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.
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“He was one of an estimated twenty college football players to die that season and one of three to die that day” (Nussbaum). This story causes his readers to feel sadness and sympathy for that player and his family and friends. Many have experienced death, either in their family or friends. Therefore, death is something that stirs up a variety of emotions in people. While this happened over one hundred years ago, and new rules have been instated since, it highlights the dangers of football. This story helps the author to effectively deliver his message because it causes fans to look past the excitement of watching the games, and causes concern in a parent’s mind by highlighting the types of injuries that players could suffer.
Nussbaum brings up appeals to emotion again, later in his article, when he addresses the types of contracts handed out by National Football League teams. “NFL contracts aren’t true contracts…Players can be cut at any time, for virtually any reason-including injury” (Nussbaum). Due to this reason, many players often push through injuries, instead of resting and being concerned about their long-term health. Many NFL players have admitted to doing this. As a parent reading this, they might see that player as their own child. If a parent knew, their child was pushing through an injury to keep a job, they mostly likely would get very upset. As a fan, it would cause anger because the team would be putting a player at risk of
In America, football is huge entertainment industry and brings in lots of money annually. This doesn’t mean that football is just there for the money, but it provides life long impact for some people. Football is used as a brotherhood or a family, and provides opportunities for kids to learn how to be a teammate. The head coach for J.H. Rose High School, discussed how he loves his team and wants nothing but the best for them (CNN, 2012). In addition, it is a matter of autonomy to be discussed. If a player knows the risks of football, it should be their choice whether they want to play or not. One of the football players in the video said he knows the risks and he’s willing to take them (CNN, 2012). On the other hand, some would argue the principle of beneficence and that doctors are merely trying to save the lives of many young men. In the video, it was discussed that tau proteins become present in the brain after multiple collisions to the head (CNN, 2012). Tau proteins are known to become present in the brain when an older person has Alzheimer’s or dementia (CNN, 2102). Also, is football worth a life, two lives? How many young men have to lose their lives to head trauma caused by football hits, to realize this sport is deadly. Zach Rogers was a teammate and friend of JaQuan Waller, and said how they thought JaQuan was okay and just got hit pretty hard
Football has a significant impact on all our lives, doesn’t matter if you play it or if you even watch it. Its has an impact on us financially and socially. Football is one of if not the greatest traditions of sport in America. It teaches teamwork. Football is the ultimate team sport. It adds great recognition, revenue, and spirit to college campuses and many different communities around the country. Many writers, scholars, and football coaches have stated that football is a metaphor for life and I truly believe that.
Thesis- I want you to better understand concussions, why they’re a problem in the NFL and what measures are being taken to prevent them.
The spectator of this sport has an obligation to the players of the sport, to make sure that the organization is protecting and looking out for them. Yet not only should the viewer be held accountable for the lack of communication in consequences between the player and the pro scene, but the organization of the NFL needs to make sure that their players have a full understanding of what is going on and how they need to protect the players. The current situation that is understood, contents contain implied knowledge that all parties of this table are in uniform knowledge and agreement to what comes of playing football. Finally, this should also happen at the youth level when kids are just getting into the sport, as it would better inform the parents and the kid if they understood the full
Football changes lives in positive and negative ways. Injuries become quite prevalent in the sport, but I still take the risk every time I step on the football field. According to CNN, in 2014 eleven deaths found their way into the paper as a direct cause from football injuries. An example includes seventeen-year-old high school senior Andre Smith from Bogan High School situated in Chicago Illinois. On October 23 2014, Andre Smith played his last
While the NFL is putting new rules and regulations on equipment and which type of tackles are allowed, living retired NFL players are found to already have symptoms of CTE (Fainaru, 2013). Through brain scans and research done by UCLA, they have identified proteins in player’s brains that cause CTE, which as Dr. Julian Bailes, co-director or North Shore Neurological Institute said, is the “holy grail” to studying CTE and finding ways to cure and prevent it (Fainaru, 2013). While this is a break through, there is still no cure or way to treat CTE (Fainaru, 2013). But this research also raises questions about CTE and the NFL. Will players be required to be tested for CTE? Can players be denied playing anymore if CTE is found? Will this greatly affect the way that football is currently played? As the research is still being collected, there is still no definite answer to any of those questions, but the NFL has acknowledged the correlations of CTE and concussions caused by playing in the NFL and assures that they will do all they can to help prevent severe brain trauma to their players, including donating $30 million to the National Institutes of Health to conduct further research on CTE (Kroll, 2013).
