I played high school football and was pretty successful. I had an opportunity to play at the DII level and chose not to. To be honest, I still regret that decision to this day. I loved playing football! There were so many life lessons learned that I could never say I regretted playing. I think parents start their kids out way to early in tackle football. My parents were those over protective parents that didn't let me play football at all. It took some convincing from one of my friends to even let me go out for football my Junior year. That might have been a good thing because my body was developed and I hadn't leaned any bad habits. I was able to pick up the game quickly and I didn't have to take all the punishment to my body when I was younger. I think kids could learn all the basics in flag football early on, then transition to tackle football at an older age. As for college and professional football, they all know the dangers going in, yet they choose to take those risks. Why do you think that is? It's because they love the game because it's a great game! By the way, it is known that smoking will cause irreparable damage to your body, yet millions of people choose to smoke. I don't hear anyone calling for cigarettes to be banned.
I agree. 100%. It is a great game. When the kids (not the parents) brains are fully developed and understand the risks, then they should be allowed to make that decision for themselves being able to fully understand the risks.
There are many other dangerous occupations which don't seem to grab much for headlines in comparison to football. Brain damage is not a good thing. But, there are many other lines of work where the probability of actually being killed on the job is much higher than on a football field.
Many of the ill effects of smoking are reversible, not irreparable. The body can do amazing things to heal itself when someone quits smoking. Brain damage is permanent and that damage gets worse with each successive concussion. Smoking has been banned in plenty of places. You can no longer smoke in a public space in Iowa. That includes bars and restaurants. At what age can a person make that choice? Most teenagers certainly don't make all good choices. Even the courts are more lenient on juvenile offenders because they don't possess the reasoning capacity that an adult has. Their brain is not developed enough to reason clearly. Should football start at age 20? Or, should parents be held accountable? I don't see this going well for the sport. Should all of us have to burden the cost of CTE when we end up on a single payer healthcare system?
"Brain damage is not a good thing. But,........." But, its okay if the ends justify the means? Its okay as long as its not my child? Its okay as long as it allows some poor inner-city kid a chance to make millions and entertain us? Do you have stats on the occupations that are more dangerous than playing in the NFL? What occupations offer a shorter life expectancy? Sword swallowing? Mercenary? Snake milker?
I played the game for 16 years. I was taught to put my face mask between the players numbers when I hit. Head to head collisions were the norm and I'd play practices and games with contusions, breaks, torn ligaments, etc. It was also normal to not be allowed to drink water so that further took away our brains natural padding as we collided over and over. I remember hitting hundreds of times a practice as a linebacker...face mask to face mask as my head was jarred. Sometimes I briefly felt like I was out of body (slight concussions). Year after year. Even though it was devastating at the time, my 2 acl reconstructions in college prevented me from taking a lot of hits to my head that I would have otherwise incurred. I was injured half my time. My son played 1 season of football bc it was a family tradition. After watching my undersized son take head shots and come back for more I told my wife he isn't playing another season and he hasnt since. Basketball and soccer for all three of our kids and I don't feel any ounce of remorse. Much more to life than being a tough guy for being a tough guys sake. I tried to explain that to my son recently when he wanted to try to play football again at age 12. He is tiny. I told him tough guys come in many shapes or sizes. Farmers, teachers, mechanics, and generally people who support others. No need to bash your head in to prove it to anyone for 0 reason. Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
I think the age should be 18. The prefrontal cortex which controls are logic and thinking is not fully developed until early 20s. However if your old enough to die for your country and make up your own mind to enlist, then you are old enough to make up your own mind about a collision sport. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The deal comes down to this, there is no way in its current state to play football safely. We don't have enough data to tells us what are the risk for each level we play at to get CTE. How long playing at each level and what is the % chance of getting CTE by how long we play, how many hits to the head, we simply don't know the risk. So it will come down to who's willing to play brain roulette.
I played hockey growing up and have 3 fake teeth to prove it. To me it comes down to this, it's a sport and a choice if you don't want your child risking injury then obviously don't let them play. As for professionals that make stupid a$$ amounts of money to play a game , they should see it as part of the job. We idolize these people and even let them preach their political views. I'm sure I'll draw a bunch of hate posts for this but come on guys what's next spelling bee's with only easy words and no losers held in a safe space.
Or insurance companies won't insure the people that play it or the high schools and colleges from lawsuits so nobody will have the choice.
No, not at all. I just think we may be at a tipping point of some sorts and I wonder what the sport might look like in a few years. I actually think that its sad that some kids really look at football as their only real chance to do something with their lives and then they get beat to vegetables. That study just really made me think about how glad I was that my boys were small framed and I discouraged them from playing football. There is risk in most things. But, some risks just don't seem to be worth the price. I think this study just solidifies what I have thought about football for a very long time. I enjoy watching it, but have always felt a little bit guilty about being entertained by someone elses ultimate sacrifice.
