ipl-logo

Head Injuries In David Weisman's Article 'Disposable Heroes'

452 Words2 Pages

A Need for Change
Anticipation builds while players’ line in formation. Electric seconds pass while the quarterback yells the play. Shockingly, the players’ crash together in an explosion of energy, aggression, and sod. Televisions across America play this scenario over and over every Sunday during football season. Enthralled by the sheer athleticism and excitement of the sport, fans watch religiously, eyes glued to the screen. In the craze of the game are fans ignoring the risks, brutality, and casualties of the sport?
Acute head injuries are commonplace in the NFL. David Weisman, a neurologist and author for Seed Magazine, explains in his article “Disposable Heroes” some of the mental damages caused by football. Weisman expounds that …show more content…

Coaches drill players to tackle head first with as much force as possible. Though this is an effective strategy, it is also incredibly dangerous. In Nate Jackson’s article “The NFL’s Head Cases” he reports, “Some say players should block and tackle with the shoulder pads instead. Doing that means choosing a side, trying to hit the opponent with the left or right shoulder. That technique will get you cut by any professional team. It uses only half your body and half your strength” (Jackson 228). Helmets are made of hard plastic, increasing the impact achievable but also making it difficult to realize just how much your brain is “rattling around” inside your …show more content…

The NFL doesn’t take realistic solutions seriously, they simply continue to fine players and teams enormous amounts of money for “inappropriate” tackles and blocks. This turns into a vicious cycle, the NFL charging players for behavior their coaches are encouraging them to perform. How do we pull the sport out of this? What is the solution? Can we make this sport safe without ruining the thrill? Solving this problem involves not only educating the public, but also eliminating head-first tackles and providing better equipment.
Undoubtedly, football is a difficult, treacherous sport but currently no measures are being taken to improve players’ safety. Small things could make a big difference in the NFL. People are getting hurt before our very eyes, and we don’t do a thing about it, we should be appalled our lack of action and let it motivate us to make improvements and needed

Show More
Related

  • Essay On Football Concussion

    881 Words  | 4 Pages

    Redesigning the Football Helmet Head to head contact is a very serious matter. Kids, adults, and everyone in between are getting hurt in football due to the hard hits they take either in practice or games. The goal is to make football safer but people are still getting hurt and even killed. There are new helmets coming out every year but still not eliminating the problem.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Letter To Ccee

    717 Words  | 3 Pages

    An open letter to Roger S. Goodell, Commissioner of the National Football League, from Lester Grinspoon M.D. I am among the millions of people who enjoy football as a spectator sport. However, I am becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the growing specter that many of these athletes will pay the price of developing Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) to a greater or lesser extent as they grow older. I believe that any change in the rules of the game which would accommodate these concerns would also diminish its popularity. I also believe that attempts to improve protective equipment can only go so far without seriously diminishing the skills and capacities of the player.

    Read More

  • Dangers Of Head Injuries In Football

    1105 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Concussions In The NFL

    1044 Words  | 5 Pages

    The National Football League has even changed some rules to prevent head injuries. They have paid extra attention in keeping players who cannot defend themselves safe. This was shown the most in wide receivers in the seconds after they catch a ball. The officials will now grant the receiver an extra second to put themselves in a position to defend themselves. (Referee Walt Anderson)

    Read More

  • Nfl Persuasive Speech On Head Injury And Concussions

    992 Words  | 4 Pages

    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:

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Concussions Incidents

    366 Words  | 2 Pages

    In conclusion, concussion is a major issue in all levels of football. There are three key techniques to how we can diminish concussion incidents. First, we should teach each athlete the proper way of making a tackle. Secondly, we should teach athlete the correct way of playing football. Thirdly, there need to be analytic test to measure the athlete psychological abilities before and after any head injuries.

    Read More

  • Concussions In High School Sports

    2378 Words  | 10 Pages

    The NFL has seen an increase in concussions over the years due to the style of play, and the speed of the game is much faster paced. In the past five years, the NFL has taken steps to try to limit concussions. The reason why it has taken so long to make changes was because in the past no one really knew the dangers of concussions. Some precautions that have been put in place are fines when hits to the head occur to restrain player from violent head to head collisions. The NFL has restricted teams to only allowing 14 full-contact practices during its 18-week season.

