For some time now, football has been considered more than just a contact sport for many parents and their children. With advances in medical technology doctors today are finding more and more evidence for the damage football can cause to a player; evidence that was all but non-existent many years ago. Despite this, nothing really screams 'MURICA!' more than football. Unfortunately however, for the 11th time since July (National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research) yet another player has passed away due to injuries sustained on the field. This time, the victim was 17-year old Luke Schemm, the third victim in Kansas in 17 years. While game officials did not acknowledge any kind of neck or head injuries on the field, Luke tragically collapsed and died, subsequent to running into the end zone for a touchdown in the third quarter of his football game. Following his collapse on Saturday, doctors in Denver declared Luke to be 'brain-dead' as he was taken off of life support. The reasons as to why he collapsed are still not entirely known. The death of any individual is ultimately tragic, especially for someone so young. Luke was described as an outgoing and passionate persons, with a talent for both basketball and football.
Within the past few years, a lot of new information regarding the danger of football has come to light causing the NFL, in particular, to place many new rules and regulation regarding player safety. Yet with such an occurrence, it begs the question as to when a tragic event like this will happen again. What can be done, if anything, to prevent injuries and even deaths on the field? Who has to step up to face this challenge? Does this change your mind about letting your children playing football in the future?
http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/660/cpsprodpb/68D1/production/_86533862_hi029969293.jpg
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/high-school-football-player-luke-schemm-scores-touchdown-dies-n457786
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34741125
10 comments:
If this were any sport or activity other than football, it would be banned immediately. It's one thing when career NFL players are completely debilitated after a 10-year stint of hitting other men in the head with their heads. That's awful, and it isn't given enough attention, but it's very different from high school kids dying in the double digits nearly each year from a sport. I don't there is anything to be done about this other than abolishing the sport. Football is demonstrably more dangerous than any other sport. It always has been, and despite advancements in rules and equipment technology designed to make it safer, it likely always will be. The following table from the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research includes every death in HS sports from 1982 to 2013:
Cross Country - 1
Football - 118
Soccer - 8
Basketball - 2
Hockey - 4
Swimming - 0
Wrestling - 2
Baseball - 14
Track - 2
I'm not saying football should be banned, because that's very impractical. However, parents and children should take a hard look at the immediate and long-term (brain damage) dangers of the sport and decide whether they would like to participate. NFL players are essentially gladiators. They are grown men that have made the decision to expose their bodies to these dangers. Kids, however, should not expected to endure the effects of the same sport. My hypothetical children won't be.
Pages 23-26 of this report: https://nccsir.unc.edu/files/2013/10/Annual-Football-2014-Fatalities-Final.pdf include a table of every football death since 1931. This year's deaths are not unprecedented.
I recently read that, similar to how baseball leagues are required to keep tracks of how many pitches pitchers throw, football leagues are going to be forced to start recording exactly how many tackles players are involved in. This bookkeeping is imperative in keeping players safe; head trauma and other injuries could potentially be prevented. In 2010, the NFL implemented a system which would monitor "helmet-first hits" to players' heads and necks. Since fatalities have occurred so frequently at the high school football level, though, it is about time that a reform was made for amateur leagues as well. In this season alone, there have been seven high school football-related deaths. So, to answer your question, I think that it is the responsibility of school sports coaches and leagues to keep track of how many tackles their players are involved in. I'd have to politely disagree with RubyTuesday; I don't feel that abolishing football is the only option here. Most of the deaths by head trauma could have been prevented, had past trauma been addressed and had appropriate measures been taken sooner.
Source: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d81990bdf/article/new-nfl-rules-designed-to-limit-head-injuries
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/23/health/preventing-football-deaths/
As raswaglia had stated, a huge amount of the injuries occur at the high school level. And that is indeed the base of the problem. Kids are being taught to hit harder, and to hit faster. The Centers for Disease Control have shown that concussions have doubled in the past decade between the ages of 14 and 19. While a full on ban of the sport is not in the countries best interest, some changes have to be made.
