Football: America’s greatest pastime and favorite all-American sport hides one of our nation’s biggest health concerns; concussions. On average, boys can begin playing tackle football at the age of five and weighing a minimum of 35 pounds, and from that point on they are taught the values of strategy, tackling, running, and teamwork. (Warner, 2016) Some of those children will later become the Professional Football players or college level players.
Players in the National Football League (NFL) are currently bigger than ever in NFL history; coming in at 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, Cam Newton is bigger than most offensive linemen in the 1960s. (Gaines, 2015) Now imagine that hitting you at an average of 4.56 feet-per-second on a 40-yard dash – that’s roughly 1600 pounds of tackling force connecting with player’s bodies and leading to severe concussions. (Higgins, 2009) These concussions lead to blackouts on the field, mental confusion/disorientation, and debilitating long-term effects such as daily migraines, memory loss, and nausea. (Cerebrum Health Centers, 2013)
Current Situation
Concussions in football happen more often than any coach or parent would like to admit. It is human nature to try and work past any kind of injury we may have, especially when it’s sport related. When asked what he would do, Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew- along with 23 of the 44 other NFL players interviewed- said they would try to conceal a possible concussion rather than pull
Is tackle football too dangerous for kids who aren’t even fully developed? Back then, when it came to sports, safety was never one of the main concerns. For example, baseball was played for over half a century without requiring helmets. Recently, society has started to worry about future generations and whether some activities will have long-lasting effects on them, such as football. Although many are advocates for safety, others are arguing that kids should be able to play what they want. While tackle football has been proven to be detrimental to the youth’s health, especially for children under the age of 13, critics have questioned and discussed whether other sports are going to be next and how they can possibly prevent football’s future modifications.
A concussion is, “a type of traumatic brain injury—or TBI—caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head or by a hit to the body that causes the head and brain to move rapidly back and forth” (“What is a Concussion?”). Concussions can cause headaches, nausea, dizziness, and sleepiness. Although these symptoms seem terrible, these are only short term symptoms of a mild concussion. More severe concussions can cause life-long problems with memory, learning, coordination, emotion, and even sight (“What is a Concussion?”). One poor play can cause a severe concussion and, furthermore, a permanent end to the life the player knew before the incident. While not all concussions are that critical, every concussion has consequences. Unfortunately, thousands of high school players face these consequences annually. Studies show that, “Some 67,000 high school football players suffer concussions every year, according to official tallies, and many more concussions go unreported” (“Farewell to Football”). Even if an exceptional football player beats those odds, one in every twenty NFL players suffers from at least one concussion in his career (“Farewell to Football”). Players under the age of eighteen are even more likely to experience severe brain damage from the game. According to ESPN, getting hit hard on the field can be the equivalent to being hit over the head
A concussion is an injury suffered in the brain of an individual that can affect and alter a person’s ability to perform not only mentally, but physically as well. The New York Daily News reported on one of the finest cases of how serious the NFL is taking the issue on concussions, the current lawsuit that reached a “$765 million settlement reached between the two sides, 18,000 concussion suffer and the NFL” which states causes for important untold information the NFL refused to report to players about the prospective dangers concussions had for their long-term health, though this was later shot down by a federal judge claiming that it was insufficient sum. An NFL player may succumb from thousands of hits to the head playing football all
An increasingly popular topic in the realm of sports fans has begun to unravel. The National Football League recently has begun to introduce new rules and regulations for their athletes to start abiding by to ensure the continued safety of the player’s health. Although most find this change in the game of professional football as a positive step forward, others see this as a diminishment of the sanctity of NFL football. New rules and regulations that have been introduced into NFL are vital to athletes involved in the sport and help them to play with lowered risks of long term injuries that could possibly affect not only them but also the league in the future as well. The reasons for these
The NFL as you probably already know, stands for the National Football League. It is the elite league for the best players and best athletes in the world. These players are in tip top shape and are extremely strong. Now the big question is this. What is one of, if not the biggest problem in the NFL? Concussions. Nate Jackson, a former NFL player and writer says this, “Why is it that men who were the strongest and fittest people alive when they were young degenerate so quickly? That’s the million-dollar question.” With all of the protective equipment and top-of-the-line helmets, you would think that the players are safe from these types of injuries. But, there is a remaining problem of concussions that is still very
In 2007, the NFL finally started to take steps to slow down the rate of concussions in football (Lauren Ezell). Although concussions still occur today, there are specific protocols that were inserted to protect players’ health. This topic is so important to me because I am a big fan of the sport, and I would hate to see my favorite players end their career with disabling conditions. I hope to the see the NFL continually trying to find ways to limit concussions. I believe that one day football can be played without the risk of living the rest of your life with a critical
Over the past five NFL seasons, 1,215 concussions have been diagnosed. American Football has been around for over a century and is the most watched sport in America. Recently, questions have begun to be asked about football’s safety. I watch football every weekend, and I am very angered whenever one of my favorite players gets a concussion. Even before researching this topic, I knew a lot about concussions in football. Concussions can ruin careers but have recently been affecting the after careers of many former NFL stars. Football can be very dangerous yet but can be improved upon in next couple of years. I will first describe what a concussion is, then examine concussions in football, and finally discuss how it can be solved.
