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How To Reduce Concussions In Football

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Concussions are a scary reality of playing NFL football. Every year there are more and more players that are having season ending, and career ending injuries due to hits to the head. There have been many NFL players that have had serious issues due to concussions. Former NFL superstar tight end Aaron Hernandez was convicted of executing a man with a half-dozen bullets inside an industrial park. He was sentenced to life without parole (“Aaron Hernandez’s”). Postmortem X-rays showed the convicted murderer suffered the worst case of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) ever seen in a 27-year old, likely affecting his memory and impulse control (“Aaron Hernandez’s”). CTE center director Dr. Ann McKee said “she could not draw a straight line between …show more content…

Ollie Matson, who played 14 seasons in the NFL. - after winning two medals on the track at the 1952 Helsinki Games. He died in 2011 at age 80 after being mostly bedridden with dementia. Tyler Sash, another former NFL player was found dead of an accidental overdose of pain medications on Sept 8, 2015. He was 27. The list goes on forever. There are ways to fix this problem. We can eliminate the amount of concussions that happen during the football season by having stricter penalties, more stringent concussion protocol, and better equipment for the head.

Having stricter penalties is a key part in eliminating the amount of concussions that occur during the NFL season. Referees will be particularly alert to fouls in which defenders purposely use the helmet and/or facemask to hit the passer, or use hands, arms, or other parts of the body to hit the passer forcibly in the head or neck area (“Rule 12 Player”). A defensive player must not use his helmet against a passer who is in a defenseless posture. For example, someone may forcibly hit the passer’s head or neck area with the helmet or facemask. Lowering the head and making forcible contact with the top/crown or forehead parts of the helmet against any part of the passer’s body is illegal

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Aaron Hernandez, an NFL tight end, has committed murder; CTE is to blame. Hernandez was convicted of murder in 2015 and was later found dead in his cell. He had killed himself. After his death, his brain was taken for research. Dr. Ann Mckee, “examined his brain and said in a statement that Mr. Hernandez had ‘early brain atrophy’ and ‘large perforations in the septum pellucidum, a central membrane’ of the brain” (Belson 2017).

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Former NFL superstar tight end Aaron Hernandez was convicted of executing a man. He killed him with six bullets inside an industrial park, he and was sentenced to life in prison (“Aaron Hernandez’s”). Concussions are a scary reality of playing National Football League (NFL). Every year there are more and more players that are having season ending, or career ending injuries due to hits to the head.

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Many football players get hits through their helmets that could cause a brain disease called CTE, which affects the lobe of their brain that is vital for emotion control and aggression. The number of football players arrested for domestic violence and murder has increased over the years. Aaron Hernandez, a player who was sentenced for murder, killed himself, leaving doctors to find out later that he had CTE. The disease cannot be seen until the football player is deceased and it is too late. More people are becoming aware of this disease because of movies such as, “Concussion,” based on a

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According CNN’s article “NFL Concussion Fun Facts,” there have been 692 combined concussions diagnosed throughout the preseason and regular season in the NFL over the past 3 years. It may be evident by these numbers that the NFL has a major problem with players getting concussions, and over the years their concussion protocol has been questioned by former players and other people around the football community. Ken Belson stated in his article “Brain Trauma to Affect One in Three Players, N.F.L. Agrees,“ that a third of retired football players are subject to long term brain issues, these issues may include the disease known as CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) which has been brought to light in a more recent time. CTE has effected a good

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To decrease the number of concussions a year the National Football League must issue more rules and better quality equipment. Despite the tackling and wanting to " knock out " an opponent of the other team, football players need to transition their mindsets to a different objective. Instead of wanting to hurt the opponent or lay them out, just focus on getting them down. Football players must have the mindset to keep their healthy bodies and prevent injuries so that they can continue to entertain, perform, but to mostly importantly win. Football without concussions and even injuries can make the sport more enjoyable for the parent, wives, and children of the players.