Recently, there has been a drop-off in children playing football. Many parents have taken rubytuesdays advice and are no longer allowing their kids to play such a dangerous sport. But the concussion numbers keep on rising. Many people have voiced their opinions on how this number can go down. The suggestions go from more advanced helmet and gear protection to coaches taking courses to learn how to train their athletes to tackle better. The fact of the matter is, a lot can be done, but it just hasn't happened. High school football is not a priority yet, and these changes have been coming very slowly. In my opinion, either the states or the federal government has to step up to the challenge to enforce these changes. Until then, my kids will not be playing football.
http://www.theoaklandpress.com/special-news-reports/20140823/concussions-continuing-to-plague-high-school-football-players-families
I think while some good points are being raised in the other comments about what is happening here, they aren't very realistic in what could happen. I don't mean when it comes to improving technology and trying to create a more safe environment for those playing, but the other things. I think that not having kids play football because of a possibility of injury is a little silly. What if your child wanted to join the military? Are parents being discouraged from letting their children join the military, even though the stakes are higher sometimes? No, because the people joining want to take the risk. The same can be said for football. Every athlete who plays knows their is a risk of injury, especially since the game involves full contact of the body. But they are willing to take the risk to play the sport they care about too much. There are people out there who would want to wish football away, but football is a part of American culture, so I don't think it's going anywhere. A tragedy can happen anytime on the field, whether it be a season ending injury, or something as bad as a death, but that is very unpredictable. We just have to wait and see what new developments can be made to make the game safer. I myself haven't lost hope for the game though, and I will still let my kids play. My dad played, my brother and I both played, and we are all okay, so I'm confident my kids would be fine too.
This article provides interesting insight into the argument: http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2015/9/24/9391449/football-concussions-cte
There is no question that football causes serious health problems, especially to the head. But is it reasonable to completely shut down the sport? Of course not. It is one of the most popular sports in our country, even though people are becoming more aware of the risks. Although it is tragic to hear of another death in football, I think that these deaths must be used to inform the public about the risks. If people are informed, we can make the sports much safer. Already, many youth football programs and high schools are requiring extra padding on helmets or special helmets to reduce the risks of concussion. This is a significant step towards making football safer, because head injuries are one of the biggest concerns. A Boston University research team has studied 79 brains of former football players, and found that 76 showed signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy. This is a common brain disease in football players that is associated with memory loss,i impulse control problems, depression, and eventually dementia. Even if players are not injured while playing, their brain is injured over time. Everyone knows that constantly colliding heads and bodies is not safe, so I believe that people will start working together on a solution to keep this popular sport while making it much safer.
http://www.npr.org/2015/08/09/430877562/is-football-worth-the-brain-injury-risk-for-some-the-answer-is-no
There are possible dangers involved in most sports that we participate in, and although safety is not ensured, most sports have become increasingly safer over the years. From first hand experience, I can say that the Connecticut state law has enforced that student athletes participate in an online concussion survey every two years that they play a high school sport. This online survey questions the athletes history with concussions and other sports related injuries to assess actions needed. This is a small advancement in a large issue, but it is a step in the right direction. Football and lacrosse helmets are updated yearly with the newest concussion tested technology to ensure the safest game play possible as well. I believe that precautions like this need to be taken more frequently and on larger scales to gain a greater impact on the sports community.
This being said, no matter how careful players and coaches are, accidents will happen. This is a factor that parents should heavily consider before letting their child participate in heavy contact sports, because no matter the preventive steps taken, chances of serious injury are still there. Rubytuesday made a great point in saying that there is a difference between professional athletes dying on the field and student athletes dying on the field. Both are incredibly tragic, however for a student to pass away at such a young age participating in an extra curricular activity is more startling. For this reason, ones participation in sports should be heavily considered, because there are risks that are unavoidable.
