Player Safety In The NFL

There needs to be more safety in the NFL because of the immediate dangers of concussions. According to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, “a concussion is an injury to the brain that results in temporary loss of normal brain function.”(AANS) The most common symptoms are confusion, dizziness, headaches, memory loss all of which can have lifelong effects. Concussions are a serious injury because it can do a lot of damage to the brain; therefore, there needs to be a way to limit the blows to the head that causes them. If one gets a high number of concussions, then there is a high chance of their life being affected in a negative way. A report published by the NFL states that the number of concussions in 2016 was 244. That is a decline from 2012 when there were 261 concussions. The decline shows that there has been some progress in reducing the amount of concussions in the NFL, but there still are 244 players being exposed to the symptoms that can be an occurrence for their whole lives. The NFL needs to do more to protect its employees from concussions via safety rules. A major problem is the concussion protocol. The NFL states that if a player exhibits symptoms during a game, then they “must be removed and evaluated by the Club medical team,” (NFL Concussion Protocol 4). This seems like a good rule, but there is a lot of gray area in this rule because a team can have an examination, but they can falsely claim that the player does not have a concussion and place him back in the game. In an article for USA Today, Jarrett Bell writes about a play where Indianapolis Colts quarterback, Jacoby Brissett, was hit in the head and it seemed that he would not come back, but the Colts cleared him after one play with no concussion. In the article, Chris Nowinski,

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

In today’s NFL, injuries, particularly head injuries, have become a common occurrence regardless of the amount of preventative training that the athletes invest in. These reoccurring head injuries have led to the deaths of former players and yet, instead of their families accepting that it was the player’s decision to continue playing, they somehow choose to blame the NFL as if the NFL committee were the ones creating the injuries to happen or forcing them to play through it. The NFL isn’t to blame for concussions sustained while playing the game because the coaches, medical staff, and players allow continuous play, creation of financial aid programs, new injury policies, and new equipment technology.

Many sports have “hammered lawsuits about the refusal to disclose or accept information about the long-term effects of head injuries to their athletes” (Oben, Roman) and they believe that the athletes rush back into action too soon. Athletes suffer thousands of concussions in sports each year. While athletes may know their risks, they choose to ignore for their pleasure and not anyone else’s. While that may seem selfish, the athletes do not want to give up a game they love. Sports have always held a high place in society so, what would society become without sports, let alone contact sports. Fans do not want to see football change to touch football or hockey disposed of all together, fans want to see the toughness in athletes taking a stand for the things they love to do. Although a “significant increase in concussion screenings” (Oben, Roman) that should not automatically determine that contact sports should modify to safer rules. If certain sports modified their rules then they are not the real sports true legends have played. In order to keep traditions and memories of sports, administrators should not modify rules of contact sports.

The football is in the air and the receiver is running a crisp post route towards the free safety just along the hash marks and the goal line when suddenly he receives a helmet-to-helmet hit that leaves him unconscious. This is something that occurs far too often in the sport of football. Football has been around since 1869 and the National Football League (NFL) was established in 1920. Over the last few decades the NFL has grown to become a multi-billion dollar organization whose annual championship game is America’s most watched event each year. With each year the NFL grows, so does the concern for each player’s safety. The most common concern is the traumatic injury in football known as a concussion. A concussion is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as, “a stunning, damaging, or shattering effect from a hard blow; especially :  a jarring injury of the brain resulting in disturbance of cerebral function.” (Webster) Even though the NFL has denied the link between serious head trauma and football for many years, the NFL should do more to protect their players from future head trauma because new research shows the long term effects of concussions in football players and many former NFL players have been diagnosed with serious brain diseases.

Professional football has been “the most popular sport in America for thirty straight years” (Nussbaum). Sundays have become a day, in which football fans spend it lounging in front of their television, cheering on their favorite team. Many people love the game of football and dedicate a lot of time towards watching it. However, other people are starting to get concerned over the injuries, such as concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), associated with the game. A writer for The Atlantic, Jeff Nussbaum, released an article called, “How to Bring Pro Football Into the 21st Century”, about the dangers of football and his belief that the National Football League should make changes to some rules, to prevent future injuries.

