Concussions, memory problems and depression: It’s clear that football must change
Source: Washington Post Opinion Section
SOME 50 million people are likely to watch Tom Brady take on Peyton Manning in Sunday’s AFC championship game, and an even larger share of the U.S. population will probably tune in to Super Bowl 50 next month. Watching (though not playing) football is the American pastime. One of the few near-universal experiences that remains in the Internet age is enjoying a form of moderately restrained violence.
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| Antwaan Randle El playing in Superbowl XL |
But, for increasing numbers of fans, that enjoyment is tinged with moral qualm. Seemingly every week brings stories about the awful toll the sport takes on its players. Antwaan Randle El, a former wide receiver for Washington’s professional football team, is not even 40, but he cannot descend stairs normally, has serious memory problems and told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette this week that he regrets ever playing the game. This month, the Journal of the American Medical Association published a study of a deceased 25-year-old former college football player’s brain, finding that the man, who had suffered more than 10 concussions during 16 years of play, had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a debilitating disorder similar to Alzheimer’s disease that scientists have been finding in autopsies of other football players. Before dying of cardiac arrest, the former player dropped out of school and suffered from headaches, anxiety and depression.
Football must change.
Ivy League undergraduates who did not have the “opportunity” to prove their toughness in the Civil War developed the game in the late 19th century. The point was brutality. Football developed over the years in ways that lessened and heightened the various risks — the dangerous “flying wedge” formation was banned, the forward pass became an essential part of the game, helmets were mandated. More recently, the National Football League has imposed concussion protocols, forcing players to sit on the sidelines after a concussion diagnosis, and discouraged head-to-head contact. The league claims it hasreduced concussions by a third.
The scandal of the past is the extent to which players were kept ignorant of the risks they were taking, ending up in middle age with severe disabilities — or dead. Now that the risks are clearer, some argue that players are capable of informed consent; if they want to play, let them. Yet researchers still know relatively little about why CTE develops in some athletes’ brains and not in others’. And even if the science were further along, it would not end the ambivalence Americans felt about taking pleasure in a gladiator spectacle.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if football isn’t around in 20, 25 years,” Mr. Randle El said. If it wants to prove him wrong, the NFL will have to reform the game. Some research suggests that teaching proper tackling technique, which may counterintuitively involve banning helmets during practices, could help. Some have suggested speeding up the play clock, which could give coaches less time to dictate dangerous plays. We don’t pretend to know the answers. But pretending no problem exists shouldn’t be an option.
Now Respond in a 250-500 word comment that is thoughtful and clear.
Possible Things To Include in Your Response:
-Do you think football is too dangerous to justify?-Is America's obsession with such a dangerous game troubling to you?
-Would you allow your child to play football if she/he wanted to?
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ReplyDeleteI feel like football is a dangerous sport but at the same time, its football! Like that's the point of the sport, of trying to get the ball from the rival team. NFL players get paid a good amount of money just for playing so they know what they're getting into & Its not a problem to me just cause I like football and people are worrying about this now? Also football is not the only sport that can cause problems in the future, for example boxing is also a dangerous sport and nobody is saying anything about that.
ReplyDeleteIf my child wanted to play Football, why not? Some sports are more dangerous than others and people just have to get that.
I don't feel like football is that kind of dangerous because it can affect the player's brain and it can really damage them, plus if it's a really bad brain damage then that person probably can't ever play again. I also think football is a good thing because people really enjoy playing and watching it and it makes an big impact towards people's lives. But I feel like these player's should watch out on how hard they tackle each other, since all of them are really tough and that's one of the biggest ways football can hurt them. I don't think that football should be put to a stop because it's one of the biggest sports in the nation, but the people who are in charged of this sport should figure out a way to lesson up all the tackling because that also causes fights and that leads to the player getting hurt.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT__BsZlHSc
I feel the game of football is a very tough sport but i feel that its not the sport it self but the certain players in the sport that make it dangerous. Because one example was the Wide Receiver Antonio Brown from the Pittsburgh Steelers who was just making a easy catch but then a CB from the Bengals purposely tackled him really hard so that he drop the ball and end his career. Antonio Brown did get a concussion and was out for the whole game and the playoffs, but when they gave him a interview he " That guy tryed to kill me, and end my career. So we see by this example that again its just not the game itself, its the players in the game.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tfLncD3pGM
Reading this article about football I don't think I would allow my son to play football. The reason why because all of men that are having concussion because to many hits to the head. Witch mean memory loss that can be an effect also it makes a person go crazy and be depressed. And I would not want that to happen to my son and to see him go threw something like that. Also think about the football players that Have children and what if they switch to somebody different while their kids their. This is similar to Boxing because boxer could get the same thing to many hits to the head.
