Is Football Too Dangerous

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Is Football Too Dangerous? Spectator sports are undeniably exciting to watch, however these sports often times come with a price. This price is not just one of only monetary value, but also one that is paid with the health of the participating athlete. Over the last decade the NFL has been under endless scrutiny of whether or not the game of football is safe enough to continue being played under its current state. If one would take into account the health ramifications of playing football, then in fact without drastic and immediate change football is too dangerous and unsafe to continue being played in its current state when considering the high risk of long-term brain disease, frequent concussions, and faulty protective equipment. This isn’t…show more content…
According to Alan Schwarz, sports writer for the New York Times, in the 1960’s after more than 100 deaths of high school and college football players were caused by skull fractures and brain bleeding the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment, or Nocsae, was formed to protect players from such injuries. As a result in the early 1970’s the modern day helmet standard was born and in 1980 adopted by all levels of football and requires helmets to withstand a 60-inch free fall without allowing too much force to reach the skull. The standard has not been revised or changed since it was written in 1973. For the most part the standard has accomplished its sole task by eliminating skull fractures and brain bleeding from the game of football. Ironically, one problem with the Nocsae helmet standard and arguably the biggest is that it only protects players from skull fractures and brain bleeding and not from all head injuries related to football. According to Schwarz Nocsae receives no oversight from any government entities or independent agency such as the Consumer Product Safety Commission or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Most helmets used today are more than 10 years old and have to undergo reconditioning test, but because of the lack of supervision these test…show more content…
According to Nationwide Children Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, an estimated 100,000 concussions are reported each season among high school players alone, but this number is thought to be much higher by experts because an enormous amount of cases are misdiagnosed and unreported. In the NFL there are on average 110 reported each season accounting for only 7% of reported injuries. In a survey conducted by the Washington Post 90% of former NFL players reported suffering concussions while playing, and nearly six in 10 reported three or more, and two in three who had concussions said they experience continuing symptoms from them. Concussions are commonly marked by confusion, disorientation, nausea and other symptoms following a blow to the head. In his article in the New York Times Schwarz writes “The brain can crash into the inside of the skull through a wide range of forces, some arriving straight to the head and others suddenly rotating it. Scientists have yet to isolate where thresholds are in different players at different positions and at different ages.” This information is vital because age plays a significant role in the game of football, because according to a study conducted by Boston University former NFL players who played tackle football as children are more likely to have thinking and memory problems as adults.

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