Football is an extremely physical sport where there is a lot of contact, mainly  head to head contact. This form of contact can cause long-term, painful problems in people's lives.  What should happen to the sport of football? Should something happen to the sport at all?  These are just two of many  questions that have been brought up by the general public, players, commissioners, league board members, scientists, and doctors.  This issue is personal to me because I have participated in six years of playing football. I have experienced and seen many people experience concussions in middle school and high school. I seemingly have found out more about the causes and the effects of this injury since it has been so close to my personal life and it is a huge problem when it comes to the general public. This is proven as there recently was the release of the movie, "Concussion" starring Will Smith.  I'd say I'm an adequate person to be writing about concussions because I have been concussed myself, and have seen my teammates with this injury.  This particular topic interests me because I strongly disagree with what is happening right now in football, particularly the rule changes  because I do not believe the game should be changed as a whole solely based on injuries that could occur during any life situation. It's the player's decision to partake in the sport and the risks are all a part of that commitment.

The article "The N.F.L.'s Next Play: Address Brain Trauma or Fade Away" is all about how people don't think that the National Football League is doing enough to protect players from concussions.  It discusses the fact that the NFL has not made the proper steps it needs to in perspective of cutting down on concussions and brain injuries for players and ex-players.  The NFL  has made a few changes to the rules and the fining system but some people still feel as if that is not enough and that the commissioner, Rodger Goodell does not care very much about these injuries. The article is titled, "Fade Away,  because a portion of  the general public believe Goodell thinks  this situation will blow over if he just ignores the problem that is going on.  Goodell is attempting  to avoid this situation because it brings negativity to his sport which leads to him making less revenue.

The article "Football, So Beautiful for Fans, Scars Players With Dementia" is written about how fans think the game of football is so beautiful and how much they love watching it.  It later goes on to talk about how fans love watching hard hits. The problem is, they don't understand the pain that the players go through during those "thrillful hits" at the time and even in their future.  Players not only suffer from concussions as a result of  big hits but they also can potentially suffer from  dementia.  This article later goes on to talking about bell ringers, which are huge hits to the head that people say  "wake the other person up".  It explains the difference between being  a fan and a player. As a fan, it is all fun and games to watch their favorite sport through a screen but as a  player on the field, receiving a  blow to the head is not what you would consider fun.

The article, "A Mishandled Concussion Leads to a Review of Protocol" discusses the fact that the concussion alone may not be the worst part of the whole situation but it is how people treat the concussion once it is received that leads to detrimental circumstances.  Concussions are a very painful occurrence. Players may not show signs of pain immediately after a concussion occurs because of their lack of realization and their desire to keep playing. This is the number one reason long term injuries occur in concussed players  because it is similar to  doubling the injury from the first time it happened.  This article explains that  if players had the right treatment after being diagnosed with a concussion, fewer  post-injury side effects would come about in their future. For example, dementia or death as a result of suicide can occur.    This article states that concussions and any other injuries that happen to the human brain need to be treated very carefully because it is the most important part of the body. With the technology we have in our world today,  people have a much better chance of avoiding long term injuries.  

My topic is extremely arguable because there are already so many viewpoints  on how to fix the problem of concussions or simply try to let it blow over.  Different people have different opinions on the situation.  One of the disagreements that I found was the fact that people want to change the rules of the game and the game itself.  One of the agreements that I had though was the fact that something does need to be done for the safety of players in the future.  To be able to make my paper longer I may need to focus on football as a whole instead of just the NFL, I need to broaden my topic.

