nuleafjhawk asked why I am down on football...
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I wrote a long take and then withdrew it, because I decided it was wrong to rain on football, when so many here still love it. Let me just leave a short form. The brain scanning research I recall coming out the last ten years indicates that one cannot play the game without traumatizing the brain frequently and in accumulating increments. It seems wrong to me for society to enable and encourage young men to play such a game, so I oppose its play, even though I once played and enjoyed it very much.
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@jaybate-1.0 Thank you.
(no sarcasm)
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Roger Staubach retired early because he was worried about the long term effects of concussions. He had 5 or 6 during his pro career and decided that was enough.
Zach Peters had his basketball career cut short because of concussions, although they did not all occur while playing football. Amateur boxers wear protective headgear: maybe they should mandate that for any basketball players who have previously had concussions?
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I have had at least one (possibly two) concussions in my life. It’s scary to think that those two events may have turned my brain into a ticking timebomb where one day I wake up and can’t remember basic things. I have tried to combat this by doing logic puzzles and memory exercises, in hopes that these things will combat any damage that may have been done during those concussions.
For that reason, I am a lot like @jaybate-1.0 . I still enjoy football, but I can’t help but feel a little guilty when watching, especially when I see a woozy player helped to the sidelines. The unfortunate thing about football is that the vast majority of the people that will be affected by concussions suffered while playing will never make a dime playing the game.
To make matters worse, there just isn’t enough being done, particularly at the high school level, to diagnose concussions. Too many high school teams are understaffed (most states have a cap on the number of coaches that can be hired) so trying to keep track of that many players to make sure that they aren’t injured is an impossible task if there is only one trainer, 5-7 coaches and a handful of student managers assigned to 50-90 players (depending on school size and turnout).
It all adds up to a very worrisome situation that, like @jaybate-1.0 I have serious issues with supporting. I am also very disappointed in the NFL and their reaction to the issue, as I feel that they have not taken it very seriously.
50 years from now, I think football will become like boxing is now - a fringe sport, unless something significant is done to look after injuries, particularly head injuries.
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I don’t know if this happens everywhere but here in Texas athletes take a baseline MRI in high school just in case they do suspect a concussion down the road-my daughter even had one for soccer. I think eventually they will use soft padding on the outsides of helmets for football players.
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I know several high school teams in the KC area already use the padding around the helmet during practice, although I am not sure if it is allowed during actual games.
