          Do the Risks of Football Related Concussions in Kids Outweigh the Benefits? I like the proposed question because it is a fairly controversial issue, and one that could potentially have many implications on the mental health of many young American boys. I played a ton of sports throughout my childhood, including football, and I am a firm believer in the very valuable principles that can be taught through sports. Teamwork, problem solving, and decision making are just a few skills that can be attained through competitive sports. I have always been a big fan of sports, and I believe it's pretty clear that children can seriously benefit from putting real effort and commitment towards a sport. Anybody who has had a drive for a certain sport knows how they can be great to instill a purpose, passion, and teach the values of teamwork and effort. But, like everything else, athletics have downsides of their own that come with their benefits, and none have a more serious issue than Football. Football by far has the highest concussion rate in American sports, and while I loved playing football and think my experience with it changed my life for the better, the possible consequences are too big to ignore. During my time playing football I incurred a couple of mild concussions at a relatively young age; I also know firsthand how ignorant kids can be about the actual severity and consequences of brain injuries. I think this is also the main reason why we, as educated adults, need to make an informed decision on this matter, because at an age where the brain is still developing concussions and be very detrimental to mental health.

An article about concussions from the media source, The Atlantic, claims that the big hits and many small hits and football can lead to severe brain diseases later in life in some cases. It links cases of professional football players, many of whom are starting to develop diseases such as dementia, depression, and a variety of others. There has also been a considerable number of suicides that are believed to be linked to degenerative brain issues, possibly caused by concussions. Because the brain is still very misunderstood by scientists, it is hard to prove indefinitely that these issues are concussion related, but this is substantial evidence. Along with the physical risks of concussions the article also has excerpts from director Sean Pamphilon, who directed the United States of Football, a film that was critical of these very issues. Sean touches on the fact that some parents pressure their kids into playing football, "A lot of parents pressure their kids to play, and I absolutely think that is wrong". Even with parents discouraging football many kids play regardless and retain concussions. If kids are informed on concussion risks it will still be a tough decision for many to make, especially with a heavily idolized NFL, but even so, it could improve the situation and reduce the number of kids playing. The author of this article Allen Barra has a history of writing about sports, but I don't feel that explicitly pushes his opinion on the issue one way or the other. However I think it's clear that he, like many other sports writers, are not taking these concussion risks lightly.

An article by News Leader got a very interesting perspective to write about this topic, ex-NFL legend Barry Sanders made his opinion on the issue public in his article Should You Let Your Kids Play Football. This article discusses the risks of concussions and highlights the importance of the issue, but instead of asking whether kids should play at all, it highlights the decline of the still high concussion rates in pro football, as they have fallen 35% since 2012. Which I think is an interesting stat to bring up, because the article's focus is on kids, but it uses NFL level statistics, which will obviously have very different concussion stats; however it does show how rule changes can help improve player safety.. Barry Sanders makes the risks clear, but also mentions the incredibly valuable lessons that the author and his son learned from football, and how anybody that plays an organized sport such as football can learn these lessons and benefit in the long term by instilling values in them. Overall the author is extremely credible and knows more about the issue than most, because it is written by a Hall of Fame running back. Running Backs incur more helmet to helmet hits than most other positions, so concussions are a very real concern for Sanders and his son. On the other hand Football is the biggest part of his life and legacy, so it is expected for him to defend the sport to an extent. Overall I think the article definitely shows some clear bias, even stating straight up that the values of football outweigh concussion risks.

There isn't much of a central claim to this article, but it details all of the concussion risks in different sports, and it goes in depth about many of the possible risks that can be a result of concussions. It is a great source of pure information that can help give the reader a good understanding of the risks concussions pose and the risk football has of resulting in concussions.

The major interest of the article is to inform readers about what sports are more susceptible to concussions, and the signs and symptoms in order to identify a concussion. I think the primary goal of this article is to provide a site where readers, parents and kids alike, can become informed on which sports are at higher risk of concussion so they can make more informed decisions and have more overall awareness and knowledge on concussions.

I'd have to say this is essentially as credible as sources get, because it doesn't display any clear bias, it just provides facts and insights in order to provide readers with an overall better knowledge on concussions, their link to sports, and why they shouldn't be taken lightly.

I think this research question is very feasible because there are clear arguments on both sides, there is no obvious answer, and it is a very heavily discussed topic recently so there is a lot of information and studies I can utilize for my research. Many think that any risk of brain injury and mental illness is an obvious reason to say that nobody should play football, especially kids. This is understandable, but it can also be easily argued that the majority of football players are more or less unaffected by severe concussion related side effects, and that the values of football outweigh the risk. Both sides agree that there is undeniable risk, but the question is how risky is it really, and do the benefits of football really overpower them, both of which are questions without black and white answers. The perspective of a source can seriously alter how seriously I consider there opinion. For example I value Barry Sander's opinion on the matter, but I also expect a hall of fame running back who built his life and legacy on the game to defend it.

If I am going to alter my final research question it would be to change the question from a risk/benefit type question to a should kids be allowed to play in the first place.

