Concussions In Professional Football

Carson Simpson Mrs. Gallos English 3 Honors 24 April 2017 Concussions in Football Although football is a very popular sport, changes need to be made. There is a lot of research and data showing head injuries in football and how they hurt the players. The NFL tries to just sweep these cases away because they know it would hurt the popularity and economical support of the sport. Head injuries and concussions are the most popular injuries in football because of the fact that they are one of the most dangerous injuries a player could have.

Concussions are also not limited to contact sports, they can occur in any sports. The actual injury of a concussion is not the issue of this crisis that is ongoing; the real issue at hand is the failure to manage them correctly. That is something that is very important to note because thousands of concussions go unaddressed every year, which can cause severe brain damage, especially on the professional level. The focus of this issue is in the NFL because of recent studies that have come out about the true dangers of concussions. The NFL is currently on the hot seat dealing with this issue due to the amount of retired players who

In the true story based movie and the documentary, the dangers of head injuries in football are laid out for the viewer. Dr. Bennet Omalu discovered the brain injury chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE; however, the NFL was in denial about the effects football had on the brain and had on causing CTE. I believe that the NFL’s denial to the accusations were detrimental to many football players and that serious consideration should be taken into the way football is played overall. When Dr. Omalu originally diagnosed CTE on Mike Webster and the NFL denied that football was the cause for his death and disease.

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,

This concussion “injury” should not be an issue because of the bigger problem that has arose. This has changed the game of football to tacking at the feet or leg area. The results are torn ACL’s, MCL’s, and hip injuries. This effectively ends that player’s season

While playing a contact sport a concussion could cause brain damage, end a playing career, or alter a someones life for the worst. A concussion is defined as a traumatic brain injury, caused by a hit, or sudden blow to the head that is able to alter the way your body

Richard Robeson and Nancy M.P. King both indicate that “families and players have been deliberately mislead about the hidden dangers of playing professional football” (334). Informed consent is crucial to any dangerous or adventurous activity. The word informed implies that a person has been given all the information and the person feels comfortable making a decision based on the facts presented. Robeson and King believe that the “inquiry into the growing controversy over concussions and football clearly shows that many decisions have been made in the absence of critically important information” (334). If concussions are a natural consequence of football, then the National Football League would have been willing to better inform their athletes by “[revealing] data from its own sponsored research” after they settled disputes in 2013 with about 4,500 disgruntled players and families; a settlement that cost the league about $765 million” (Robeson and King 335).

He shows that rugby tackling has proven to prevent as many concussions as possible, and if it was adopted by football it could prevent a majority of concussions. The author adds onto his idea of the change in tackling, by also suggesting helmet sensors to detect when a concussion occurs. Finally, Munger states that if the athletes created a mutual respect for their fellow athletes’ safety then this could cause a decrease in major injuries among athletes in football and rugby. Overall Munger tried to portray an urgency to change the tackling used in football and an increased respect for athletes’ health could cause a significant drop of concussions in football and rugby. Munger succeeds at convincing sports lovers and athletes to believe that the root of the concussion problem is how the athletes view concussions and their overall health because of his use of logic and personal experience in the sport; but he takes away from his overall argument with the choice to not restate his point in the conclusion, choosing to add another idea

Football is the most American of all of the sports we play. We have good memories of playing catch and watching games with our friends, however, there is a darker side to this all-American sport, the damage done to the brains of the players. While the NFL has attempted to make great strides in preventing further damage to players on the field suffering from concussions, the rates of concussions continue to rise. In 2014, 206 concussions were diagnosed, while in 2015, that number rose to 271 concussions. If these new regulations truly had an effect upon the safety of the players, we would instead see little growth, if not a decline, of diagnosed concussions.

From what I can remember, football has become a Sunday ritual in my family since I was a kid. Growing up in the Northeast, we lived a couple hours from Shea Stadium in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens, New York. Being the playing ground for the New York Jets 1964 to 1983, now the New York Jets play at MetLife Stadium, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Living so close to the stadium and having family members like my Dad, Uncles, and Grandfather take the train or a boat over to watch Joe Namath play was an experience I wish I could have been a part of. Football has become so popular in America, that they have a day dedicated to watching your favorite team play their hardest versus one of the other thirty-one teams in the league.

Following the season league officials and doctors got together to discuss the issue and they wondered if there was simply more concussions or if they just identified them better and more efficiently. “47% of all sports related concussions occur during high school football” (Head Case - Complete Concussion Managements). From 2012-2015 in the NFL there was no huge leap but still growing, in 2012 there were 261 concussions compared to 2015’s total of 271. 3,800,000 reported concussions in 2012, double that from 2002. Annually, 4-5 million concussions happen and the numbers are rising among middle schoolers.

“ Pretty soon guys are going to decide their lives are more important than playing in the NFL” (Borland).The danger that goes with the game is extremely risky but it's also here for entertainment so trying the balance out the two is fairly difficult. This shows that reduce an injury and still have it entertaining can really equal out and still make football very enjoyable to watch and play. “The NFL is committed to protecting its players from unnecessary risk, while keeping the game fair, competitive and exciting” (NFL.com). All things considered, making the health and safety to the players is priority, the game of football will still be exceedingly enjoyable. Professional football players health and safety is pirate ties with new NFL rules being implicated.

The topic that will be displayed in this research prospectus is how the NFL has poorly handled the ongoing concussion epidemic amongst its players and the problems that come along with it. Every time players step foot on the field they are taking the risk of suffering from a concussion due to the physicality of the sport. Concussions have an everlasting lasting effect on humans and can lead to serious mental health problems. After their careers, there have been many instances where concussions have led to players developing serious mental health issues. There have been many concerns around the league about the concussion protocol and how it has been processed.

Almost one hundred and forty-eight years has passed since the first football game. During that span, there has been numerous leagues of all ages formed, the popularity has skyrocketed in and out of the United States, and as a plethora amount of people played, a higher amount of people sustained injuries. Fast forward to today’s time, and a major topic with the media is the NFL, the concussion scandal, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, and player safety. As an Athletic Trainer and medical provider, there are aspects of every football game that create a sense of anxiety. Big hits and kickoffs are exhilarating for the spectators; however, Athletic Trainers see thunderous impacts and full speed collisions jarring the brain, damaging the body, and decreasing player safety.

Understandably, Concussions in football are a very serious issue that can cause long term disabilities and can even lead to death, although these findings are well known, people continue to support playing football. The new discovery of CTE has made record breaking information well known to anyone interested in football and its participants. While knowing how dangerous this sport can ultimately be for the players, it is still America