Analysis Of Why Kids Under 14 Should Not Play Tackle Football By Mark Hyman

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Many people may not be informed that tackle football is a dangerous sport to be playing, especially for underage kids who aren’t fully developed. Football is a very popular sport in America; one would see many people from a wide variety of age group playing this sport, ranging from middle school students to high school students to college students to NLF players. However, what are the dangers this poses to younger players? In the editorial “Why Kids Under 14 Should Not Play Tackle Football,” published on November 6, 2012 in Time Magazine, author Mark Hyman advise parents to not rush kids, under the age of fourteen, to play tackle football just yet. Hyman uses Tom Brady, one of the best quarterbacks of the New England Patriots, to set an example …show more content…

The author is a trustworthy source since he co-authored in Concussions and Our Kids, with Dr. Robert Cantu, a clinical professor of neurosurgery at the Boston University School of Medicine. The author mentions a better alternative for tackle football is flag football; it’s the same concept, but instead of tackling one another, the objective is to seize the flags which is much safer. As a result, kids can develop skills needed to play in regular football with tackling dummies. Another credible source is Dr. Cantu; the co-director of the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University. As a co-director for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, Cantu has examined the brains of many deceased professional football players. Doing so, he found that those who had head traumas accumulated throughout the year had a degenerative disease known as, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). Mark Hyman also uses Tom Brady as a credible source. Since Brady is a well regarded quarterback who started playing tackle football at age 14, Hyman sets him as an example to parents, noting that kids don’t have to start at a such a young age. In addition, some people look up to Tom Brady, who may follow what Brady did to become a successful football player. Altogether, this shows readers that Hyman and Dr. Cantu are trustworthy sources who know what they’re talking about and readers can rely on

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