ReplyDeleteYes I think football is too dangerous, but it's also an contact sport so it supposed to be like that. When the rules gets more clear, then the more excitement the sport will be. It depends if the football rules is clear and safe for my child in the future. If it is then yea i'll let him/her play, but if the rules are the same as now, then no because now there's players from high school to NFL getting hurt or killed. No the game is not troubling me because I used to play football and that was my favorite sport. It's an exciting sport, but I also worried about the players getting hurt from that.
ReplyDeleteThe true thing is that football is a dangerous sport; the fact is that many players get injured and ended up losing their career by getting hit hard. There some players in football that died of getting hit hard that causes concussion and other injuries. People love watching football because the physical of the game.
DeleteThe true thing is that football is a dangerous sport; the fact is that many players get injured and ended up losing their career by getting hit hard. There some players in football that died of getting hit hard that causes concussion and other injuries. People love watching football because the physical of the game.
DeleteI feel like Football is a dangerous sport.Part of the reasons why I personally think that football is a dangerous sport is because its easy to sit and watch a game because of course you aren't the one on the field getting tackled and pushed.So I feel as if they should really come up with some safe rules that will prevent serious injuries that will stay permitted in a persons life because football players also have families too.
ReplyDeleteAmerica really is crazy about football you pass through a bar and all you see is a group of people with beer cups and cheering and yelling.Besides the fact that its nice seeing people bonding people get paid to entertain people with a sport that they love but gets them injured as well.
I honestly wouldn't know if I'll let my kids play football.The only way I'll let my child play is if they really like the sport as well as understanding that some people are rough and ONLY if the rules in football change which should soon because you need to think of the kids of tomorrow and a better and most of all safe future for them as well.
I think football is dangerous because all the player have some type of injuries like knees, shoulders, back pain, feet, ankles and head. In the text, "Antwaan Randle El, a former wide receiver for Washington's professional football team, is not even 40, but he cannot descend stairs normally, has serious memory problems and told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette this week that he regrets ever playing the game.". This means to me that he have a brain problems and that is hard for life. This is why highschool shouldn't be playing football because you can get injuries. America's obsession with such a dangerous game troubling to me is that they need to learn it in colleges so they can play during the real game. I will not allow my child to play football if she/he wanted to because it is just to dangerous and they can get injuries while I will be sad so I need them to be with me till they find their own love. I want them to be successfully awesome and can get their own future job.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the author I feel like football is too violent they should just play two hand touch or something. I wouldn't want to put my life at risk , especially because I heard that football is like one of the lowest paid sports. Concussion as the author was saying is a serious matter any head injury is serious. Concussion may cause brain damage who would want that? I would never strive to be the best in football. The safest position in football is the quarterback. Quarterback could also be dangerous too because everybody is trying to stop the pass trying to be made. The NFL just needs to find another way to not put people life at risk. Now I'm not saying every sport is safe anything could happen in basketball, baseball etc. These type of sports is not focused on striking somebody down for a down or to get the ball. My advice to all the teens trying to strive to play in the NFL be aware of what you are getting in. After you retire I know you would like to live a wealthy life , from all that money that you have earned.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with what the author about his solution that football is a dangerous game because i had play when I was younger and I have received many injuries. I would allow my son to play football because that information that he had game back when people had no remorse about injuries because when I was playing football helmet to helmet his was legal and people was allowed to do that with no people. By the time when I have a soon which will be like 10 or 15 years the game will be way safe then it is right now.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with what the author about his solution that football is a dangerous game because i had play when I was younger and I have received many injuries. I would allow my son to play football because that information that he had game back when people had no remorse about injuries because when I was playing football helmet to helmet his was legal and people was allowed to do that with no people. By the time when I have a soon which will be like 10 or 15 years the game will be way safe then it is right now.
ReplyDelete