Football is an essential part of American culture. Over a hundred million people on average watch the Super Bowl each year. Despite its enormous popularity, it has been been the subject of controversy of the past few decades. Many studies show that football puts its players at risk of permanent brain damage because of the hits to the head that the athletes regularly under. High school football has especially been under criticism because many say it endangers the health of students. High school football exposes students the alarming risks of brain trauma, could be detrimental to their academics, and there are serious ethical questions about whether or not parents and teachers have the right to allow children to play the sports. According to …show more content…
He found that the child is still being injured at the cellular level. The “cellular injures” turn into “irreversible brain damage” over time. This “irreversible brain damage” is known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (C.T.E.). This disease is a progressive brain disease that is caused by concussive and subconcussive blows to the head. It has symptoms such as “depression, suicidal thought and actions, loss of intelligence, dementia, and drug and alcohol abuse.” Instead of enlightening the rest of students’ lives, high school years destroy the lives of some football players. Even though CTE can only be diagnosed after death, players as young as seventeen have been diagnosed with it. According to a study done by National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research, 691 high school football players died from causes directly attributed to football from 1931 to 2014. This is hundreds more than the amount of deaths at the college level, semi-professional level, and professional level combined. PBS says that high school football players are …show more content…
An article, “High School Football at a Crossroads” says even though high school football participation numbers are declining, there are more people who play high school football than any other sport. According to an anonymous high school teacher and football coach and former college football player, his worst semesters and the worst semesters for his students, coincide with their concussions. Playing high school football does more bad than good. The odds are extremely slim for football becoming a career for high school students, yet it still is extremely popular. However, even though excelling in academics is what would help their lives in the long run, students continue to play a sport which hurts their school performance. When high schools eliminate their high school football teams, they are protecting what they stand for: education first. In order for a student to be part of the football team, he needs to be academically eligible. Even with this limit, many athletes are not college ready. Some high schools are lowering the GPA requirement to participate in sports. They are lowering their academic standards for sports, something that their students most likely will not use in their adult
In the NFL every week there are injuries including concussions. In 2015 there were 199 concussions suffered by NFL players(Breslow). Also lots of head injuries are showing up in deceased NFL players(Breslow). Mike Webster, a hall of fame center, died at age 50 after experiencing dementia and depression was found with CTE (Chronic traumatic encephalopathy) which is a disease found in mainly sports players who have suffered multiple cases of head
In 1995, the Board of the NFL’s retirement plan agreed that injuries sustained during his football career had caused Webster to suffer total and permanent mental disability. In addition, Webster’s doctors concurred that blows to the head that Webster accumulated over his career damaged his frontal lobe, causing cognitive dysfunction. Following his death, Dr. Bennet Omalu, a Nigerian American, physician, forensic pathologist and neuropathologist performed an autopsy on Mike Webster’s body. As Dr. Omalu was conducting the autopsy, he pursued the root of Mike’s cognitive disabilities. Furthermore, Dr. Omalu diagnosed Mike Webster with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) , a degenerative brain disease found in athletes, military veterans, and others with a history of repetitive brain trauma.
There is more focus on the potential health consequences, especially the neurological consequences that come with playing football than there ever has been. There are about twenty thousand former National Football League players alive today and thousands more still playing. It is imperative to further our
Intense sports like football are very famous, but might be too dangerous. Football has the largest percentage of all sports that have injured members almost every time. Football is an American sport known for tackles, but it causes injuries from head to head impact and causes medical care. Football is a very famous sport, causes damage like concussions and C.T.E. (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy). Football and other intense sports causes concussions to happen, which causes brain damage.
Since American football star Michael Webster’s death, Nigerian-American physician, Bennet Omalu performed an autopsy that surprisingly showed his cause of death was from sever damage of the frontal lobe of Webster’s brain. What happened to Webster’s brain is now called chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE, which is a degenerative disease. This “sickness” is due to the repeated impact of football related concussions. Since the discovery the NFL and all the players have taken serious repercussions in the attempt of lowering the amount of potential concussions. The sport of football might appear dangerous but now the safety measures have been and are still improving.
