Sunday night football is considered a ritual in most American households but little do these fans know the secrets that the National Football League is hiding. In December 2015, the film Concussion was released, depicting the undercover stories about head injuries in professional football. Will Smith portrayed Dr. Bennett Omalu, a forensic pathologist, who discovered the neurological diseases that arise from multiple blows to the skull. The National Football League bullied Omalu and undermined his work to protect their franchise and keep their reputation as a passionate, traditional, and community orientated organization. Over ten professional players have lost their lives to neurological disorders that could have easily be prevented if they were to be given the proper medical care. With all of the power and money that the National Football League has, they are not taking extreme measures to protect their players from dangerous and deadly neurological disorders. 

Concussions have been a enormous problem since the 1950's and over these past few decades medical examiners grasped what was really going on in the brain when one sustains a concussion. In January 1952 the first study done on brain related injuries wasn't actually in football, it was in professional boxing (Gove 654-655). From extensive research neurologists found that even light blows to the skull, which they named "sub-concussions," had the ability to cause long-lasting brain damage (Gove 655). At the end of 1952 the New England Journal of 

Medicine published the first medical research done in professional football (Gove 655). From their research examiners concluded that after an athlete has acquired three concussions they should quit the sport to prevent any further brain damage from occurring (Gove 655). Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, the neurological disease known to be directly correlated with football, was discovered in 2005 by Dr. Bennett Omalu (Gove 655). Omalu defined a concussion in football as "a transfer of kinetic forces that cause increased strain in brain tissue and pressure waves within the skull" in his academic journal Neurosurgery (Gove 655). Researchers have concluded that helmets do not provide adequate protection for the brain, they only provide security for the skull (Gove 655). Athletes are paying hundreds of dollars for what they believe to be "guaranteed protection," but in reality that is not the case. 

Some may say that the resolution to this problem is to fix the technology of helmets, to make them more protective, but in actuality helmets make the game far more dangerous. According to Dr. Erik Swartz, "The increased safety leads to an increased threshold to assume risk." These players correlate the amount of equipment they are wearing with the how hard the hit should be. For example, if a player is wearing more safety equipment the hit will be harder from the opposing team and vice versa. The solution to decrease concussion rates in the NFL, and in football in general, is to not use helmets during practices so players can learn how to tackle in safe manner (Haislop). If helmets are removed during practices and the skull was completely exposed than players would think, "Oh, wow, maybe I should be a little more careful with how I tackle" (Haislop). To prove his argument, Swartz conducted a study at the University of New Hampshire with two groups, twenty five players in each one (Haislop). In the treatment group the players went through tackling drills without helmets and in the control group players 

used helmets (Haislop). From the practice films Swartz found that the players who didn't wear helmets during tackling drills were taking way more caution when they hit their opponent compared to the control group. Another study was done at the Florida State College of Medicine to see if helmets provided complete protection against concussions. Researchers used a crash test dummy and placed sensors on its skull to measure its linear and rotational responses ("How Well Do Football"). From the 330 tests performed their results were alarming, "football helmets on average reduced the risk of traumatic brain injury by only 20 percent compared to not wearing a helmet" ("How Well Do Football"). All of the technological advancements that are being done to helmets are pointless due to the fact that it's almost considered safer for players not to wear one.  If something drastic isn't done to decrease concussion rates in the NFL than there won't be any more football to watch.

