In the United States, there were approximately 67,000 diagnosed concussions in youth football in the past year.  An even more alarming fact, 15.8% of football players who sustained a concussion severe enough to cause loss of consciousness, returned to play the same day (Vanlandingham 2016).  Research by The New York Times states that, since 1997, at least 50 youth football players from 20 different states have died or sustained serious head injuries while participating in the sport. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “a concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury caused by a bump, blow, jolt to the head or by a hit to the body that causes the head and brain to move rapidly back and forth”.  This sudden movement can cause the brain to bounce around or even twist in the skull. Sudden movement can cause chemical changes in the brain, often stretching and damaging brain cells. Knowing these alarming facts, should parents allow their children to play football?  Due to concussions being such a threat to players’ health and safety, many changes are being made to better protect the players from sustaining traumatic brain injury. Rules are being implemented to minimize opportunities where a concussion might occur, new protocol is being created to diagnose concussions, and helmet technology is improving every day. Athletes are now being taught and coached differently to help minimize concussions. Football is safer today than it has ever been in the history of the sport, so parents should let their children play football, despite the risk of head injuries.  In order for parents to not be reluctant to letting their children play football, parents, and football coaches alike, need to be better educated on concussions, and parents need to understand that football is not all just concussions. There are many benefits and key attributes learned throughout the participation of the sport.  Key attributes that will benefit their children throughout their entire lives.

As reported in an article titled “Should you let your child play football,” by Daniel McGinn, rising awareness of concussion risks are making parents reluctant to letting their children play football.  Mistakes made when dealing with concussions throughout the history of football also attribute to parents’ reluctance. Before recently, concussions were not of huge concern. Daniel McGinn, a senior writer for The Boston Globe, states that until recently, “getting your bell rung,” or taking a substantial hit to the head, was no big deal.  Team doctors and coaches often failed to diagnose concussions among players. The medical advice was to allow players to return to play once they felt better.  Players continued to play without knowing they had sustained a concussion, making them susceptible to more blows to the head, resulting in further brain damage. McGinn adds that doctors’ ideology when it came to assessing a concussion soon changed as “doctors became more aware of ‘second impact syndrome’ in which a player who’s suffered a concussion can risk catastrophic injury if he sustains another head injury before the first one has completely healed”.  With the news of “second impact syndrome,” team doctors became more hesitant when allowing players to return to play after sustaining a blow to the head.  Often, doctors at that time still let players return to play.  Parents are worried that their children will not be removed from play after sustaining a concussion, making parents reluctant to allowing their children to play football. 

In 2009, the first concussion-related lawsuit was filed against the National Football League Players Association, or NFLPA, by ex-players of the NFL (Scheurman 2013).  By 2013, the number of ex-players filing lawsuits against the NFLPA blossomed to over 4500. This lawsuit is formally known as the NFL Concussion Litigation.  According to an article titled, “The NFL Concussion Litigation: A Critical Assessment of Class Certification” by Amy Schuerman,  ex-players filed the lawsuit accusing the NFL of hiding the dangers of concussions.  Many players believe the NFL knew of links between repeated concussions and CTE.  CTE, or Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, is “a progressive degenerative disease of the brain” thought to be caused by repeated head trauma (Scheurman 2013).  Cases like that of Mike Webster and Junior Seau made it impossible for the NFL to turn a blind-eye on the lawsuit.  Mike Webster was a former NFL player who died in 2002 at the age of only 50.  The Hall of Famer was the first former player to be diagnosed through an autopsy with CTE.  The doctor who diagnosed Webster claims the NFL tried to “block him” from examining the brain of Junior Seau. Seau, another former NFL star, recently committed suicide in 2012.  Despite NFL efforts, he was also diagnosed with CTE following his death (Scheurman 2013).  Facing scrutiny from thousands of former players, the NFL had no choice but to act.  In August of 2013, the NFL agreed to pay more than 765 million dollars to cover the concussion-related lawsuits from former players.  Constant scrutiny, as well as the lawsuit, has led the NFL to make multiple changes to the rules of football in order to better protect the players from head injuries.