    Read More

  • Suspension: The Role Of Concussions In Professional Sports

    970 Words  | 4 Pages

    What the NFL has done to try and combat this is a start, however, we still need to build upon that and make sure that all players, from children to professionals, are kept as safe as possible from the mental degradation that decisions of lax football policy can

    Read More

  • Symptoms Of Concussions In Football

    1556 Words  | 7 Pages

    With all the studies performed and medical discovery about this concussions, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, and Neurological Brain disease’s proving to cause symptoms of depression, suicide, and cognitive abilities later in life, there needs to be measures taken to help ensure safety of former and current football players. Introduction Over one million people are projected to play football in today’s society. With that being said, football may possibly be the most popular sport in America. The game of football has a violent nature that takes a toll on person’s body, physically and mentally.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay: Concussions In Football

    1066 Words  | 5 Pages

    The main change that could easily be made to help with the problem is to better the quality of the helmets used in the sport. It would not be too hard because new helmets are already being made just for the concussion cases. After this, changes could be made to the sport for safety. There will always be some dangers in the sport because it is a very high contact sport. “Despite the best efforts of the leagues, the players, and the medical and engineering communities, the incidence of injury at all levels of the game continues to increase” (Solving football’s).

    Read More

  • Nfl Concussions

    878 Words  | 4 Pages

    Firstly Minnpost states “ football has the highest injury rate of any teamsport aged nine through twelve who has played football experiences an average of 240 head impacts during a single season. Parents and new televisions has spoken and has notice since events happening in football has caught them that football is a rough-housing sport. Since children ages nine through twelve are more likely to get hit in the head, show teens are manufacturing that this could be a rough sport for them to play may lead to a problem. In addition, Boston University School of Medicine states “ the study lead by Boston University involved forty-two retired NFL players, aged forty through sixty-nine who had experienced memory and thinking problems since playing football in the NFL for some point of their life. Colleges and Medicine research are trying to see what causes these concussions and deaths from football that shows that this could lead to more further research.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay: Football Should Not Be Banned

    836 Words  | 4 Pages

    People think banning football would decrease the amount of head injuries, “Characterized by hard tackles and intense speeds, the sport is conducive to a number of serious injuries, but there is one that has received a substantial amount of attention: mild traumatic brain injury and concussions” (Grush). Injuries can be prevented by the coaches focusing more on tackling the right way to anticipate injuries having to do with not doing it the right way. Also, most deaths having to do with football do not have to do with concussions, but with heat strokes. This can be prevented by pushing back the practicing season for football. Another thing, kids and parents know what they are getting into with the dangers and all, but they sign up anyway.

    Read More

  • American Football Sociology

    721 Words  | 3 Pages

    If American Football is an art, then its athletes paint with blood. This should surprise no one; the gridiron plays host to modernity’s most violent sport. In this unforgiving environment, it is all to common for former stars to flare out with career-ending injuries. As I kicked off my research on the National Football League (NFL), I intended to report on these injuries. With a premise on my mind and a paper in my sights, I headed to JumboSearch to begin my investigation.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay: Head Injuries In American Football

    870 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Tackle Football Persuasive Speech

    1039 Words  | 5 Pages

    Tackle football may seem all fun and games, however, the threat of injury is out there, with athletes participating in tackle football risk 3 times the percentage of a serious injury than other sports. Even though this threat is present, tackle football itself is too much ingrained in the PSAL system and pro league, and change is not always welcomed even if there are some problems. However, the public must be educated about the dangers of tackle football so that concussion related injuries will be lowered. Recently someone in the high school that I attend, Abner Kahan, petitioned for the option of flag football to be available as an official PSAL sport for those who attend Stuyvesant.

    Read More

More about Head Injuries In David Weisman's Article 'Disposable Heroes'

Open Document