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE, is the most common neurological condition that professional football players will suffer from. CTE is caused by a buildup of protein called tau which disrupts the brain's function when accumulated in masses (Drysdale 430). This disease is also directly correlated with concussions which are, "traumatically induced disturbance(s) of neurological functions, most often the result of a direct blow to the head" (Drysdale 428-429). Inside of the skull the brain bathes in spinal fluid so when a head that is in motion stops suddenly, the brain collides with inner skull. There are three levels of concussions, depending on how hard the brain hits the skull, each one correlating with specific symptoms. In a grade one concussion the player will get momentarily confused but does not need any medical intervention (Drysdale 429). A grade two concussion will leave the player with temporary nauseous and amnesia as well as a ringing in the ears (Drysdale 429). A grade three 

concussion is the most severe, leaving the player unconscious for minutes and sometimes even hours (Drysdale 429). In a grade two and three concussion it is essential for the athletes to seek medical attention right away. After an athlete sustains any grade of concussion, "he or she is fours times more likely to develop severe neurological deficits and or diseases" (Drysdale 429). Concussions are the main source of injuries in professional football therefore it is critical that these athletes seek immediate medical attention so no further damage accumulates.

Michael Webster, a former center for the Pittsburgh Steelers, died suddenly from an unexpected heart attack. His wife, Pamela Webster, sought to seek the truth about what had happened to her husband. She said that the last few years of their marriage were tortuous, he was suffering from symptoms like dementia, depression, and constant confusion. When Dr. Bennett Omalu performed an autopsy on Webster he found an enormous amount of the protein tau, which was unusual for a man this age. Omalu then made the connection between Webster's symptoms and the abnormal buildup of tau that he had suffered from severe CTE. Webster wasn't the only professional athlete that suffered from this life-threatening disease, men like Dave Duerson, Junior Seau, Tom McHale, and Adrian Robinson have all lost their lives from a sickness that could have been prevented (Dodd 57). Specifically, Junior Seau's family filed a law suit against the NFL claiming that they didn't provide enough medical care to protect their son (Seau). Seau's parents claimed that when they attended their sons games they did not see an extensive medical team standing on the sidelines and the times that their son did get hurt, he was thrown back in the game almost immediately (Seau). Nate Jackson, a tight end for the San Francisco 49ers, was not the only one who witnessed players that were getting put back in the game too quickly. In his magazine article, "The NFL's Concussion Culture," Jackson stated that the team doctors and 

trainers who are paid by the organization don't invest their time and efforts into the man that is hurt (Jackson 22). Jackson described that when a top notch player gets hurt, the head coach is constantly badgering the athletic trainer to get him back in to the game as soon as possible (Jackson 22). These players don't get the medical attention they need due to the fact that most athletes lie about the extensiveness of their injuries so they don't lose their reputation as being a "tough guy." The fact that these men have to uphold a reputation that may lead to their death is something that the NFL needs to drastically change. 

The NFL's carelessness to deal with this pressing issue is trickling down to the high school football level. Chad Stover, a sixteen year old defensive back, was playing in the Missouri high school playoffs on Halloween night when suddenly he collided with a member of the opposing team. From the sidelines it didn't seem like a hard hit, he got back up and was ready for the next play to commence when suddenly his legs caved in and he collapsed. Stover was rushed to the hospital unconscious and then pronounced dead just a few hours later. Stover suffered from severe hemorrhaging and oxygen deprivation to his brain and his cause of death was "blunt-force injury to the cranium" (Gregory 37). After Chad's death the Colorado School of Public Health conducted a study on high school sports concussions and found that football has the highest incidence of brain traumas- nearly 45% more than girls soccer (Gregory 35). Researchers found that these players will receive around 3,061 hits in their high school career and sixty percent of them will occur during practice (Gregory 35). From these multiple hits players can suffer from dementia, Alzheimer's, or other neurological diseases like Parkinson's and ALS, in their future (Gregory 34). Getting hit in the head is inevitable in football; no amount of smart coaching, new equipment, or emergency medical care can change that but teenagers 

need a program they can look up to when it comes to how serious head traumas can really be if not taken seriously. 

