Essay about Football: Head to Head Contact is Too Dangerous

It is to me understanding that each and every NFL football player is taught everyday to play hard and hit hard. NFL players know that they are taking a massive risk of getting injured every time they step a foot on a football field, whether it be for a game or just practice. If you have the football in your possession, you should be able to take a hit anywhere on your body, even if it is on your helmet. There is no point in time where a line should be drawn. If a player makes helmet-to-helmet contact unintentionally, he should not be fined as much as if it were intentional.

If any of these player safety rules have been broken recently, the NFL has come down swiftly and harshly against the culprits. These swift and efficient actions performed by the NFL have taken notice by the parents and fans of the sport. These forms of punishments come through fines, suspensions, and in extreme cases bans from the league for years or even indefinitely. Recently a defensive coordinator on the New Orleans Saints was found to have installed a “bounty program” on his defense. This program would fund the defensive players with bonuses for various actions in a game. Although this may seem okay, it is actually highly illegal in the NFL. This bounty program would fund the players for knocking out other athletes they were competing against. Injuring players was one of many forms of bonuses that players would be able to accrue. The problem with this in sports is because football is already violent enough. Now teams are actually “gunning” to injure others on purpose. The NFL’s quick and extreme punishments for the creation and participation in this bounty case definitely put the player’s safety aspect into the mainstream of what the NFL is worrying about these days.

One hard hit to a NFL player’s head can destroy their life. Concussions are a major problem that the NFL has been dealing with for a very long time. As a huge football fan, I have a special interest with this issue. When concussions were first identified as a problem, they were extremely down played. People thought that injuries to knees and backs were much worse than a concussion. What they did not know was that a concussion is lethal and can cause serious consequences. After this was discovered, the NFL started to take steps to improve the safety of players, but for some, it was far too late. Concussions that NFL players receive are negatively impacting their lives after their career, due to Chronic

Most players have learned to inflict pain to the other person they are tackling or trying to get the ball. NFL have made new rule changes because of players leading with the head and also trying to hit the players head. When a player is targeted it means that a player aimed at an opponent for purposes of attacking with an apparent intent that goes beyond making a legal tackle or a legal block or playing the ball (Redding). The player who made the tackle will be ejected from the game. These types of hits are causing the concussions and also not knowing how to properly

Something as simple as a specially designed helmet can prevent a concussion from occurring. “ While helmets have been used since the early 1900s in the NFL, they were not mandatory until 1943. Since then, the materials, designs, and safety standards have undergone revision, and more recent modifications have focused on improving the design to further protect the athlete specifically from concussive impacts”(Navarro, 2011). The helmets used in the past to protect athletes were not designed purely in mind of protecting athletes from concussions; helmets and equipment are now being revised and redesigned in the focus of protecting athletes from concussions whenever any sort of contact happens to the athletes cranium. “Biomechanical studies have shown that newer football helmets may reduce the impact forces associated with a sport-related concussion” (Navarro, par 2). Along with the creation of new equipment new rules should be adopted which require athletes to wear proper and up to date equipment, such as helmets and mouthguards which protect the athletes head during any circumstance of possible injury; whether during a practice or

“In football hits to the head are not allowed and result in an immediate a penalty”(Harris). This rule prevents players from trying to hit other players in the head.

As a football player, you are taught how to tackle at a pretty young age (pop warner football); you must always keep your head up and lead with your facemask. You are also told to run through the ball carrier, wrapping your arms around his waist. To finish the tackle, you must drive him to the ground. Not keeping your head up, is one of the most prevalent mistakes you can do while tackling in football (Lewis). Time and time again, this is one of the major causes of spine, neck and concussion injuries in football. A good-yet–effective tackle will take down the ball carrier, but take them down without any injuries. In my opinion, if football players within all levels of the sport were more aware of how to properly tackle, there would be a much larger reduction in concussion rates found each year. There are other variables to this statement and in the next portion I will debate on how safe the

