The War On Football Research Paper

Safety and equipment have come a long way in football in order to prevent brain injuries. A very important piece of equipment used to prevent brain trauma is the helmet. The helmet has evolved a lot over the years, even more in the past decade. The Helmets main purpose use to be just to stop skull fractures, then they added the facemask to prevent facial injuries. Concussions are more of a recent concern (Hand 1). Overconfidence in the helmets' protective power prompts many NFL athletes to deliver and accept hits that would have killed players of previous generations. Now the helmet is being revolutionized. Helmets aren't only being created to stop skull and face fractures but they are being created to help prevent brain damage such as concussions now. Helmets have gone through testing to see how to design a better preventative helmet. These newer helmets are being designed to reduce the amount of force that is being applied to the head by a hit that is received (Vandantam 2). Virginia Tech football has been monitoring helmet collisions since 2003, courtesy of Dr. Gunnar Brolinson. Dr. Gunnar Brolinson has outfitted the teams helmets with six sensors and a small antenna that records and transmits data to a computer on the sideline. This information collected is crucial because it will help find better ways to design a helmet that will prevent concussions(Goldman 1). Equipment isn't the only important part of football that can help prevent concussions.

Throughout the basis of this position paper, I will be debating on the controversy of concussions present in the National Football League (NFL) and the sport of football in general. Currently in the National Football League, concussions are looked at as a dangerous aspect but most definitely a recoverable feature. Concussions are an

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

41% of athletes sustained by concussion occurred while playing football. 22% occur in girl soccer. The other 15%. And 10% are made up by boys’ soccer and girls’ basketball. Twice as many high school students play football, that’s why they have the highest percentage. With football, they have the highest rate of concussions because of the number of players they have on the field at once. There are some effects in place to help prevent these concussions. These effects consist of modifications to their football helmets, change of rules, better strength and condition programs, and stricter rule enforcement on and off the field. Former football players who suffered from concussions in the past have fought to get these effects in place because they know what the long term effects are. Given football is Americas most watched sports it attracts a lot of attention. Football is the most frequently played sport in younger

Football, a sport that is known for broken bones, torn ligaments and other dangers, has recently received a lot of media attention on the subject of concussion. With the latest movie, "Concussion," starring Will Smith, even more attention has been brought to the issue. Because of the dangers, the NFL has made continual efforts to improve the safety of the game. However, the Brain Injury Alliance says that the dangers are not exclusive to the NFL.

There is a lot of rising controversy surrounding minors and high-impact sports like football. From Elementary age kids playing little league to high school football, an increasing number of studies are surfacing that are showing many negative effects surrounding head trauma. Some experts are even calling for the sport to be banned from middle and high schools. The concerns surrounding head trauma have existed in the NFL for numerous year, and these concerns brought foreword extensive new research in detection, effects, and prevention. Even today the NFL plans to spend 100 million dollars on new prevention and treatment options for concussions. The shock absorption technology used in football helmets has made advanced majorly in the last 10 years, yet concussion rates are increasing. With the risk of head trauma having long term consequences, especially in minors with developing brains, the ideas of terminating the sport take root. Although serious, these risks are far outweighed by the benefits of football that a substitute sport can not provide: The answer to how to make football safer for minors is much simpler and cheaper than advancing technology.

Another thing that would protect the football players from having so many concussion issue is fixing the layout on how a helmet is made or either improve the type of materials are made with to lessen the amount of pressure the brain receives after a hit. Researchers are in shock because they are not receiving enough accreditation about how they makes helmets they believe that football would be even worser if they didn't have the improved way of technology has improved the current equipment. Even though concussions and helmets don't seem to protect the players at all its improvements has to come as the years grow older. “Swartz, a former rugby player, is a kinesiology professor at the University of New Hampshire. It's there he implemented a two-year study to test the effectiveness of what he calls the Helmetless Tackling Training Technique.” stated by Tadd Haislop this quote means maybe if players are taught to tackle without their helmets. It would transfer over into the games and tacklers won't lead on with there head into a ball carrier or other players on the field.

Studies like the study at Virginia Tech can be used to identify the root cause of consussions and may in result, lead to a solution to the mass head trauma experienced by youth and even professional players. Because concussions occur so often in football, it is a suitable ground sero for the research on consussions in sports. It can lead to better medical diagnosis on the field where spli-second decisions are made and even in domestic cases. I addition, because concussions are a very misunderstood injury, this research is needed. The study wishes to develop a better helmet for football specifically but sports like hoccer could be benefitted too. The general knowledge of concussions would expand if more advanced and specific studies like these

The number of concussions in professional and amateur football has been rising and has sparked much controversy in recent years. These concussions are most likely linked with disease and even the deaths of some pro and semi-pro football players. New research is attempting to solve the problem but the issue is still prevalent in football today.

Many people in the medical field believe that making better helmets can reduce the cause of concussions. Scientist also found it to make football

For decades, football has been one of the most admired sports in America but also considered one of the most harmful. The injuries in football can vary from shin splints, fractured wrists and to torn ACLs but the injury that causes the most damage are concussions. It is not unheard of for football players to have concussions but it is surprising how unaware they are about the long-term effects. The coaches are not any better because they are telling the players to shake off the injury and then encouraging them to get back in the game. For too long football programs have been downplaying concussions, while they have denied it for too long, the new interest and attention in concussions has the potential to improve athletes’ safety.

Football can be a very dangerous sport. And although those who play the game believe that they are being protected by the helmets that they wear, the truth is that this may not be the case. In a recent study released by the American Academy of Neurology it has been found that “protection against concussion and complications of brain injury is especially important for young players, including elementary and middle school, high school and college athletes, whose still-developing brains are more susceptible to the lasting effects of trauma”(Science Daily, 2014). The study also found that standard football helmets worn by the majority of players on the field today, only reduce the risk of traumatic brain injury by 20 percent compared to not wearing a helmet at all (Science Daily, 2014).

So right now a major word being thrown around is the concussion, it is a completely serious thing that needs to be addressed by every sport. The NFL has been studying it and has work on the helmet technology that it uses. Recent articles have come out saying that the helmet may actually be encouraging the concussions to occur (Shankman) . The modern helmet is made from PC or Polycarbonate which is a plastic that is extremely difficult to crack. One major problem with PC is the fact that it does not disperse force well. Therefore it actually is helping players get traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). The traditional helmet is made of a PC layer that is injection molded and a layer of 2 inch thick polypropylene

Although the number of injuries and concussions has been reduced, they are cause of the extinction talk of football in America. Many colleges, high schools and youth teams are prioritizing the health and safety of football players. Colleges and high school are becoming concerned about the lawsuits that have been occurring throughout the sport itself. Many say that they can’t see football lasting for a decade, but others say that it is a everlasting sport. Youth programs are reducing, High schools are cutting back on programs because the insurance and equipment needed today are too expensive. Liabilities exposures will began to spread due to former players suffering and the increasing lawsuits, lawyers will start shutting down services because

New research shows that the brain is still affected by non concussive hits. Many new studies, including one of one hundred and fifty nine athletes by Thomas McAllister, show that “[...]a season of small hits may cause changes to the brain”(3). This fact is imperative because it suggests that all Football players are at risk, not just the ones that suffer concussions. If students playing football are almost hate teed to acquire brain damage then the sport must be stopped. Theses studies also suggest that “[...]repetitive blows to the head can cause major problems, even when an athlete is able to get up and keep playing, said study leader Thomas McAllister”(3). Not only do small hits cause damage, they cause major problems. Football should not be allowed in schools