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Football At A Crossroads: A Case Study

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Children who participate in tackle football will be susceptible to minor injuries, such as concussions, abrasions, sprains, and strains of the extremities. Consequently, football accounts for more major and catastrophic injuries than any other sport. One story that grasped my attention was an ESPN segment on Outside the Lines, where stories range from sports and controversy issues off the field. The topic was Football at a Crossroads, which emphasized that children should not play tackle football until the age of 16. According to an USA Today article, “on November 6, 2011, Donnovan Hill was thirteen at the time of his injury as a member of the Lakewood (California) Black Lancers, a Pop Warner group” (Mihoces, 2013). When Donnovan Hill tackled …show more content…

Recovery time will vary depending on the extent of the injury. The side effects will differ for children who only played youth football, versus those who additionally played in high school, collegiately, and professionally respectively. Envision the amount of blows taken by individuals who played football at all levels. The impact of being hit repeatedly, where pain is inflicted can have a lasting effect. Dealing with physical and cognitive ailments after football can be challenging for retirees who want a quality of life. According to an article from The New York Times, “a new study of National Football League retirees found that those who began playing tackle football when they were younger than twelve years old had a higher risk of developing memory and thinking problems later in life” (Belson, 2015). According to a research article, “children and adolescents who suffer a concussion will take longer to recover than adults” (Johnson, 2011). A concussion is a major issue, where symptoms can linger. The brain disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE is caused by repeated concussions. The long term effects for sufferers include headaches, depression, erratic behavior, and early onset Alzheimer’s. Besides these symptoms, football players can develop crippling arthritis that makes it impossible for them to walk …show more content…

Initiating standards and requirements, for game play, are necessary to lessen the risk of being seriously injured. Instilling an age and weight requirement will level the playing field where all participants are approximately equal in size. Creating different divisions that are determined by a strict age and weight scale to ensure safe and balanced competition is important. There should be no advantages gained where bigger children compete against smaller children. The disparity of bigger children competing against smaller children is appalling, which can lead to unfavorable

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