American Football Enforcing Rules

The league office has taken various factors into account, as we considered enacting rule changes designed to reduce head injuries. First and foremost, we engaged in dialogue about whether any rule changes would threaten the “sole” of the sport. We came to the conclusion that these rule changes would not damage the sport, and would only legitimize it further. Secondly, we talked officials from other leagues regarding their changes in sports. Our league has experienced similar

Even though some people believe that the NFL does not need stricter rules to help prevent concussions, stricter rules are definitely needed. According to Casebook in Is Football Too Dangerous, Several NFL players have committed suicide over the last few years, and medical evidence suggests that brain damage-the consequence of years of violent on-field collisions and concussions. This evidence shows that multiple blows to the head have caused CTE in former NFL players that have played a role in their deaths. CTE is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in people with a history of repetitive brain trauma (“What is CTE?”). How many more deaths are going to happen to former players before the NFL make the current rules stricter? The NFL can make the current players safer for their futures outside of football. The evidence is there to show why the NFL needs to make stricter rules.

In the 1920’s, football players actually died on the field! Insufficient protection and rules against hits, which are banned today, resulted in the death of players. Football rules have changed drastically from the 1920’s through 2016. In the past few decades, NFL owners meet annually to discuss and vote to implement new rules. Three changes to the 2016 NFL football rules, Point After Attempt (PATs), coach to player communication, and chop blocks affects the way the game is played.

American football has been around since the early 1900's. The players tackle each other until one is on the ground. Football has always been a full-contact sport. Throughout the years injuries have stayed part of the game and the NFL has taken their time to increase player safety. The NFL should increase player safety because of the injuries have occurred. Some of the injuries may be lifetime injuries. Serious brain injuries have been linked to football as, well as heart issues and other permanent heath problems.

Football is one of America’s favorite sports. It originated from soccer and rugby. This kind of sport is very competitive. The main point of the game is to score points by carrying the ball from a starting point to a 100-yard long by 53-yard wide field into a marked zone. Each team has a Y-shaped structured called the field goal the players. The game is divided into timing sections ranging from 12 to 15 minutes quarters. Often times, the players become violent during the game. This happens when they have to tackle each other for the ball. During this tackling period, players injured, but like anything in life it possesses risks known to the athletes before signing a contract with the NFL’s (National Football League) owner.

I think a bigger change that we could make is having players learn to tackle at practice without helmets on. There was a study done by the University of New Hampshire football team and The National Athletic Trainers Research and Education Foundation where they tested the impact of players practicing with helmets and some without. The goal of this study was to see if helmetless practice would teach players to not tackle using their heads which currently is a main reason why players get concussions. They had the control group practice with helmets on, while the intervention group did not wear shoulder pads or helmets. They completed a five minute drill and the purpose of not wear pads or helmets was supposed to teach the players to learn to tackle without using their heads in a way that they could be injured. They found substantial evidence that this helped prevent head injuries, it resulted in a 28% reduction in head injuries over the course of the football season for

Every part of the game of football means very much to me, which is why I have a passion for the game and why I researched this topic. Helmets are one of the most important pieces of safety gear a football player can have. In October 2010, a new rule was signed off to be placed in the National Football League (NFL) rule book for the safety of NFL players. The helmet-to-helmet hit rule is as follow: using any part of the helmet to butt, spear, or ram any part of the opponent’s helmet (Azpiri). A helmet-to-helmet hit is illegal in the NFL now. The punishment for a helmet-to-helmet hit for a NFL player is being fine with a gradual increase the next times they do it and/or suspension depending on the

The targeting rule in college football could be the “most significant rule” change ever made in the game (Matter). According to Greg Johnson of the NCAA, the rule was passed by the Football Rules Committee of the NCAA in February of 2013 to be implemented with the 2013 fall football season and is consistent with the committees’ continued attempt to address player safety. The new rule now places a tougher penalty on the defensive player for dangerous contact with the offensive player, notably direct helmet-to-helmet hits, or hits aimed above the shoulders of the offensive player. This direct, helmet-to-helmet contact is known as targeting. Although the implementation of the new targeting rule is controversial, it will help to

The NFL has established a strong set of rules through the years focused on player safety, designed to promote fair competition while attempting to minimize risk of harm to the player. While many of these rules have focused on reducing contact to the

An increasingly popular topic in the realm of sports fans has begun to unravel. The National Football League recently has begun to introduce new rules and regulations for their athletes to start abiding by to ensure the continued safety of the player’s health. Although most find this change in the game of professional football as a positive step forward, others see this as a diminishment of the sanctity of NFL football. New rules and regulations that have been introduced into NFL are vital to athletes involved in the sport and help them to play with lowered risks of long term injuries that could possibly affect not only them but also the league in the future as well. The reasons for these

concussion issues. The NFL has tried to stop the head to head contact by adding

For many years, the NFL claimed to be working on ways to prevent concussions and other severe injuries; nevertheless, the numbers are continuously rising. Over the preseason and regular season, diagnosed concussions increased 15.6 percent from 2016 to 2017 (243 to 281) and 22.7 percent from 2013 to 2017 (229 to 281) (Maske). The NFL has previously taken measures to lower the numbers, 47 rule changes since 2002 to strengthen the league's medical protocols and protect players from concussions, but those measures were not enough. In 2010, the league expanded its rules to prevent "defenseless" players from taking hits above their shoulders in order to protect them from blows to the head. Also in 2010, the NFL made a rule declaring the ball dead

Football is a rough sport. Many fans of the game watch it for the hard hits. These hard hits and the potential for injury is part of what makes the game so exciting. Some people say that football is too brutal and should be banned. Parents all over the United States don’t allow their children to play because of the risk of head injuries. Others allow their sons, and every now and then their daughters, to play and risk injury for a chance to earn a college scholarship and for a small percentage of players, the chance to play in the National Football League (NFL).

The new rules were “Prohibited contact against a player who is in a defenseless posture is: (1) Forcibly hitting the defenseless player’s head or neck area with the helmet, facemask, forearm, or shoulder, even if the initial contact of the defender’s helmet or facemask is lower than the passer’s neck, and regardless of whether the defensive player also uses his arms to tackle the defenseless player by encircling or grasping him; or (2) Lowering the head and making forcible contact with the top/crown or forehead/‖hairline‖ parts of the helmet against any part of the defenseless player’s body; or (3) Illegally launching into a defenseless opponent. It is an illegal launch if a player (i) leaves both feet prior to contact to spring forward and upward into his opponent, and (ii) uses any part of his helmet (including the top/crown and forehead/‖hairline‖ parts) to initiate forcible contact against any part of his opponent’s body. Note: This does not apply to contact against a runner, unless the runner is still considered to be a defenseless player, as defined in Article 7 above. (Rule 12, Section 2, Article 7b)” The new rules were a response by the NFL to the suit filed by former players claiming that their time in the NFL gave them permanent brain

In early 2013, the NFL created a rule prohibiting players from lowering their heads and hitting with their helmets, when outside the tackle box, to prevent “defenseless” players taking hits above their shoulders. Although many football players disagree with this rule they have to obey, or will be penalized, fined, or suspended off the game. They agree that if many younger players (junior high/high school) are taught to play the game as they would like, the NFL will have a better produced game following their new rules without making it difficult for the players to actually play. Players say it might decrease the number of concussions, what about the number of blows to the knees. If players hit to high, they will get fined or suspended, and if they hit too low they can probably end a guy's career with a knee injury. Although there has been data to proof that the number of knee injuries has not increased due to rule changes, but has actually decreased throughout the last three years, less players being fined (showing enforcement is working), 13 percent drop in concussions, and 23 percent due to