Due to concussion concerns and the lawsuit brought upon by former players, the NFL is implementing new rules in effort to better protect players from traumatic brain injuries.  An example being rules like not being able to “target a defenseless player” aid in helping players avoid severe blows to head. An article titled “What’s Legal, and What’s not?” by Michael Schottey, NFL National Lead writer, highlights many of the changes made by the NFL to combat rising concussion rates.  Schottey states that “targeting a defenseless player will result in a fifteen yard penalty and possibly a fine”.  The NFL describes a “defenseless player” in eight categories: “a quarterback in the act of throwing; a receiver trying to catch a pass; a runner already in the grasp of tacklers and having his forward progress stopped; a player fielding a punt or a kickoff; A kicker or punter during the kick; a quarterback at any time after change of possession; a receiver who receives a blind-side block; a player already on the ground” (Bleacher Report, 2013).  By defining exactly what a “defenseless player” is, tacklers know exactly which positions to avoid delivering a hit to.  Schottey goes on to say that the NFL hopes “issuing a fine of large sum” to players who do not follow the “defenseless player” rule will negate tacklers from delivering substantial hits to the head-area of players.  If a player does so happen to sustain a concussion, another new rule by the NFL requires teams to remove the athlete from play.  An article titled “NFL Introduces New Rules to Back Its Concussion Protocol,” by Ken Belson, states that in 2009, “the ‘NFL Game Day Concussion Protocol’ was first implemented in 2009, adjusted in 2011 and tweaked in the last five years, including the introduction of disciplinary action in 2016 for teams that do not adhere properly”.  Ken Belson, a writer for The New York Times, goes on to say that the NFL Players Association announced a new rule that “NFL teams will be subjected to fines of hundreds of thousands of dollars and possibly the loss of draft picks if they fail to take players out of games after sustaining a concussion”  By issuing fines to both tacklers targeting a “defenseless player,” as well as teams not removing a concussed player from the game, the NFL predicted that teams and players will come to agreement that following the new rules is a better outcome than receiving a large fine, leading to a decrease in concussions.  The NFL’s prediction was spot on.  As stated in an article titled “NFL sees decrease in concussions from 2015 season to 2016” by Austin Knoblauch, concussion rates decreased by 11.3% in the past season.  There was also an increase in self-reported concussions, up 23% in the past season.  This shows that players are beginning to understand the severity of concussions and are starting to care about their own well-being, as well as the well-being of their teammates and fellow opponents.  Austin Knoblauch, a writer for the NFL, adds that, “the NFL has made 42 rule changes since 2002 to protect players, improve practice methods, better educate players and personnel on concussions and strengthen the league's medical protocols”.  The fact that there has been a decrease seen in head injuries over the past season show that the efforts by the NFL to reduce concussion rates, in the form of rule changes, are indeed working.  The NFL is moving in the right direction in making the game of football safer.  Changes in the NFL are causing a trickle-down-effect to all age levels of the sport.  All of the same rules implemented in the NFL are also being implemented in youth football and college football alike, making the game of football safer as a whole.

Like the NFL, in both college and youth football, it is now illegal to target a defenseless player.  Doing so will result in the player who committed the penalty being ejected from the game and, depending on the harshness of the hit, the player may not be allowed to play in the following game as well (Nelson 2014).  Parents can be sure that if their child does sustain a gruesome, illegal hit to the head, that the perpetrator will be punished, making him less reluctant to do it again.  Rule changes, like not being able to target a “defenseless player,” are showing the players the importance of the safety of everyone on the field. Zack Nelson, a writer for the Williston Herald and a high school football referee, states that another point of emphasis is “targeting a player above the shoulder area”.  Delivering a hit to a player above the shoulder area will again result in 15 yard penalty.  The referee also has the option to eject the player from the game.  By placing emphasis on protecting the players, referees in both youth and college football hope to see a dramatic decrease in the amount of head injuries sustained by players (Nelson 2014).   News like this should calm parents nerves and make them less reluctant to allow their children to play football.  Many rules are being changed that will protect their children in way that has never been seen before throughout the history of the sport.

Rules are not the only thing being changed. New protocol to diagnose concussions is also being created.  As stated earlier, parents are worried that their children will sustain a concussion and now be removed from play.  It is now common for high school football teams to have a trained athletic trainer present at all practices as well as games (Bradley 2015) This is a change from the past where there was simply a “team doctor” present during football games. In the past, many teams would hire a team doctor, whom teams would often manipulate into letting their players continue to play, despite injuries (Bradley 2015). By having an independent, trained athletic trainer instead of an easily persuaded “team doctor,” forces teams to abide by the rules and sit out their injured players, allowing for parents to not be as worried about their children’s undiagnosed injuries.  Concussions are just as likely to occur during inter-squad practices as during a football game against opponents. Having an athletic trainer whom is trained in identifying and treating all types of injuries, including head trauma, protects the athletes.  Trained athletic trainers know what symptoms to look for when diagnosing a concussion and exactly when to pull a player from participation.  Robert Bradley, a writer for The Sport Journal, states that, prior to starting football, players are “required to take a number of cognitive tests,” often on a computer.  These tests help measure a player’s brain activity when their brain is functioning normally.  When a player is suspected of having a concussion, athletic trainers overwatch the players retake the cognitive tests, noting if the player is having any trouble. If the player is found to have a concussion, athletic trainers remove the concussed player from participation immediately (Bradley 2015).  By taking these cognitive tests, players are better able to be diagnosed with a concussion, making it easier for athletic trainers and doctors alike to know just when to sit them out of play.  Improvements in the diagnosis of concussions makes players more likely to be successfully diagnosed and treated early, before the concussion can grow any worse.

