was taught how to tackle and how to block, it was on a two-man sled. You did it with your shoulder pads. That’s still the best way to do it."

Well, that went over about as well as you'd expect. The implication that mothers are killing football — for what, caring about the health of their sons? — was bashed all over social media and message boards.

Arians released a following statement on Sunday to help clear up what he thought was people's misinterpretations about his comments about football and, well, moms.

"Just to [be] clear about kids playing football, my point is that moms are often the ones making those decisions in a family," Arians said. "We have to make sure that they're getting the message about everything being done to make the game as safe as possible. They're the ones we have to influence. It's a great game and it's even greater when it's played, coached and taught the right way. Everybody involved with the sport has a responsibility to make that happen."

What he said this time around is fair, and this thing will blow over, but the fact that Arians has built up a lot of goodwill for being a very media-friendly coach and that he made his initial statement on the Friday of Masters weekend likely helped water down the initial distribution.

It's important for everyone — mothers, fathers, media, football coaches and players alike — to get the most accurate and up-to-date information on football, head trauma and the potential dangers of playing the game. Arians' initially comments don't appear to be terribly misguided, but he was smart to issue a clarification before they were taken further.