“This sport will never die, but it will never again be, as it was until recently, the subject of uncomplicated national enthusiasm.” This thesis statement introduces us to the basis of what this article sets out to convey. Football is a tradition that is loved by America, but previously lacked the issue of concern that it does now. The most concerning issue that the author is talking about is chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. Caused by multiple head injuries, over a span of time, this disease results in atrophy of the brain, mood disorders, and dementia. The hidden damage caused by these injuries is taken into consideration when deciding to play football, however it is believed that this risk will deter players from joining in
There’s no doubt that concussions in football has become a major problem, not just for the professional athletes, but for kids of all ages from age 8 to 19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has shown that concussion have doubled in the last decade and The American Academy of Pediatrics says that, “emergency room visits for concussions in children ages 8 to 13 years old has doubled, and concussions have risen 200 percent among teens ages 14 to 19 in the last decade” (Keith Dunlap, The Oakland Press). This shows that the seriousness of concussions is not just an issue at a pro level but an issue throughout all levels of play. The risk is definitely present when you play football but it shouldn’t stop parents from letting their children participate in the sport. Playing organized sports such as football isn’t just a place to get injured, it’s a place where your children can learn the importance of teamwork, sportsmanship, toughness, competitiveness, they learn succeed, and also they learn about failure. The parents who don’t allow their children to play sports don’t let their kids learn about these important lessons of organized sports. Football is also a way for kids to take their anger and struggles out in the game and help them express themselves. It can also be a way for kids in bad situations to get a way out, to try and reach the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Based on my research, there are considerable lifelong health related consequences associated with participating in grueling sport activities such as professional football. What responsibilities should the National Football League (NFL) have in regards to providing an adequate support system to players suffering from a concussion during a practice or regular season game and from lifelong challenges as a result of traumatic head injuries sustained during the regular season or practices? The resources I have referenced in this proposal essay, provide evidence to answer this question and lends support to my position that considering the violent nature of professional football, the NFL needs to take more efforts to protect players during the games and afterwards if a serious injury has been sustained that affects their quality of life and future earnings. Current policies are inadequate and continue to contribute to lawsuits and cost lives.
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?”
An increasingly popular topic in the realm of sports fans has begun to unravel. The National Football League recently has begun to introduce new rules and regulations for their athletes to start abiding by to ensure the continued safety of the player’s health. Although most find this change in the game of professional football as a positive step forward, others see this as a diminishment of the sanctity of NFL football. New rules and regulations that have been introduced into NFL are vital to athletes involved in the sport and help them to play with lowered risks of long term injuries that could possibly affect not only them but also the league in the future as well. The reasons for these
Science says concussions are inevitable; 96 percent of all NFL players and 79 percent of all football players test positive for brain disease (Source: Frontline League of Denial 9/18/15 Concussion Watch Article). Prior to 2002, the NFL’s approach to preventing, treating, and managing concussions and CTE was very different than it is today. My essay will explore what some of those differences were and whether or not changes in the NFL are improving the outcomes and quality of life for current and former NFL players.
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).
Since the introduction of organized team sports into American culture, numerous sports have stepped into the limelight for certain periods of time but none have stuck around as long as football has. Just as with everything else in life, football has had it’s fair share of drawbacks since its invention in the mid-19th century. Despite the drawbacks and criticism football has faced, its role and influence on American culture between the 1890’s and 1930’s far outweigh the negative aspects of its past.