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