There are many strong opinions on concussions, specifically youth concussions. Many parents fear for their children’s safety when participating in sports as they are young and still developing. Others agree that there are risks associated with sports, but they are not going to take their child out of something that they want to participate in, but instead just work around it. There is plenty of data that shows the recovery rates of concussions even in young children are greater than the non-recovery, extreme cases. The NCAA and most other sport organizations have put safety laws and regulations in place for concussions to keep athletes safe and healthy. 

Concussions have only recently been the talk of the dangers of youth sports. The present concern over concussions starts with the NCAA and the NFL, as they were the first two organizations to consider concussions as a serious injury that should be treated as if it were a broken leg and not just be passed off for the athlete to deal with it and keep playing. In 1933, the NCAA first acknowledges concussions in its medical handbook for colleges and schools. Concussions have been known for years but not taken seriously until recent years after research has been able to provide more detail about them. In 2009 the NCAA was advised to adopt, standardized concussions rules. In 2010, the NCAA adopted a concussions management policy. This is when concussions, specifically youth concussions were treated as a serious head injury that requires medical clearance. The NFL was in denial about concussions for years in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. It was determined in January of 2005 that returning to play posed no significant threat of a second injury or further damage to the athlete. Later in the same year, Doctor Bennet Omalu, San Joaquin County’s chief medical examiner, who was featured in the Will Smith movie Concussion, found Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) in former NFL players brain after he committed suicide. CTE is a neurodegenerative disease found in people who have had head injuries. It affects mood, thinking and behavioral patterns, but these symptoms usually do not occur until years after the injury. These symptoms typically worsen over the course of time and can sometimes lead to dementia. These findings along with many professional athlete suicides led to the spotlight that is now on concussions in sports.

In 2009, the state of Washington was the first state to pass any kind of laws regarding concussion procedures that “requires removal and clearance for return to play” (CDC). The law is called the “Zackery Lystedt Law” after a young Zackery who took a blow to the head in a football game and suffered severe injuries. He was on life support for seven days. After thirteen months he could finally move one part of his arm. It took two years to get rid of the feeding tube. He is now getting back to normal, he attended his high school graduation and was able to stand up after intense physical therapy. He now plans to get a college degree and get back to his normal life. The law was designed to keep everyone safe on the field. In order to keep the game as safe as possible the law covers a range of issues but the main points include, mandatory removal from the game, required medical clearance, required training for coaches, parents and athletes, and informed consent from parents and athletes. At this point all organizations have adopted or come up with regulations based on this law tailored to their sport and age range of athletes. As of this time, all 50 states and the district of Columbia have passed this laws with the same ideas. 

Laws might not be good enough for parents to feel as though their child is in a safe environment when participating in sports. Dr. Bennet Omalu advised a crowd to “Steer clear of high-impact, high-contact collision sports” including boxing, football, ice hockey, mixed martial arts, wrestling, and rugby (Almond). He also said “There is no reason any child under 18 should play any of these sports, there is no justifiable reason whatsoever” (Almond). This information coming from the very well respected doctor who first discovered very serious diseases in brains of athletes who has concussions can weigh very heavy on anyone as he is very well respected in his profession. The Centers of Disease and Preventions provided statistics that stated “the risk of concussion is highest in the 15-19 age group nationally, regardless of gender” (CDC). This is the age where children become adults and can make decisions for themselves. It is also an age where young adults are transitioning in their life like attending college, and for athletes this is a huge change with higher competition level. Most of these athletes can’t reach this level of competition without being involved in the sport their whole life. A handful of parents believe that if their child were to get a concussion as a young athlete that it would be detrimental to their socialization and learning abilities in the future. According to Science Daily it can even “affect parent-child relationships” (Université de Montréal). Science Daily recalls a study published in the Journal of Neuropsychology, which concluded that the young brain is extremely vulnerable to injuries and the first sign of a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) as they get older is a decline in the parent-child relationship. While young brains are extremely sensitive and need close attention and care, this study was done on babies, age ranging 18 to 60 months, so how can anyone be so sure that a mild traumatic brain injury is the cause of a declining relationship? They make a valid point when they mention that “the young brain is very vulnerable because the skull is very thin and malleable” (Université de Montréal). This is where the parents and the Zackery Lystedt law come together. Parents have to take a chance and let their kids have fun while their young and it pays off in the end when their older and it led them to other great things. The Zackery Lystedt law was put in place for safety reasons, for the parents that worry. In a video produced by IN CLOSE, Dr. Stan Herring who contributed to the creation of the Zackery Lystedt law is a University of Washington clinical professor in the Department of Sports Medicine touches on the numbers of concussions per year. Not including professional or collegiate athletes, there are about 4.8 to 5 million concussions per year due to sports. He goes on to say that the majority of those who suffer from a concussion recover just fine, but the small percentage that does not and end up suffering long term is what catches the eyes of parents and what people hear about even though it is not the norm. “The number of documented concussions more than doubled after the institution of the Lystedt Law, which may be attributed to heightened awareness and closer monitoring” (UW). This may sound frightening at first but think about it from a different perspective. Before the law, as many concussions that were documented and treated, there was the same amount, maybe more untreated. The untreated injuries, depending on each person and how they treated their symptoms or how they didn’t treat anything could have ended up in a serious condition like Zackery. Its more beneficial now for athletes to play under the law even if that means more concussions because they are being treated accordingly and not swept under the rug. 

