Weisman tries to explain how important safety equipment’s are to athletes so they will not get injured, but in respond he find that people believe that “Better helmets are a laughable solution” (Weisman, par. 14). People tend to look the other way instead of facing the fact that football and other contact sports are dangerous for the athletes when they are not protected. On the other hand, Wallace argues that as soon as sports gets more safety equipment’s, such as better sports helmets, the athletes tend to play harder and take more risks because they feel safer behind the helmets. As Wallace says: “The first is a phenomenon called “risk compensation,” in which humans respond to additional safety equipment by taking greater risks than they did when they felt less protected.”
The documentary Head Games directed by Steve James follows former football player and ex-wrestler, Chris Nowinski, on his mission to uncover the truth about the consequences of playing sports related to concussions. A concussion is a brain injury that you cannot see and where the brain moves around in the skull. More than 3.8 million concussions occur a year due to a sport. The documentary raises the question of whether protective head-gear should be worn in all contact sports. I believe a head is more likely to sustain more damage to the brain without a helmet than a head with a helmet.
The use of Helmets According to David Weisman, a Neurologist in Pennsylvania, in his essay Disposable Heroes he clarifies that with or without helmets getting hit in the head period, can be fatal. Lane Wallace, an adventure writer and pilot, who contributes regularly to Sport aviation and is honorary member of the United States Air force Society of Wild Weasels contrary to Weisman in her essay Do Sports Helmets Help or Hurt? She thinks that helmets are both good and bad. Over the years many people have questioned if the use of helmets is actually good or bad.
Many people question why concussions happen so often within the NFL? After all, these players know how to tackle properly and have they best equipment however the size of these men along with the violent nature of the game is what causes these concussions. Concussions happen at around 140 per season with several players receiving multiple concussions within the same year (Halchin). Team doctors have been extremely cautious in letting these athletes return to the filed of play after being diagnosed with a concussion. Halchin believed that the NFL does a wonderful job in protecting it’s players and said that until hitting is eliminated from the game completely, concussions will be a reoccurring injury and a risk that players have to deal with
For example, better protective head gear and rules against head butting would allow less permanent damage and head-on-head contact. These changes could make the sport much safer for players, including young children that are being put in danger by playing football. The dangers of football concealed by the NFL were detrimental to the lives of many players, young and old, and their loved ones.
The NFL and the Concussions Crisis For the past two decades, the world of contact sports, particularly American football, became controversial because of the increasing attention focused on the long-term consequences of concussions. This issue would enter a tug-of-war battle between business politics and scientific evidence. The scientific evidence on the long-term detrimental effects of concussions implies that football may be too dangerous for any individual. It is only logical that the National Football League (NFL) would protect the integrity of football and everything it encompasses.
I. Introduction A. Attention Graber: For many people there is nothing better on a crisp cool Sunday afternoon, than sitting down and enjoying a good football game. The NFL, hosts usually the football games people watch. Recently, however the NFL has had a huge conflict on its hands regarding player health and safety, specifically regarding repeated head injury and concussions. Research indicates, the NFL has not done enough to protect its players from the damage of repeated head injury B. Ethos Statement:
Concussions themselves are a controversial topic simply because of their destructive forces on the lives of everyone, ranging from people who tripped and fell a little too hard, to people who make a career of hitting other people as hard as they possibly can. There are many people opposed to the idea of football’s inherent violence, yet advocates of the sport claim that removing the factor of colliding would make a completely different sport that cannot even be called football, which itself has become so ingrained in American society that it practically owns a day of the week from Week One of preseason to the closing seconds of the Superbowl. The fact remains though that if football were to suddenly cease existing, many people would be jobless,
In 1997, author Bill Plaschke stated That, “Dan Kult, director of technology at Riddell Inc., which makes the official NFL helmet. ‘But what we don't truly understand is how concussions occur.’” Today we know what concussions are. Now we need to create a better helmet that can lower the chances of concussions. Another idea could be adding a microchip to evaluate stress on players and if the impacts are too high the players should be checked by professionals (Starr).
The incorporation of more expensive protective equipment can reduce the risk of head trauma or any other head injuries. The first reason more expensive helmets is imperative to the reduction of injuries in football is because the newest helmets have the new and improved head protection technology. Scientist who work on improving the effectiveness of helmets in football find new ways to try and bring concussions and other head injuries out of the game every day. For example, two mechanical engineers at the University of Michigan collaborated to find a new design of helmet to help concussions.
According to MayoClinic.org, you can wear different protective gear during sports, buckle your seatbelt, make your home safer, and exercise regularly. Wearing different protective gear during different sports and definitely make your head safer (Mayo Clinic). Also, maybe not doing certain things during sports like in soccer, you do not need to use your head to hit the ball. In football there could possibly be more padding in a helmet for the players (Mayo clinic). Then for wearing a seatbelt can also prevent a head injury during an accident but it can also save your life too (Mayo Clinic).
The concentration on concussions in sports has elevated in the past few years given the number of sports figures who have passed away all too soon as a result of the studies conducted after their passing. The severity of the damage concussions can cause is still to be proven, but prevention should be a topic that is top of mind for anyone who participates in sports, from youth to professionals. In the case of Steve Montador, whose career ended due to a concussion, was documented as a shoulder injury is proof that sports leagues are aware of the challenge, but may be unsure of how to address. Some are concerned with what the lack of physicality will do to the overall “entertainment” factor of attracting fans.
Throughout America’s history, football has been well known and a popular sport. Throughout the years, however, the safety of helmets have always been in question. As time went on, the amount of injuries significantly went down the helmets did not solve the problem completely. On November 6, 1869 the first "football" game took place. In my research I found that helmets were not mandatory until the 30’s which left a lot of players open to injury especially when half the players were wearing helmets and the other half were not while playing on the field.
As concussions occur more and more in the NFL and among teens, more research has been conducted. There has been research on teens that concussions had occurred in teen’s brains, to find out what type of hit teens gotten by football may of suffer from it. There are many concussions in the NFL and especially teens who play football that have suffered death and never to play the sport they love. Teens and athletes who love the sport football, have been suffered by concussions that had ruin their playing for the most of this moments but research has been conducted of ways to help out teens and NFL. To prevent concussions, coaches and parents have the right to support their athletes to mental support from doctors.
Coaches number one thing they should do to protect their players is practicing “heads up” football. Heads up football is a practice of not lowering a player's head before they make impact. Players should never lower their head before a hit because if two players are going full speed at each other and they collide hitting heads they will most likely get a concussion from the impact. Another way players can be protected from getting concussions and head injuries is to have a good fitting helmet, good fitting pads, and a mouth guard formed to fit their mouths. Players equipment is the most important thing to keep them from getting injured.
