Football is an essential part of American culture. Over a hundred million people on average watch the Super Bowl each year. Despite its enormous popularity, it has been been the subject of controversy of the past few decades. Many studies show that football puts its players at risk of permanent brain damage because of the hits to the head that the athletes regularly under. High school football has especially been under criticism because many say it endangers the health of students. High school football exposes students the alarming risks of brain trauma, could be detrimental to their academics, and there are serious ethical questions about whether or not parents and teachers have the right to allow children to play the sports. According to …show more content…
He found that the child is still being injured at the cellular level. The “cellular injures” turn into “irreversible brain damage” over time. This “irreversible brain damage” is known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (C.T.E.). This disease is a progressive brain disease that is caused by concussive and subconcussive blows to the head. It has symptoms such as “depression, suicidal thought and actions, loss of intelligence, dementia, and drug and alcohol abuse.” Instead of enlightening the rest of students’ lives, high school years destroy the lives of some football players. Even though CTE can only be diagnosed after death, players as young as seventeen have been diagnosed with it. According to a study done by National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research, 691 high school football players died from causes directly attributed to football from 1931 to 2014. This is hundreds more than the amount of deaths at the college level, semi-professional level, and professional level combined. PBS says that high school football players are …show more content…
An article, “High School Football at a Crossroads” says even though high school football participation numbers are declining, there are more people who play high school football than any other sport. According to an anonymous high school teacher and football coach and former college football player, his worst semesters and the worst semesters for his students, coincide with their concussions. Playing high school football does more bad than good. The odds are extremely slim for football becoming a career for high school students, yet it still is extremely popular. However, even though excelling in academics is what would help their lives in the long run, students continue to play a sport which hurts their school performance. When high schools eliminate their high school football teams, they are protecting what they stand for: education first. In order for a student to be part of the football team, he needs to be academically eligible. Even with this limit, many athletes are not college ready. Some high schools are lowering the GPA requirement to participate in sports. They are lowering their academic standards for sports, something that their students most likely will not use in their adult