With all of the ridicule the NFL is getting for letting some of the most world renown players die because of their faults, they have made some changes to try decrease the amount of concussions. In 2010 the NFL started with prohibiting a player from, "launching himself off the ground and using his helmet to strike a player in a defenseless posture in the head or neck" (Drysdale 439). If a player violates this rule it is considered an unnecessary roughness penalty and the team will get a deduction of fifteen yards (Drysdale 439). The organization also implemented a new rule stating that if a player loses his helmet, from either of the two teams, the referees must automatically blow their whistle and terminate the play (Drysdale 439). Another rule change happened in 2010 articulating that, "during field goals or extra point attempts, defenders must line up with their entire bodies on the outside of the snapper's body to protect the snapper while he is in a position of vulnerability" (Drysdale 439). If either of the two teams violate this statement than it results in a penalty of illegal formation and a reduction of five yards (Drysdale 439). The organization outright said that their will be stricter consequences, including suspensions, if a player is to hit their opponent in the head, neck, or back in a manner that violates the newly implemented rules (Drysdale 439). The biggest change that the NFL made to the game was the kickoff, which is thought to be one of the most dangerous and violent plays of the game. The kickoff now starts at the thirty five yard line instead of the thirty yard line (Drysdale 439). Athletes must line up closer to the end zone which will decrease the amount of space that the opposing team will get for a running start (Drysdale 440). As for an advanced and certified medical staff, in 2011 the NFL mandated that there must be multiple athletic trainers in 

the press boxes during every game (Drysdale 550). The purpose of these trainers is to assist the medical staff on the sidelines and help assess symptoms of concussions. They sit in the press boxes due to the fact that they can estimate the seriousness of hit which is often hard to deduce from the sidelines (Drysdale 550). Two years later in the 2013 season the NFL authorized another rule change, "if a running back lowers the crown of his helmet while he is inside the tackle box or while he is less than three yards downfield and makes contact with a defender, the team will be given a 15-yard penalty" (Drysdale 550). Although there have been multiple rule changes to the three hour game, the seriousness of head injuries is still being brushed off by players, coaches, and medical staff. 

Besides making minuscule rule changes to minimize concussions on the field, there are also adjustments that can be made off the field to resolve this pressing issue. The first proposal would be to have neurologists, who specifically specialize in blunt-force trauma, to stand on the sidelines and look for players who exhibit signs of a concussion. These men and women would have the ability to stop the game at any time and pull a player they had been exhibiting off the field to perform extensive neurological tests. In addition, if a player were to get hit, sustain a concussion, and be unable to play for a certain number of games than the opposing player who hit them would have to sit out for the same amount of games. This would drastically reduce the amount of hard hits due to the fact that if a player can't participate in numerous games, the less money he will be making. From past research it is evident that once a player sustains a concussion he is four times more likely to be susceptible to severe neurological damage and or diseases (Freeman). Because of this the NFL should make mental health resources more readily available, things like suicide prevention hotlines and mandatory counseling sessions. These 

trained therapists would be able to indicate any changes in personality, which is a symptom of chronic traumatic encephalopathy. If a drastic change in personality were to occur than these therapists could provide the proper medical treatment so the disease doesn't get any worse. Another proposal to the NFL would be to issue yearly MRI brain scans. These scans would pinpoint any abnormalities in brain and determine whether these men are eligible to play. Lastly, instead of making the season eighteen games the organization should shorten it to fourteen (Freeman). This would mean that each team would only have two preseason games but the reality is, less games equals less hits (Freeman). These new modifications will have more of a lifelong impact on the players rather than simple rule changes that may not even be followed. 

The National Football League, an organization worth billions of dollars in revenue, cannot protect the most important organ in the body from both long-term and short-term injury, whether it be players who have suffered from a minor concussion or players who suffer from severe dementia and can't do simple tasks on their own. Some may say that these men signed up for this, that getting injured comes with having a professional football career but these life-threatening diseases can be easily prevented. There are so many solutions to this enormous problem whether it be a more certified medical staff, access to more mental health resources, or just changes in how the game is played. This world renown organization is letting their soul source of income die and eventually they will have nothing left if they don't tackle this issue head on. 