Another addition to the prevention of head injuries is the improvement of helmet technology that the athletes wear. Parents can be assured that scientists are working harder than ever to come up with a helmet design that successfully deters any risk of concussions.  Helmets are now created in a way that offers more protection to the player’s heads. Helmets are more secure and fit tighter. This means there is less chance that the helmet could be knocked off during play and cause injury to the player’s head. In a Ted Talk titled “Is it possible to build a smart helmet and prevent concussions?” by David Camarillo reports that “concussions resulting from helmet-to-helmet hits were down 43%”.  This shows that helmets are doing a better job at protecting the heads of players.  David Camarillo adds that, using a research grant from the NFL, a technology company called “Vicis” recently proposed a helmet design that would further decrease the amount of concussions sustained by players. Vicis’ concussion solution is a “multi-layered flexible helmet that’s particularly adept at diminishing rotational and linear impact forces”.  The proposed helmet is said to absorb impact like a “car bumper”.  Vicis plans to pitch the idea to the NFL in 2017 (Camarillo 2016).  If Vicis is successful in further diminishing the amount of concussions caused by helmet-to-helmet contact, it will pave the way for other helmet manufactures to follow suit, and create a similar design.  New helmet technology continues to further protect players from head injuries.  If a parent is not happy with the helmet given to their child, parents have the option to buy their own helmet for their children that they feel will best be able to protect their children’s heads.

Changes are also being made in the way young players new to football are being taught and coached. Coaches are teaching youth players tackling methods meant to keep players’ heads away from impact (Keilman 2015).  As stated in an article titled “New tackling methods aim to make football safer” by John Keilman, “coaches are teaching players to tackle with their heads across the front of the ball carrier”.  This keeps the tackler’s head up and decreases the risk for impact to the head.  Coaches have also created a series of drills that encourage players to make contact by rising into the ball carrier with their chests and shoulders, keeping their heads back.  By teaching young, new players a way to tackle in a way that protects the heads of both the tackler and the ball-carrier, coaches are helping to decrease head injuries and aid in keeping the players safe. This decrease in concussions will eventually trickle into the collegiate and pro levels of football when the young, new players grow older.  

Despite rule changes, improvements in protocol created to diagnose concussions, and improvements in helmet technology, the question remains: should parents allow their children to play football?  In order for parents to not be reluctant to allow their children to football and not worry about their children’s health, parents need to be better educated on the topic of concussions.  Many parents see the big headlines of the NFL’s concussion lawsuit and quickly rule out any chance of allowing their own children to participate in the sport.  By properly educating parents on the topic of concussions, parents will fully understand the risks their children are taking when playing football.  Not only do they need to better educated on the topic of concussions, but parents need to understand that football is not just all concussions.  There are many benefits that come along with playing the game of football.  As stated in an article titled, “The Advantages of Playing Football” by Sunny Griffis, “competitive sports help teach teamwork, which translates into selflessness, cooperation and better communication skills.” Parents need to understand that key attributes learned through the participation in football will benefit their children throughout their entire lives.  Life skills such as leadership, goal-setting, and time management skills will not only benefit their children in school, but in their future careers as well. The structure of the game fosters important life skills that many employers look for when searching for potential employees (Griffis 2011).  Just because parents are fearful of something that may happen, a concussion, does not mean that they should deny their children the opportunity to grow as a young man and as a person.  By better educating parents on the topic of concussions, as well as making them aware of the many benefits football could provide their children with, parents will have little to no reluctance when it comes to letting their children play football.

Parents need to understand that many changes have been made to the game of football to improve the safety of players.  These changes are already causing concussion rates to decline.  Rules specifically made to help protect the player have been created.  Concussion diagnosis is getting more efficient, so if a player does so happen to sustain a concussion, they are removed from play immediately.  Helmet technology is improving so much, a helmet can now withstand as much force as a car bumper does in a car crash (Camarillo 2016). Young players new to the sport are being taught how to tackle in ways that keeps both the heads of the tackler and the ball-carrier out of harm's way. Despite the constant threat of concussions, football is safer today than it has ever been in the history of the sport. Therefore, it is my belief that parents should allow their children to play football. Parents can not let concussions ruin America’s most popular sport. The positive effects of playing on a team sport, like football, are enormous. Football teaches student athletes the benefits of working hard to achieve a common goal. Playing football also teaches student athletes the meaning of teamwork. The bonds and friendships made with teammates can last a lifetime.  Football teaches student athletes how to take direction from an authority figure, which can be very beneficial in their adult lives. If the proper precautions are taken to insure the safety of the student athlete, playing football can be a very rewarding part of their lives that will contain memories they will cherish forever. 
