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Why football is dangerous
Why football is dangerous
Why football is dangerous
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Extreme. Exciting. Dangerous. As seen in the article “Hard Knocks” by Gabriel Charles Tyler and in the video “Concussion Hazards in Youth Football”, football along with other physical contact programs are causing concussions. These concussions lead to long lasting negative effects such as thinking and memory problems.
In the magazine article “Football Under Fire” the author introduces problems that football players face, such as concussions. Lately, Accidents on the field have been under observation which includes concussions (the action of the brain being shaken in the skull); brain traumas are being observed as well. These head accidents have been found to cause damage to the nerve cells in the brain; the damage may then lead to a “serious brain disorder called chronic traumatic encephalopathy also known as CTE.” In the “2015 season” alone, at least “5 players were killed due to injuries during games.” In that case, some injuries are still not able to be prevented even with padding and helmets, such as being paralyzed due to hard hits or other injuries.
Because of all of the hits to the head, thousands of athletes experience brain damage, sometimes resulting in death. Over the past few years, the NFL and partnering organizations have taken steps to protect these athletes, but there is a limit to how much technology can do. Humans were simply not designed to take a beating as is given in tackle football. With its new concussion protocol rules, the NFL claims to have found a temporary solution to the problem, but new findings show that concussions are not the main problem. Most of the damage is done in the ordinary contact that occurs hundreds of times every game.
Concussions are the number one injury caused when playing football at any level today, but yet people still decide to play the game. Concussions can leave a big impact on your life after football, even if you are a younger player in high school. An article from “Frontline Magazine” states that, “an estimated high school football player suffered 11.2 concussions for every 10,000 games and practices. Among college players, the concussion rate stood at 6.3 out of 10,000 games and practices.” Concussions are a bigger issue than people believe and something needs to be done to help protect the players of the game.
An NFL football player will endure somewhere between 900 to 1500 blows to their head over the course of a single season. With an immense amount of blows like this comes an immense amount of damage to a player’s brain. This extensive amount of brain damage has been decided, by Dr. Bennet Omalu, to result in chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. Over the course of these discoveries and much controversy, the NFL has been targeted, denied all accusations, done very few things to lessen the risk of concussions in football, and the risks and number of concussions have steadily increased throughout the league’s
With the recent advances in technology the head injuries experienced by National Football League players has been made more noticeable to the public. So the public has raised an eyebrow, questioning who will take responsibility to battle the issue of brain injuries in the National Football League. This subject involving player safety isn’t anything new, “In fact, a quick search of historical press reports shows that football related concussions have been associated with deaths and debilitating injuries since the late 1800s”(Lange 178). In football one of the most important parts are player safety. In fact, players wear equipment such as helmets, to help prevent head injuries.
Ken Stabler and Earl Morrall, were latest of dozens of players to have found to have had a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head hits. Should sports leagues do more to prevent concussions and other sports injuries, yes they should. Less practices means less chances of injury. Head-to-head contact carries a greater risk of concussion in football than head-to-ground contact. There is risk in life.
Simple implementations such as better helmets, more trainers, and more physicians could further decrease the concussion rate to make the game even safer. With the joint effort from children’s leagues, the NCAA, and the NFL to make the game more secure, yet simultaneously just as enticing, the entire sport of football would be ameliorated, with very minimal cases of concussions. More parents would be willing to let their children play this new style of football instead of holding them back, as they may have done previously due to the fear of head injury. More research and care for concussions could result in even more technological advancements. All of this could easily become a reality with the unification of all types of football, resulting in a benign, yet highly enjoyable
Coaches number one thing they should do to protect their players is practicing “heads up” football. Heads up football is a practice of not lowering a player's head before they make impact. Players should never lower their head before a hit because if two players are going full speed at each other and they collide hitting heads they will most likely get a concussion from the impact. Another way players can be protected from getting concussions and head injuries is to have a good fitting helmet, good fitting pads, and a mouth guard formed to fit their mouths. Players equipment is the most important thing to keep them from getting injured.
Anyone who has had a brain injury in the past needs to be aware of the symptoms of CTE, not only for themselves, but also for the people around them. Football causes about ten times the amount of significant brain injuries compared to other popular sports (What). A sport with as much violence as football needs to be taken seriously. Children who are not aware of the consequences and the magnitude of the injuries they can sustain need to be protected.
Football SafteySome People think that adding more safety to the game of football is ruining the sport. Football concussions to head are decreasing but spinal concussions numbers are increasing. Coaches and Football organizations must get and make better equipment, teach safer hitting techniques, in force harsher punishments for illegal hits, players got to practice safer hitting techniques. New helmets are something the NFL is constantly. The numbers or players injured in the spine in football are increasing.
The main change that could easily be made to help with the problem is to better the quality of the helmets used in the sport. It would not be too hard because new helmets are already being made just for the concussion cases. After this, changes could be made to the sport for safety. There will always be some dangers in the sport because it is a very high contact sport. “Despite the best efforts of the leagues, the players, and the medical and engineering communities, the incidence of injury at all levels of the game continues to increase” (Solving football’s).
More Safety Precautions are Needed in Football 34 of 35 former NFL athletes suffer from CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy). Brain injuries and other injuries are ruining athletes careers. But some people think that the players gear isn’t safe. Even though the NFL already has safety precautions in place, safety precautions in the NFL should be more strict because concussions are causing a lot of players to get hurt, and injuries are ruining careers in the NFL. Concussions and injuries cost teams and player a lot of money.
People think banning football would decrease the amount of head injuries, “Characterized by hard tackles and intense speeds, the sport is conducive to a number of serious injuries, but there is one that has received a substantial amount of attention: mild traumatic brain injury and concussions” (Grush). Injuries can be prevented by the coaches focusing more on tackling the right way to anticipate injuries having to do with not doing it the right way. Also, most deaths having to do with football do not have to do with concussions, but with heat strokes. This can be prevented by pushing back the practicing season for football. Another thing, kids and parents know what they are getting into with the dangers and all, but they sign up anyway.
It isn't a secret that football is a dangerous sport, one of the common injuries are concussions, even though helmets are worn. The cause of these injuries is due to head trauma which in turn causes concussions. Too many could cause an impact to the brain called degenerative brain disease. "Each year in the United States, an estimated 1.1 to 1.9 million sports- and recreation-related concussions occur among children aged 18 years and younger. 1–3 Potential long-lasting effects of concussions on developing brains include decreased physical, cognitive, emotional, and sleep health."