Within the article, “Would you let your son play football” on ESPN.com states, “The issue of player safety and concussions would have a very real, very fresh face.” This is significant because once a football player dies they are examined, which the majority of football players have serious injuries in their brains. Although many brain injuries are found due to football, there is not much awareness that is spreaded to warn people about these risks. After the life of playing football, many things become f=difficult as you adjust to the life without football.
Anyone who has had a brain injury in the past needs to be aware of the symptoms of CTE, not only for themselves, but also for the people around them. Football causes about ten times the amount of significant brain injuries compared to other popular sports (What). A sport with as much violence as football needs to be taken seriously. Children who are not aware of the consequences and the magnitude of the injuries they can sustain need to be protected.
It brings needed money for their small budgets if you win the championship game for football the school gets more than 400,000 dollar. That money could be spent on hiring new teachers, getting new books, or providing scholarships for students. If there was no high school football the school would have less teachers and lee's teaching equipment. If people cut high school football that mean a smaller budget for schools. Football encourages students to get good grades.
Every person in the world loves football! Football has the highest rates of catastrophic head injuries (16).The long term health effects of high impact sport injures can be super dangerous. “Medical researchers at Boston University recently confirmed that 88 of 92 former NFL players donated their brains for research…”(15). “... NFL players who donate their brains for research suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy( C.T.E.), a brain disease induced by repetitive head trauma and linked to depression,aggression,impulse-control problems,memory loss, and dementia”(15).
I’m a big football fan, but I have to tell you if I had a son, I’d have think long and hard before I let him play football,” says President Obama (Fox News). The debate of whether or not football should be banned started with this speech given by President Obama. Recently, studies have shown that a large number of hits may cause more brain damage than a handful of concussions. Although people think banning football will decrease the amount of teen deaths and concussions; football should not be banned because it is just as dangerous as any other high school sports, many people would lose their job if it was banned, and football and sports help keep kids off the street. Football should not be banned because it is just as dangerous as any other
Although some football enthusiasts believe that children under the age of twelve should play tackle football because it promotes friendship and teamwork, the negative impact that the sport has on the brains of adolescent males outweighs the comradery that the sport teaches. Children play the sport without thinking of the effects of the brain injuries. Through interviews with past players as well as scientific studies, researchers have found that the cognitive ability of males (average age of early fifties) is greatly affected by the age in which the young player began playing (Boston University School of Medicine). Boston University’s Dr. Robert Stern said the concern is not from concussions, it is from, “subconcussive hits: these hits that don’t necessarily result in the symptom right then, but people can get hundreds of them a year.”
Head Injuries In American Football Since the beginning of American football, concussions have been a big problem with players in high school, college, and the National Football League. Concussions have led to the end of many players football careers and in some cases, their lives. People that are in college and the NFL continue, playing even though they are risking their lives just for a little fame. Today football players play the game to make money and just because of their love for the sport.
Since children are not fully developed, it is morally reprehensible to allow them to play such a sport in which they can possibly have life-changing or life-ending injuries. Far too many high school athletes get concussions from playing football (Watson 35). Approximately 100,000 high schoolers report concussions each year
Stop the Game Re: “Abolish High School Football” by Raymond A. Schroth Football is a very famous sport in america that young and old people play. But teenagers playing football is a dangerous sport in high school because it causes many injuries. An I agree with you Schroth that high school football should be abolish.
Football, although fun and exciting, plays an immense role in many long term health issues especially for people who start at a young age. The sport’s injuries include long term health issues such as chronic encephalopathy, ALS, Alzheimer’s disease, and dementia; it also can be a reason for domestic violence, and on some occasions, unnecessary death. There are many factors that can persuade parents to believe that football is a safer sport than it was before, but the long term effects of a simple injury from the sport outweighs it all. In Ed Riley’s article, High School football’s benefits outweigh risks, Riley talks about the concerns that any parent would have when it comes to their child playing football.