As Raswaglia mentioned, are proposals for bookkeeping in a way similar to baseball pitching, where the number of tackles are closely recorded and monitored. This would be a very good way to allow high schoolers to continue playing the sport, but regulating the number of traumatic injuries that could occur. With that being said, the sport as a whole is much more of a problem than any other high school sport in terms of danger. As Rubytuesday stated, from 1982-2013, there were 118 deaths due to football, with the next highest number for a high school sport being baseball at 14 deaths. Clearly, there is a significant amount of danger in football compared to other high school sports. So, even with new regulations the sport is definitely not being monitored and regulated with enough safety measures.
It is a widely known issue that in the past, change will not occur until someone gets hurt. People always allow badly regulated activities, buildings, jobs, etc. to deteriorate until the last possible moment, when it is proven to need fixing by someone getting injured. Football has proven to be in need of regulating with the 118 deaths in the high school league from 1982-2013. However, still not enough preventative measures are being taken. It is the responsibility of football leagues and coaches to establish and practice safe methods of playing football. If a significant improvement is not made within a few years, the sport should not be allowed because no life is worth it in the long run.
Sources: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d81990bdf/article/new-nfl-rules-designed-to-limit-head-injuries
https://nccsir.unc.edu/files/2013/10/Annual-Football-2014-Fatalities-Final.pdf
Considering what Caitlyn B said about the 118 deaths related to high school football, which is tragic indeed, I believe that it isn't always football that is the reason for these deaths. In most cases, these kids who die in sports related incidents have some prior illness or defect that puts them at risk while participating in that sporting activity. Although the victim usually dies resulting from a football play, the play was just the trigger for something lingering from the past. Many of the basketball related deaths are a result of kids with heart problems who shouldn't be playing that end up playing and dying as a result of these prior know or unknown defects. Also, not all parents are blaming the sport for the deaths. An article from NBC news said the parents of one child Cam'ron Mathews, said, ""God took Cam'ron when he was ready. It's not football to blame," said Hinson, who added that Matthews had been playing the game "ever since he was a young child." The family didn't believe football was the cause of death because it might not have been. It might have contributed to it but it was more of a freak event and an undeserved death. I do feel that there is one way to prevent more of these football related death and that is proper technique on how to tackle. Most kids now try to lower their heads and hit the other kid as hard as possible. Meanwhile, lowering your head is the worst thing you can do when tackling someone because it puts you at risk of breaking your neck and getting a concussion. If these kids were taught the proper way to tackle from the start then a lot more lives will be spared. Also there needs to be a thorough health check when kids register every year to play the sport and a mandatory midyear health screening as well to make sure everything is as it should be with the player. I feel the parents are partially responsible because if they have any knowledge of any problems their child has that might put them at risk when participating in the sport then I feel they need to be the responsible parents and shut it down. This will surely change the fate for many young football players everywhere and will preserve the life of the great American sport of football.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/camron-matthews-alto-high-school-football-player-dies-after-game-n446671
I agree with Blogger Brian and his belief that it is not reasonable to shut down the sport of football. In every aspect of life, there are risks involved. There are thousands upon thousands of deaths each year from car accidents, but people continue to drive. There are numerous deaths and head injuries from skiing, but individuals continue to ski. In the same way, there is an increasing amount of deaths in football, but people will continue to play and follow the sport. To prevent injuries, players can wear concussion helmets which provide extra support. However, concussion helmets are expensive and football teams are generally very big and therefore it can be difficult for teams to have enough money to provide all the players with concussion helmets.
I believe that NFL and college football players should step up to the plate and use their platform as professional athletes to promote and help schools raise money so that they can be provided with valuable and supportive equipment. This does not change my mind about letting my children play football in the future. I will definitely be nervous that my child will get injured but if it something that he enjoys, then I will support him. Additionally, once I have children and he is eligible to play football, I believe that there will be even more advanced football equipment.
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