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Many people question why concussions happen so often within the NFL? After all, these players know how to tackle properly and have they best equipment however the size of these men along with the violent nature of the game is what causes these concussions. Concussions happen at around 140 per season with several players receiving multiple concussions within the same year (Halchin). Team doctors have been extremely cautious in letting these athletes return to the filed of play after being diagnosed with a concussion. Halchin believed that the NFL does a wonderful job in protecting it’s players and said that until hitting is eliminated from the game completely, concussions will be a reoccurring injury and a risk that players have to deal with

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In the past few years, the number of concussions per year has only spiked. The NFL calls it a “cultural change” in that the staff are more willing to report head injuries instead of neglecting them. However, to many like Christopher Nowinski- one of the founders of the Concussion Legacy foundation- this increase just shows that the NFL does not care to prevent head injuries, only treat them when they are developed. The number of concussions between the 2013 and 2014 season actually increased by 58

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Some of the tests revealed damage to the amygdala which controls mood. Additionally the NFL players scored much lower on memory tests, and had worse verbal skills (Hedin, 2015) 5. Due to the recent number of suicides & violent crimes committed by former players, there is more of a need to research the correlation between the head injuries in the NFL and brain disease even more C. Thesis Point 3: What steps the National Football league has taken to protect players long term health and safety 1. With the scrutiny the NFL has come under, they have developed a new protocol for the diagnoses and treatment of players with concussions 2. Under the new protocol, any player who exhibits sings of a concussion, even the most remote sign, must come out of the game and be checked out by the medical staff, they may not return to the same game if they undergo tests for concussion.

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Have you ever watched YouTube videos where you see football players getting blows to the head while playing the game? Imagine that boy getting repetitive head traumas being your son. Football has been around for centuries and there has always been a big number of concussions in relation to this sport. An estimated 1.6-3.8 million sports-related concussions occur in the United States each year. Nearly 45 percent of the players reporting to have a concussion, said to have concussion-like symptoms.

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Brian Pickens Dr.Willams English 12 1 May 2016 Problem Statement The Research shows that concussions has required numerous players to retire early. The investigation indicates that countless NFL players that have died have had concussions or brain disease contribute to their death. “A total of 87 out of 91 former NFL players have tested positive for the brain disease at the center of the debate over concussions in football, according to new figures from the nation’s largest brain bank focused on the study of traumatic head injury.

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Concussions in sports have been on a rise more than ever, not only just in football but also in other sports such as kids’ soccer and ice hockey. There are major outcomes that can occur with concussions, as in C.T.E. (chronic traumatic encephalopathy). This condition occurs when a player is hit, gets a concussion and part of the brain vessels block off with dead brain vessels. This has caused multiple deaths in many athletes like Mike Webster, a former Pittsburgh Steeler, who lived in his truck while going insane. He would taser himself just to go to sleep because of concussions in his former football career.

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Head Injuries In American Football Since the beginning of American football, concussions have been a big problem with players in high school, college, and the National Football League. Concussions have led to the end of many players football careers and in some cases, their lives. People that are in college and the NFL continue, playing even though they are risking their lives just for a little fame. Today football players play the game to make money and just because of their love for the sport.

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According to dictionary.com, a concussion is “an injury to the brain or spinal cord due to jarring from a blow, fall, or the like.” Concussions have become more of a problem over time. For many years, the NFL did not pay any regards to concussions in their players. As time progressed, doctors started looking into them more and started seeing a link between football and concussions. This issue has become important because this is these players’ lives on the line and they need to be taken care of.

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Another example is Andre Waters, former NFL player. Waters died at a very young age due to concussions. Similar to Junior Seau, Mr. Waters committed suicide (Concussion Repercussions). Due to the brain damage and physical abuse to players brains, their psychological state of mind is altered. Lastly, “Webster's psychiatric symptoms, including pissing in his oven and squirting Super Glue on his rotting teeth,” (Schaffer).

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"By the time they get to high school, kids have a 5% chance of sustaining a concussion for each season they play" (Zimmerman). If they choose to keep playing football then they will eventually end up with a brain concussion or brain damage. Over the years 65-80% of head injuries go unnoticed ("Stopping the..."58).   Football player ignore the fact that it is just a headache. Hospitals took 150,000 in 2001 to 250,000 in 2009 dramatically increased because of concussions ("Injuries in...").

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