Let Them Play Summary

A concussion is an injury suffered in the brain of an individual that can affect and alter a person’s ability to perform not only mentally, but physically as well. The New York Daily News reported on one of the finest cases of how serious the NFL is taking the issue on concussions, the current lawsuit that reached a “$765 million settlement reached between the two sides, 18,000 concussion suffer and the NFL” which states causes for important untold information the NFL refused to report to players about the prospective dangers concussions had for their long-term health, though this was later shot down by a federal judge claiming that it was insufficient sum. An NFL player may succumb from thousands of hits to the head playing football all

In 2007, the NFL finally started to take steps to slow down the rate of concussions in football (Lauren Ezell). Although concussions still occur today, there are specific protocols that were inserted to protect players’ health. This topic is so important to me because I am a big fan of the sport, and I would hate to see my favorite players end their career with disabling conditions. I hope to the see the NFL continually trying to find ways to limit concussions. I believe that one day football can be played without the risk of living the rest of your life with a critical

In recent years, there has been a backlash from all kinds of doctors throughout the world that believe the National Football League or NFL needs to make adjustments to the way they treat head injuries, specifically concussions. A concussion is a brain injury characterized by an onset of impairment of cognitive and/or physically functioning and is caused by hits around the head and neck area. This NFL is under destress because of numerous studies that show concussions can lead to a large amount brain injuries way after the player has played his last game. However, this isn't just a problem the NFL is facing, the real problem is our youth contact sports and head-related injuries. High school athletes are extremely more exposed to concussions than

Concussions in football have always been a problem. Recently the NFL is doing more to protect players from this serious head injury. a couple of moves made by the NFL to prevent concussions is that they moved the kickoff line up 5 yards resulting in a higher chance of a touchback. Another move to prevent concussions is that players are getting fined for illegal tackles that occur. The NFL is doing more to protect players because they realize concussions can have serious effects later in life like losing the ability to remember things. According to Nadia Kounang “NFL football players are 3 times more likely to have a neurodegenerative disease compared to the average population”. Examples of these diseases are Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. The target population is football players who have received concussions in their playing days. Many of these head injuries were caused by players who wanted to excite the crowd with a big hit knowing a lot of the fans were just there to see violence and that the player would become more popular to those

People are intrigued when they see men that weight over 200 pounds crash into another man creating over 1000 pounds of force. Although this is very exciting to watch, how well do football players, fanatics and parents know that physical contact can cause brain damage? For example, writer Chad Asplund from the British Medical Journal states that “Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) was first described in American football players as a progressive neurodegenerative syndrome leading to neuronal loss coupled with protein and plaque deposits in the brain as a result of repeated mild traumatic brain injury”. Every hit that a football player takes to the head will experience dead brain cells that could affect them in the future. To add on, author Nicki Karimiour from the Journal of Sports Media reports that a study done by the NFL reported that football players ages 30 through 49 are 19 times more likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or other memory problems. What's even worse is that writer Hamish Kerr from The Mediatric Annals journal states that players who experience three or more concussion are expected to have long-lasting neuropsychological deficits which will limit their function to control the body. All of this is very important to take seriously because football is a well know sports that people enjoy to play and watch. Brain damage could be avoided as long as physical contact is not in use when playing

Have you ever thought about the safety of your friends or family that play such a rough sport such as football, and are scared that they can have an injury that can permanently hurt them forever such as a concussion that can ultimately lead to a brain disease. Well that is the reason why not as many parents aren't letting their kids play football. At little league and such a small age they aren't happening as often but are still an issue but at a bigger stage such as the NFL they are a huge issue and occur more than they should. Ever since the NFL and Riddell have been making stronger and supposedly safer helmets concussions have been happening more than ever. Also researchers from (“Frontline”) say about

The NFL is big part of many Americans life during the fall and the off season. It’s a multi-billion dollar industry that hosts the most watched 4 hours of television in America. As an athlete who played football for many years, I wanted to ask the question; is the NFL’s new rules and penalties preventing concussions? During the first two weeks of April, I have compiled six different resources relating to this topic. Some, such as Trevor Horn’s article "Tackling seminar teaches new methods, inspires faith in safer football” cover the aspects of how youth and high schoolers are effected by concussions and what role the NFL plays. Other articles talk about research being put towards helping diagnose brain trauma in athletes, and also whether or

Football, a sport that is known for broken bones, torn ligaments and other dangers, has recently received a lot of media attention on the subject of concussion. With the latest movie, "Concussion," starring Will Smith, even more attention has been brought to the issue. Because of the dangers, the NFL has made continual efforts to improve the safety of the game. However, the Brain Injury Alliance says that the dangers are not exclusive to the NFL.

