College Football Research Paper

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Football. It is one of the most celebrated sports in the United States, if not the most celebrated. It is rare to find a person here in the United States who does not know what football is. In fact, a good portion of the United States population has even participated in the sport of football in one way or another. The big hits, the helmet collisions, and the pile ups are a few thing that people look for in every football game, but the effects of these traumatic collisions are often overlooked by the fans, players, and even the NFL. People forget how truly dangerous the sport of football is. The topic of the negative lasting effects of football came to light when Dr. Bennet Omalu discovered CTE – Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in former NFL…show more content…
A veteran player for the Pittsburg Stealers, Mike Webster was widely praised for his hard helmet hits and fierce attitude. After Mike’s retirement, he began showing signs of mental deterioration, which was assumed to be dementia. As the years went by and Webster became unable to do daily activities, or even speak a full sentences. Webster and his family suspected the years of concussions and hard hits to the head played a role in Mike’s weakening mental health. It was when Mike died that the Webster family’s suspicions were confirmed. Dr. Bennet Omalu found CTE in Mike Webster’s brain and believed the disease was caused from years of football. This disease did not just stop at Mike Webster. Today, a total of 87 out of 91 deceased NFL players test positive for brain disease (Concussion Watch). This lead a variety of doctors to assume that concussions sustained in football had life-long harmful effects to its players. When the NFL was notified about Omalu’s findings, they adamantly denied that concussions sustained in football lead to chronic brain issues, and even attacked Omalu’s medical knowledge. This first series of denials from the NFL lead to numerous unethical denials in the…show more content…
Dr. Ira Casson was the head of the NFL’s concussion crisis. He earned the nickname “Dr. No” due to an interview when he would simply respond with “No,” to every question about player safety, concussions, brain disease and more (Frontline). This stirred up concern among the football fans. Along with Casson’s interview, the constant denial of the statistics of brain disease created a negative assumption about the NFL. Dr. Julian Bailes, former Steelers team doctor and neurosurgeon, brought up the statistics in a conference that included all NFL teams, the NFL commissioner, team doctors, and the infamous “Dr. No” Ira Casson. Bailes presented Dr. Omalu’s data to all of those who were in attendance. Bailes concluded his presentation by stating Dr. Omalu’s message that playing football causes brain damage (Frontline). During Baile’s presentation, Dr. Ira Casson stood to the side, making a fool of himself, rolling his eyes and acting oblivious to the reputable research being presented. This was not a good look for the NFL and this conveyed the message that the NFL was denying all research and facts, in order to protect themselves, wrongly ignoring the long term health of their
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