What should someone do if they were to get a concussion or think they have a concussion? Tell a coach, guardian, and go see a doctor. Helmets that have a good amount of layers are more superior than the helmets with less padding. Some helmets absorb hits almost like a car’s bumper. That is good,

A great majority of kids and adults football careers are ending shortly because of brain damage and concussions. To this day scientist and people in sports are trying to find a way to decrease the number of brain damage and concussions. There been so many head injuries in the game of football. It got real serious over the past 20 years. In the NFL and College football league, players and coaches can know if someone have a concussion because of the technology they have at the game. It’s mandatory for every team in college, and in the NFL to have doctors and the technology they have at each game they have.

Sports is a major part of mostly everyone’s life either you watch it or just participate in it. Though it has it benefits, everyone has the reason why they participate or enjoy watching sports. With the benefits comes with some consequence. When a football player puts on a helmet, he knows what he gets himself into. Although they have a helmet on, they are not guarantee not to get a concussion, according to Press Release “there was a new study that found out that football helmets currently used on the field does little to no protection against hits to side if the head” (AAN).

One company is attempting to generate a new helmet meant just for that. “‘Current helmets were never intended to deal with concussion,’” explained Browd, chief medical officer of VICIS. “‘To take a product that is built for one purpose and to try to retrofit it to address concussion is a very challenging task’” (Tracy). This new helmet would have columns on the inside that would bend and absorb the force in order to protect the head, but this helmet will not completely take away the risks of concussions. Another way to change how football is played is to put rules into effect that will discourage head to head contact between players, which the NFL is already beginning to organize. “The reworded rules prohibit a player from launching himself off the ground and using his helmet to strike a player in a defenseless posture in the head or neck. The old rule only applied to receivers getting hit, but now it will apply to everyone” (NFL). The new rules talk about protecting defenseless players, but non-defenseless players, like a running back charging upfield, can be struck in the head. The rules have been improved, but there can be more beneficial adjustments. The breaks given to players should be longer as well. John Urschel explained his thoughts about this on the ESPN talk show “Mike & Mike” "‘I think (my concussion) hurt my ability to

Football is a sport beloved by Americans. Millions of boys from a young age enjoy playing football from recreational to dreaming of the NFL. Whether these boys end up play for their school team or the NFL, all levels of players experience head collisions. Recently, many people have questioned the severity of these head injuries, or concussions, induced by playing football and their lasting effects.

Many things should be done in relation to the prevention of collisions potentially leading to different brain diseases, disorders, or syndromes. The football helmets should be reevaluated,reassessed, and redesigned to prevent mTBI, mild traumatic brain injuries, such as subconcussive injuries that play a huge deal in what causes CTE. In agreement with Dr. Andrew McIntosh, helmets can prevent skull fractures and intracranial hemorrhage, but they are not designed to prevent mTBI. Also, have youth leagues implement stricter rules, apply the same rules in the NFL in league games or even practices. For example, spearing, when a player uses the helmet/head as the first point of contact with another player, was banned in American

Gun’s are very dangerous, dangerous enough to kill. So is football a dangerous killer as well? Since football became a popular form of entertainment, fans and non-football fans debate on whether it’s safe or unsafe for students, and adults to play. Yes, in the past football was highly dangerous, and some would say it can kill and has led to death. But now, modern day football is safe. It is safe to play because of the conditioning/practicing, the changes in the rules, and the equipment have all been changed in some way, still improving till this day.

Playing football is not like playing other sports. Athletes in all kinds of sports risk injuring themselves, but in football, a lot of the risk comes from other athletes. While there are many ways to be injured playing football, one of the worst is head-to-head targeting. This has been a problem in football since the beginning of the game, especially, when equipment was not very protective. Over the past eight years, the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) has implemented rules and penalties specifically designed to protect players and to hopefully reduce the number of bad head injuries (Marshall). The NCAA is doing the right thing by protecting players from severe injury by calling and enforcing targeting penalties.