First of all, I don’t even have a son, so it was probably a bit ridiculous for me to speculate. I realize there are girls who play football, but my daughters don’t have any interest, and I have no idea how I would respond to an 8-year-old boy begging me to play this game.

Second, football gave me so much. How can I bash a game that produced so many friendships, paid for part of my education and helped me become comfortable financially?

And third, football is safer than it has ever been, right?

Right?

I honestly have no idea how to answer that question. Sure, training camp is easier than it used to be, and everyone is smarter about limiting in-practice contact. But once the games start, football is football. And nothing is ever going to change that unless you drastically change the game. I’m no expert in physics, but there’s no doubt N.F.L. players are bigger, faster and stronger than they’ve ever been. As a result, there is more velocity at the point of contact than there has ever been. I hate to say it, but no “Heads Up” campaign or the threat of a penalty or a fine will reduce football’s inherent violence. The latest dark reminder came Monday, when a 16-year-old high school player from Brocton, N.Y., died after a helmet-to-helmet hit in a game Friday night.

Certainly there are lessons to be learned from playing football, about toughness, battling through adversity, and teamwork. But I don’t think football is the only way to teach those. I have numerous friends who never played football but who have battled through failed bar exams, medical residencies and struggling businesses, and who are just as successful as I am. In truth, they are probably a lot more well adjusted, well balanced and better positioned to navigate life’s speed bumps than I’ll ever be. Maybe they never had to push through pain and mask injuries the way I have, but is that really a virtue?

Still, now that I’m retired from football, I know now more than ever that I absolutely loved playing the game. And now I actually get paid to talk about football on television. Imagine the hypocrisy. Here I am questioning whether children should be playing the game at all, and I’m basically selling the game to children watching at home. There’s certainly some internal conflict with that.