Not only are there internal precautions to keep children and young adults safe in sports, there are some external forces that are good reasons to keep your children active. The United States has struggled with child obesity for years. Sure there are dangers in all of the sports Omalu listed earlier but, “the benefits outweigh the risks” (Khan). The University of Denver did a study that found that “kids who did more aerobic exercise had more compact white matter in the brain, which is linked to better cognitive function” (Khan). “A lack of exercise is a major component of this epidemic” said Stanley Herring a Clinical professor in the University of Washington’s sport medicine department and key creator in the Zackery Lystedt law (Khan). Dr. Herring concludes on the note that “parents should be encouraging kids to get outside and exercise” (Khan). 

Looking into the future, there are many questions as to how things might change when it comes to concussions, and there are already speculations for certain sports. We will forever be fighting to minimize injuries in sports and for now the main focus is protective gear. This focuses more on the sports that do not require a lot of gear, such as women’s soccer and women’s lacrosse.  IN CLOSE also interviewed the Gievett family. The daughter, Greta, plays soccer, basketball, and softball, while the son, Peter, plays football. Greta has had four concussions and Peter has had none. Some may think that its backwards but the sports Greta plays require minimal protective wear therefore, easier to get injured. When both parents were asked if they would ever consider taking their children out of sports especially Greta because she as had four concussions, they both immediately said no knowing their kids love it. I have seen some head gear for women’s sports being tested out. Some people have also mentioned going back to flag football for a safer alternative. As of now none of these changes are set in place, just potential suiters. No matter how many pads you wear while playing sports, you are still subject to concussions but, head gear for the sports that don’t require it as of now is a step in the right direction. 

Parents only ever want what is best for their kids. As they get older it is the kids responsibility to make decisions for themselves. Playing sports is a huge decision, especially playing at the next level, in college or professionally. The NCAA and every other sport organization has adopted their own version of the Zackery Lystedt law. This law requires concussions to be treated seriously with removal from the game, and medical clearance to return to play. Dr. Herring states that sports are valuable and should not be taken away from children because of the danger of concussions. He is exactly right. Concussions are potentially extremely dangerous, but with the proper care and medical clearance, they pose little risk of affecting the child in the future. The only cases that worried parents are hearing about are the extreme ones where children are hospitalized and their life is changed forever. In reality, the norm is the majority of child athletes recover fully. There are many things children do in daily life that are just as much risk as playing sports. It has been proven that number one reason people end up at the emergency room is because of bicycle accidents. The easiest way to get to parents and families is through pathos. That is exactly what Science Daily did, hitting them where it hurts, their relationship with their children. Making the parents feel like they might lose their child not physically but mentally and emotionally, where they are here but not really. With the number of concussions growing closer to 6 million every year, this law is more important than ever. It’s the only way to make sure that coaches and athletes took all the proper steps to prevent further injury. Thirty to thirty-five years ago, there was no laws keeping athletes from returning to play or even coming out of the game. These advancements have helped prevents many injuries, but it is now time to see what else we can do to prevent concussions even more. Head gear is the next step to concussions laws. Adding head gear to sports that don’t require it and improving existing equipment. There is no timeline set for these changes, it could a year or it could never happen. 

 