Essay On Football Helmet Safety

After the NFL commissioner came under scrutiny from Washington lawmakers on whether or not the injuries in his sport were the cause of traumatic brain disease. The commissioner enacted a policy that players had to pass a series of test by a neurologist prior to them being allowed to return to play( Grove, J) This policy change is similar to a normal employee passing a physical from their primary Doctor before they could return to work. The Commissioner enacted this policy to prevent players from returning to the game to soon. The current NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wasn’t the first recognize that his sport had a problem taking care of its players. In 1962 the rule of no “Face masking” was enacted. This rule prohibited a player from grabbing another player’s facemask (Grove, J 657). In the late 1970’s an additional rule was enacted. The NFL finally passed a rule prohibiting players from using their helmets to

Safety and equipment have come a long way in football in order to prevent brain injuries. A very important piece of equipment used to prevent brain trauma is the helmet. The helmet has evolved a lot over the years, even more in the past decade. The Helmets main purpose use to be just to stop skull fractures, then they added the facemask to prevent facial injuries. Concussions are more of a recent concern (Hand 1). Overconfidence in the helmets' protective power prompts many NFL athletes to deliver and accept hits that would have killed players of previous generations. Now the helmet is being revolutionized. Helmets aren't only being created to stop skull and face fractures but they are being created to help prevent brain damage such as concussions now. Helmets have gone through testing to see how to design a better preventative helmet. These newer helmets are being designed to reduce the amount of force that is being applied to the head by a hit that is received (Vandantam 2). Virginia Tech football has been monitoring helmet collisions since 2003, courtesy of Dr. Gunnar Brolinson. Dr. Gunnar Brolinson has outfitted the teams helmets with six sensors and a small antenna that records and transmits data to a computer on the sideline. This information collected is crucial because it will help find better ways to design a helmet that will prevent concussions(Goldman 1). Equipment isn't the only important part of football that can help prevent concussions.

Steve Almond’s story “You Knock my Brains out This Sunday and I Knock Your Brains out the Next Time we Meet” speaks to the underlying truth about America’s Sunday pastime and how concussions can be prevented not only by the industry, but by its viewers as well. Football is well known after having been brought to the public’s eye as study after study was released proving that there was a link from football to head injuries. Although in our modern society we have already subconsciously made the connection between football and concussions. The fact that this problem is not decreasing, could be surprising, as the lack of understanding about who has control and the ability to influence change. We hear that football helmets and pads, are getting better, but that does not stop concussions. We do not hear how helmets make players feel and change their play style based on the feeling of invincibility that people feel while wearing a helmet. Pads and helmets do help protect the players but false senses of security due to lack of knowledge on what

In the world of football, big hits are something that are looked at in a positive light. They are seen as a way of asserting dominance over other players and it is celebrated by teammates. Big hits are a very crucial, almost necessary, part of the game that millions of people gather to watch every Sunday. However, in the past decade, the NFL and other organization have realized that concussions can lead to very serious problems later in life. One of these problems is known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). It is a degenerative brain disease, much like Alzheimer’s, that mainly effects individuals in high contact sports such as boxing or football. Over time, this connection between concussions and CTE has become more common knowledge and more people have started asking the question “do the risks of children playing football outweigh the benefits?”. The answer to this question is yes, football is entirely too violent for children to be playing. According to “Big Hits, Broken Dreams”, one in ten football players gets a concussion, and 35% of players have more than one. The video also states that only 50% of high schools in the United States have a certified athletic trainer on the field (CNN, 2012). If concussions are really a concern for the schools, then why are there not more athletic trainers on staff at these schools to deal with sports injuries? This also forces the public to question these schools even more because if they are willing to cut costs and not hire a

Player safety has been an issue for the National Football League since the start of the league, but has taken on a greater importance in recent years. Now, when a player is injured after a play, he must sit out for at least one play to allow the team’s trainer to assess his injury and make sure he is fit to return to play. Many say the NFL is very invested in player safety, and the protocols recently introduced have drastically changed the way athletes are assessed and eventually released to return to the field. These changes were necessary in order to protect players from serious injury and long-term health issues. There are many possible reasons the NFL has increased its emphasis on player safety, including, many people are disturbed by the violence of the game, fewer kids are playing football at the youth and high school levels, league sponsors are worried about bad publicity, and there are lawsuits against the NFL dealing with the long-term effects of brain damage. These reasons make many ponder, “Does the NFL really care about player safety, or are they just saving themselves from bad public relations, and the detrimental economic effects that may result from them?”

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 use of protective headgear in contact sports has been a major issue of discussion amongst the sporting community for many years. Some people believe that headgear should be compulsory for all contact sports because they decrease the rate of catastrophic head injuries and they give the athlete a greater sense of security that there will be less head injuries. Others believe that headgear should not be compulsory, but instead optional, because they are an added cost to already expensive sports and they don’t offer any protection against concussions which can lead to brain damage and other problems in later

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).

Football helmets are very important pieces of equipment and have been revolutionized since football started. According to Forthofer, when football was a new sport in the 1860s to 1896, helmets were not used. The first helmets that were used were made of mole skin or leather and were very uncomfortable and hot (Forthofer). Croswell writes that shortly after helmets became mandatory in 1939, college students began to paint pictures and used colors that represented their school so that the quarterback would not get confused as to who is on his team. Right around the 1950s, players

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).

The great American football is full of exciting competition, but do we realize the danger! Helmet safety in football remains an immense problem as the sport accounts for the highest incidence of concussions. Since leather football helmets, the technology for safer football helmets has improved drastically and continue to improve. The development of newly designed helmets and technology has lowered the risk of head injuries for players. Furthermore, improvements in helmet testing methods have led to better understand head injuries and the protectiveness of the helmet. However, football helmet safety still remains a challenge, such as a necessity of a proper categorization system to rank helmets and

There has been extraordinary improvements of helmets from the old leather to the modernized-plastic football helmets along with the face mask and energy- absorbent padding. In addition, the concern over preventing concussions, have led to helmet changes, impact testing methods and reconstruction of injuries during play helping to provide insight on concussions(4). Helmets have been successful in decreasing the risk of traumatic brain injuries, but there is much concern over concussion; therefore, scholars argue the importance of technology development to address concussion(5). As the author(s), David Viano and David Halstead discusses, there is room needed for understanding the types of collisions associated in youths and the impact condition addressing collisions. There are many variables to consider addressing concussion and where they occur.

Professional football have been getting better padding and getting better helmets and a kind strap to protect there head neck and back to prevent injury from happening as shown in the passage ''Let Them Play''.In the text'' Let Them Play'' it states ''The US Army Research Laboratory in baltimore is looking at using specially designed straps that would attach the helmet to the body-similar to suspenders.The concept is to avoid sudden head motion and brain injury''. There gear is made from the same gear that NASCAR and military people wear so if it protects them it should protect the football players . In NASCAR there tires can come off the cars can flip and the cars can get hit and the driver inside will still be alive and in football it is

It also has set objectives of creating safer equipment that will help against head injuries. This is something that is a “must”, because it can lead to death and disabilities. After this the next step is to generate alternatives. This involves coming up with innovate helmets that might reduce the risk of head injuries. The league could also come up with more creative rules and procedures that wouldn’t affect the way the game is played, but reduce the number of head injuries. The NFL needs to prepare itself by getting its coaches, players, owners, and doctors together to get their feelings, opinions and ideas on how to resolve this issue. It’s important that the NFL uses brainstorming, Delphi technique, consensus mapping and other forms in creating innovative solutions to this problem.