American Football is considered to be a violent sport. This is a sport that falls into a category with only few other sports that allow full contact. Football is a game of inches and a team will earn each inch every down. This game is played by all sizes of athlete, size does not matter; what matters the most is the heart and the will of the athlete. Furthermore, some fans of this game have come to glorify the wrong aspects of the game, i.e. hard hits, illegal hits some fans are drawn to this type of violent play all the while forgetting about the athlete themselves. As athletes naturally evolve by size and speed, so has the equipment. Moreover, the problems lie with the equipment and the athlete. The player wants to be faster and lighter on

Football has become dominant in contemporary society and plays a major role in American culture. The National Football League (NFL) has become a sensation through the media in the United States as an abundant amount of Americans spend their sunday evening crowded around the television or packed in football stadiums to experience the ever so popular “Sunday Night Football”. Similar to a variety of events and ideas in society today, football comes with much conflict and controversy. Although there are many benefits to football, it is under fire for the violent style of play resulting in many people questioning the safety of the game. The leading argument against football consists of the safety of the players, more specifically the numerous

Sports can be a very dangerous game depending on how you play the sport. You can be to aggressive in the NFL and seriously hurt someone despite the gear you wear. You can be a MLB pitcher and mess up on a pitch and hurt a player by throwing a pitch at a player’s head. You have to be very careful how you play the sport you are playing. Sports are supposed to be competitive and fun, but you have to remember to be safe and care for the other competitors you are competing against.

One of the all time great coaches of the NFL Vince Lombardi once said, “Football is like life - it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority”. This is the mindset of Professional football players all throughout the NFL. It has been like that since before Vince Lombardi spoke those words and it will be like that for as long as football is still played with grit and physicality. Some people think that because of the game's physical nature and high injury risk it should no longer be played. My argument is that football players know the risks to their health and thus should be allowed to play the game without any additional rules or equipment modifications.

On Sunday Night, families gather around the T.V, cheering and yelling after every play, and calls the referees make. As families watch the game the quarterback hands the ball to the running back, and he runs down the middle. After the play is over, the running back is on the floor grabbing his leg and screaming in pain, then he is carried off the field with a broken leg. Football is an all-time favorite contact sport that many play and will continue to play. Players in contact sports like football have to be aware of the risks associated with the game such as physical, mental, and emotional toll and the impact it will have on the player.

Football is known as a contact sport, but now people are seeing the true harm it can do to your body. For the past decade, there has been a debate forcing football to be banned without the proper equipment. Although there are many dangers to the sport the NFL does not compensate for the players who have been injured. Banning football would be unethical but it is for the greater good of the players. When you are hit by the opponent during a game your brain is being pushed against your head and it never fully recovers. One never knows the impact or realizes the force. There have been more than 200 deaths caused by the lack of equipment and medical attention to these players. There is a 58 percent of college players and high school

There needs to be more safety in the NFL because of the immediate dangers of concussions. According to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, “a concussion is an injury to the brain that results in temporary loss of normal brain function.”(AANS). The most common symptoms are confusion, dizziness, headaches, memory loss all of which can have lifelong effects. Concussions are a serious injury because it can do a lot of damage to the brain, and there needs to be a way to limit the blows to the head that causes them. If one gets a high number of concussions, then there’s a high chance of their life being effected in a negative way. A report published by the NFL states that the number of concussions in 2016 was 244. That is a decline from 2012 when there were 261 concussions. That is 244 people being exposed to the symptoms that can be an occurrence for their whole lives. The decline shows that there has been some progress in reducing the amount of concussions in the NFL, but there needs to be a lot more protection via rules implemented to reduce

Many players in the NFL are prone to sustaining an injury and often they can be career ending. Some of the most gruesome and most commonly career ending injuries include ACL and MCL tears as well and achilles injuries. Some athletes professional careers end quicker than they began due to injuries that stay with them forever. One of the most common injuries in the NFL is and will always be head trauma. Even though the big market helmet manufacturers ie. Riddell, Schutt, Xenith continue to test and better their product it is still not enough to prevent these types of injuries. There have also been committees formed and playing rules changed in order to reduce the number of head injuries obtained in single NFL season. Through this there will be explanations about how different factors affect different injuries and how to prevent them as well as long lasting injuries and their effect on ex players in their everyday lives. Also, about how the NFL protects the players who seem to never fail to entertain us on our sunday evenings and so they can continue to do so injury free.

Every year, NFL owners like Paul Allen, meet to discuss different ways to improve to the league and different marketing techniques that will continue to grow the brand.