           Overall, CTE is the one of the most controversial topics in sports. Not only is it a problem for retired players, but as well as for those playing at all the levels. To this point, my three sources used all paint CTE and football in a negative light while the two argumentative articles imply that football will not last much longer. Because of this my research topic is "Is professional football worth the risk of head injuries 

or will the game need to be altered in order to keep getting kids to play." In the ESPN article, it is stated in the title in which it says football needs to change one of the main components of the game to stay alive. That component being head injuries and has, so far, proven to be unavoidable. After the recent death of Kenny Stabler, the article continues by saying even one of the most appealing and loved football players during his time was not immune to the post-NFL life. Secondly, it is brought up how 87 out of 91 tested deceased former players have been diagnosed with CTE, further proving that the disease is a prevalent problem that needs to be addressed. Lastly, the author believes the problem stems from the constant hitting experienced all the way to 8th grade and suggests a solution to solve it by outlawing tackling until high school. However, the author finishes by stating there is no definitive solution except for less hits. An interesting part about this topic is that there are no realistic answers for solving the CTE problem. Without making drastic changes to the game, a common solution is to suggests limiting tackling until an older age. In addition to being hard to do, other suggestions include football being stopped altogether. This statement is not suggesting that it be stopped but that it will reach a point where no one will be willing to take the risk to play. CNN: Although this article lists facts of CTE and serves as a vital background to begin to understand how CTE works. To start off, the article quickly denotes the notion that CTE and concussions go hand in hand together. As the article states, CTE is constant hits to the head and is not directly related to concussions as people believe. Next, harder helmets would not help the issue. Although the helmets would be harder, the brain would still be moving around in the head in the same way that causes CTE. Lastly, the most piercing fact listed is that there is no known cure for CTE and the inspection to test for it can only be performed on dead subjects.

Personal Context: When looking for a research topic, the toughest part is to try to find a topic that is both interesting and worthy of writing a paper on. Because it is football season with the Super Bowl now being a hot topic, my interest level peaked once the teams in the Super Bowl were determined. While many people have been debating whether or not this is Peyton Manning's last game, an otherwise headline story has seemingly fallen to wayside despite its importance and controversy. The recent death of Kenny Stabler has sparked another CTE debate about whether or not football is too dangerous for players to continue to play. With my research question being "Is professional football worth the risk of head injuries or will the game need to be altered in order to keep getting kids to play." When thinking about this research topic, finding all of the facts before trying to determine whether or not football can survive. Having watched much football my life and having an understanding of how the game works, I may not be the most qualified to answer this research question but I can provide the facts to back up the tough argument either way. 

This article starts by arguing that football needs to be changed, starting with from the lowest level. The article proposes that kids do not start tackling their sophomore year in high school and that this could reduce blows to the head until this age. Later on, the article goes on to put out that 87 of 91 retired football players had CTE when died and were tested. To the author, this represents this represents an unsustainable number and goes on to state that many football players will not let their own family members play.

The main point or overall point in the article is to address how many more early deaths from NFL players discovered to have CTE does it take before changes are made to the game. This article tries to bring up this point while discussing Kenny Stabler's beloved career. As the article addresses, he appeared to be invincible during his playing days, but his recent death might cause a shock among many people who watched him play.

It is an informative article so it does not take sides and simply states the facts. It continous to prove why players should be aware of CTE and denotes any misconceptions about the disease as well. The article is written by an author at ESPN meaning he has a background in debating sports and can debate this topic as well


Overall, this article is a very straight forward informative article. From a credible source (CNN), this provides the backdrop of facts to properly understand the affects of CTE and how it is caused. As the article wisely points out, there are common misconceptions of CTE such as people believing helmets need to be harder to prevent CTE or believing that limiting concussions will prevent CTE. 

The values in the article consist of simply stating the facts and providing an understanding for the reader. The main points state there is no cure for the disease, harder helmets would do nothing to prevent CTE and the fact it can not be detected until after the person being examined has passed away

Without giving a point of view or biased opinion on how to fix the problem of CTE in sports, the article simply states that CTE is linked to repetitive hits to the head and not necessarily concussions while also stating that even if harder helmets were created the brain would still be moving back and forth, causing the CTE damage.


1. According the other of this article, the main claim is that football will not survive and will have much of a future in the upcoming years. After the suicide of famous football player Junior Seau, the author is convinced the sport will not survive on top of the countless lawsuits being seen at the high school and middle school levels.

2. This is an argumentative article so the author is entitled to his/her opinion and is credible because of that. Additionally, the author does a very good job of combining facts to back up his claims.

3. Although the author is not clearly bias, he/she seems to be slightly biased due to the death of Junior Seau and the lawsuits football has caused overall. Because of this, the author is convinced that youth programs must sink and parents will keep their kids from playing like he has.

Reflect: The research topic is arguable because it is both controversial and interesting. For many people, there is no clear answer to solving the problem of CTE causing the game of football is becoming repeatedly addressed to as "unsafe" or having an "unclear" future. With each different perspective brought up by each article, my own opinion can be swayed slightly if I feel good points are being made. Despite the CNN article being neutral and informative, my opinions were questioned when it was stated that CTE has no cure and can not be detected until have a person has passed away. Overall, I may need to revise the research topic to make it more focused but besides that I have all the research necessary to write as I please on the topic.