While the NFL is currently a very entertaining and popular American past time, there is one issue that threatens the future of the game-concussions. Concussions affect 1.6 to 3.8 million athletes and children annually in the United States. Among athletes, football is the most common sport involving risks of concussions for males, and soccer is the most common sports with concussion risks for females. The NFL has admitted that brain trauma effects a third of all NFL players (Knowles.) Concussions have been part of the game since the very beginning, but it 's only in the past 50 years or so that medical science and the public has become aware of the serious long term effects of concussions. The NFL is spending money on researching the problem, because they have been sued from hundreds of players that have suffered long-term damage from concussions. The NFL needs to dedicate more money and research into increasing helmet safety, implementing rules and policies to protect players, and utilizing the best response treatment to prevent and protect players from concussions.
Teaching players, coaches and family members about the outcome of concussions, will help further aware the people about the problems of having physical contact in the game. For example, writer Janie Cournoyer from the Journal of Athletic Training mentions that about 25% of all participants had zero knowledge on what concussion was and about 54% had it explained to by their parents. In addition, the writer also states that most athletes fail to report their symptoms of a concussion due to their lack of knowledge of it. This is very dangerous because it puts the athlete in a dangerous state if he or she doesn't get checked. Some football players get on the field not knowing a single thing about how concussions occur. They know that football is a physical sport and that you can get severely hurt but they may not know the future symptoms that come when playing football. In addition, writer Holly Schmie from the Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance states that the only way to reduce the percentage of people who don't know anything about concussions is to consider establishing a Concussion Management Policy. This policy mentioned by the author states that the approach will be focused on “developing a concussion management team and a policy requiring baseline pre-concussion testing within the school district”. It's important that every school has proper
Concussion in schools and the NFL are a problem. They can be life-altering injuries, and they have been around for years before anyone became aware of how dangerous they can be. Ever since the discovery of football many athletes have gotten their “bell rung” and doing damage to their brain with no knowledge of it. It has been recently that there has been more talk of understanding how severe concussions can be. Many think it is not a big deal but it is considered a mild form of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). The NFL had ignored all the information given to them regard concussion and they need to review their protocol and enforce it. Many players are still playing while
Because athletes do not take the responsibility to manage their injuries it leads to long term health concerns over a period of time. “The NFL must go further and clarify the rules even more, Durando contends, especially when it comes to hits on defenseless players, and they should continue to focus on decreasing the number of concussions to players in order to protect a player's long-term health” (par. 1). Stu Durando, a sportswriter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, acknowledges the fact that the National Football League has more work to do in decreasing concussion injuries. He not only stresses the cases of concussions, but shows a motive to help protect players along with their future mental wellness. Given these points, brain injuries tend to display as athletes age. Post Concussion Syndrome is what typically disarrays a former football player in the long run. Post-concussion syndrome is a complex disorder in which a variable combination of post-concussion symptoms — such as headaches and dizziness — last for weeks and sometimes months after the injury that caused the concussion. Post-concussion syndrome can include psychological, physical and emotional problems including headaches, difficulty focusing on tasks, dizziness, or simply a state of mind that some would describe as “not feeling yourself”. “Sleepless nights were followed by partial amnesia. His grades plummeted. As his memory faltered, he grew embarrassed and anxious. Football had been the center of his life, but now he couldn't even exercise. Finally, he withdrew from college. Most players, like Reed, will recover completely after a period of headaches, sleepiness and difficulty focusing in class. Others--one in 10, some experts say--suffer long-term symptoms. They are more likely to develop post-concussion syndrome, where fogginess, headaches, poor
Football is one of the most beloved sports in the United States. It is one of the most violent bone crushing sports, leaving players permanently injured for life in some cases they lose their life. The most common injury that football players suffer from pee-wee through professional football is the concussion. A concussion is a traumatic brain injury that changes the way your brain works. The effects of a concussion are usually temporary and can result in a full recovery if it’s minor and treated correctly. A concussion can lead to brain problems later in life, even after a player has finished playing football. Concussions are more than just a swelling bump on the head, they’re considered a minor traumatic brain injury. We need to spread awareness about this injury that sports players are told to “Shake Off” and get right back into the game.
First, I am going to talk about the science behind concussions, CTE, and why it is such an issue for a football player. Concussions are very damaging to the brain and experiencing a lot of them can lead to CTE. I will also discuss people that influenced the understanding of concussions and CTE. In 2002, a neurologist named Dr. Bennet Omalu tried to tell the NFL about the brain damage he found while doing a former NFL player’s autopsy, but the NFL did not really listen. In 2009, another researcher by the name of Dr. Ann Mckee tried to get the NFL’s attention about her concerns about football players and concussions as well. The NFL once again ignored these assumptions. However, the NFL did listen to Dr. Elliot Pellman, who told the league as early as 1994, that concussions were not a big problem and just part of the game. I will discuss how NFL players were treated when they got their “bell rung” during a big game; and what kind of medical treatment they
Concussions are not only a football injury, but they occur in many other sports. Frederick Erdtmann, who is on the Board of Health Populations for the Institute of Medicine wrote in his article that “Among males athletes at the high school and collegiate levels, football, ice hockey, lacrosse, wrestling, and soccer consistently are associated with the highest rates of concussions” (Erdtmann 1). Football is hands down the sport with the most concussions, yet it is not the
In today’s world of big time professional sports there are the two major players and they are football represented by the National Football League (NFL) and baseball represented by Major League Baseball (MLB). Now there are other sports that the American public enjoys watching, however the argument generally boils down to which sport is the true favorite of the American people: baseball or football. In this paper I will attempt to examine both sports from several different angles to include attendance, television revenue, ticket costs, venues, salaries, entertainment value, and athlete perception. The goal of this exercise will be to determine, once and for all, which sport is the American