Could you image you having a mild concussion? Or even your kid having one? Thinking that it will be gone in a few days, but not knowing that you could have life threatening injury to your brain, just by a blow to the head, by playing a sport. According to Sports Illustrated, in July 2014, a federal judge approved to the NFL, $765 million settlement, after 4,500 former players filled lawsuits against them, but recently, that settlement has been raised to $1 billion, covering more than 20,000 former players for the next 65 years. Professional organizations try there hardest to make the game as safe as possible, but like anything, there's flaws. Organizations like the NFL, NBA, NHL, and even the MLB, are trying to make sports as safe as possible

The safety of young football players for years has been a long growing concern and controversy for parents, players, high school coaches and school officials, and as well as NFL coaches and medical professionals in America. Parents worry about their children getting injured or concussions during the game. Furthermore, many parents believe that football can be safer and that the organization of football is not doing enough to protect players and their safety. However, to some football players concussions are not a big issue. Some players are too worried about their playing time to realize the consequences of getting concussions repeatedly. Therefore, some football players do not tell the coaches about their concussions. In addition, coaches also have a problem with the safety of football affecting their programs. Some coaches fear that football programs will shut down because of the controversy of how football can lead to brain damage. Besides parents, players, and coaches, doctors have a big say in the controversy. Neurologists, who are specialists in the disorders of nerves and the nervous system, have recently studied the link between football and brain damage. According to Jacob Vanlandingham, who is the founder and president of Prevacus Incorporated, a company who primarily studies concussions, said that “Doctors diagnose approximately 67,000 concussions in high school football players every year” (Vanlandingham, p.1). Nevertheless, some stakeholders, including ex-football players, believe that everything has already been done to make football as safe as possible. Football organizations have made new rules and placed new programs in order to keep young players healthy and to keep football programs from shutting down. The big controversial question that all stakeholders are asking is, “Is football doing enough to protect young children?”

Current United States statistics indicate approximately 7 million head injuries occur each year. Seven hundred thousand of these relate to sports and recreational activities, and three hundred thousand relate directly to sports. Eight deaths occur each year in professional football due to brain injury (Genuardi & King, 1995). These deaths most commonly result from subdural hematoma, when blood collects within the brain, and the associated brain injury. About 20% of participants in high school football suffer a concussion in a single season. Ongoing studies by the National Athletic Trainers Association showed, “a 17% increase in minor head injuries and an 85% increase in moderate head injuries in high school football comparing the 1980s to the 1990s” (Powell, 1998). A portion of these increases is because of better and more comprehensive reporting systems but the risk of concussion remains. Further, a football player who suffers one mild brain injury (MBI) has four times the risk to sustain a second MBI (Young, Jocobs,Clavette, Mark, & Guse, 1997).

This article portrays how playing football can cause negative long term effects on your body. Frontline reported on numbers from the Department of Veterans Affairs and Boston University, where researchers studied the brains of 165 people who played football at the high school, college, or professional level. They found evidence of CTE in 131 of them—79 percent. Of the brains studied, 91 of them belonged to former NFL players, and 87 of those 91 (96 percent) had signs of CTE. In an attempt to further reduce concussions some teams are considering adopting a tackling style similar to that of rugby, where players

Football is a rough sport so injuries are bound to happen. The magazine article “Hard Knocks” states “A typical high school football player receives about 650 hits to the head per season, according to research conducted by the University of Michigan’s NeuroTrauma Research Laboratory” (Text 1, line 45). Football players are constantly getting hit causing more and more injuries every year. Concussions are one of the most common injuries that are also one of the most dangerous. The article “Concussion Fact Sheet for Athletes” proclaims, “A concussion

Football can be a very dangerous sport. And although those who play the game believe that they are being protected by the helmets that they wear, the truth is that this may not be the case. In a recent study released by the American Academy of Neurology it has been found that “protection against concussion and complications of brain injury is especially important for young players, including elementary and middle school, high school and college athletes, whose still-developing brains are more susceptible to the lasting effects of trauma”(Science Daily, 2014). The study also found that standard football helmets worn by the majority of players on the field today, only reduce the risk of traumatic brain injury by 20 percent compared to not wearing a helmet at all (Science Daily, 2014).

Recently I have been sadden by some comments who label some NFL players as anti-american and or disrespectful on some newsfeed. It is sad that we find peaceful protest as disrespectful and un-American. We pride ourselves with being a country of liberty and freedom, yet silence those who we believe have opposing viewpoints. The NFL players are using their privilege of being on live national television by bringing awareness to the struggles of POC. No one should be labeled as un-american or disrespectful for fighting for or voicing a right. Instead of judging or labeling why not ask as to what they are trying to address. How is it that we judge other countries for oppressing and limiting freedom of speech when some of us do the same thing. The