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Is Football A Game?

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Webster’s dictionary defines football as “a game played between two teams on a rectangular field having goalposts or goals at each end and whose object is to get the ball over a goal line, into a goal, or between goalposts by running, passing, or kicking”. (Merriam-Webster) The one thing that is not mentioned in the definition is that the game is more than just trying to score a goal. The game is played by forcefully tackling other players to the ground in order to stop them from scoring. These types of forceful hits can cause serious brain damage to a player, especially to young boys under the age of twelve who have just started playing tackle football. Former NFL, National Football League, players who played tackle football before the age of 12 seem to be significantly more likely to suffer memory loss and mental health issues than those who began playing later on. (Neuhauser, Youth football) This information is based on a small study preformed at John Hopkins Memorial Hospital and another study performed at Boston University. The John Hopkins study involved imaging and cognitive tests on nine former NFL players, providing further evidence of the potential long-term neurological risks to football players who sustain repeated concussion (Hedin) A concussion is a blow or jolt to the head that can change the way your brain normally works. When an individual sustain more than ten concussions, the risk of developing a certain brain damage that can occur from being a football

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