Preview

Anno

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2217 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Anno
Even though modern helmets protect the skull in football, the helmets do not protect the brain from concussions and others injuries such as spinal injuries because the hard shell of the helmet creates a harder impact and allows people to feel comfortable leading with their head to make contact with another player, a softer shelled helmet, a helmet with extra padding or no helmet at all would lower such impacts and chances of concussions as well as lowering chances of players leading with their head on a tackle.

Smith, M. D. (2012, December 4). Hines Ward: “If you want to prevent concussions, take the helmet off” | ProFootballTalk. ProFootballTalk. Retrieved May 30, 2013, from http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/04/hines-ward-if-you-want-to-prevent-concussions-take-the-helmet-off/

In this article written by Michael David Smith, Hines Ward talks about how helmets are used as weapons in the sport of football. He talks about helmets without a facemask or no helmet at all will essentially eliminate concussions. The author Michael David Smith backs up what Ward said and goes into more information about the helmets worn over the past couple decades. He explains that helmets were designed to protect the skull not the brain and that concussions have only become a top priority because of how helmets have made players play recklessly. The only downside to removing the helmets would be that more skull fractures would occur due to the impact of the player’s heads. The author is presenting the NFL’s argument as well as a former player’s argument on whether helmets or no helmets would be better for concussions and skull fractures. This article backs up my argument because Ward talks about how helmets are being used as weapons, this is because of the hard shell. “’If you want to prevent concussions, take the helmet off: Play old-school football with the leather helmets, no facemask,’ Ward said. ‘When you put a helmet on you’re going to use it as a weapon, just

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    At this point in time, there is not enough evidence to answer the question of how successful the NFL concussion protocol is. The statistics regarding concussion incidences in the NFL provides outsiders with inconsistent data. There is no clear pattern of steady increasing or decreasing rates over the course of multiple seasons. These results seemed to support the evidence that not all concussion present the same way. This variation in clinical presentation might be an explanation as for why some seasons had a drop in concussion rates. Even though a player might not show drastic signs of a concussion such as loss of consciousness or changes in gait, it should not be assumed that the player has not sustained an…

    • 682 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    VSR 4 Helmet Analysis

    • 749 Words
    • 3 Pages

    To many, the solution to the concussion epidemic is to simply make a better helmet. However, as stated above, making a better helmet is not as easy as it seems. Since helmet use is required for all players in the NFL, there have been mixed reviews on which helmets are the best and provide the highest level of protection.…

    • 749 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Football helmets have always been designed to prevent and stop skull fractures. Now they have the same design and are trying to prevent concussions and professionals don't even fully understand concussions. “The majority of helmets are designed , tested and certified for linear compression only. They don't help/prevent violent twisting during angled impacts. The sharp twisting from angled impacts. The sharp twisting from angled hits increases the potential of…

    • 70 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Junior Seau Death Essay

    • 401 Words
    • 2 Pages

    "Researchers in Bedford Mass have now examined the brain tissue of 128 football players who, before their deaths, played the game professionally, semi-professionally, in college or in high school. Of that sample, 101 players, or just under 80 percent, tested positive for CTE." (LEAGUE OF DENIAL: THE NFL'S CONCUSSION CRISIS n.p.). The information above shows that brain injury is not a small issue, but it is a huge issue! NFL players are in danger because of too much helmet to helmet collision and this has led to deaths and depression. This is a problem that is life threatening and needs to be stopped instantly, but the question is:…

    • 401 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Everyone who plays football, coaches football or watches football knows the brutal punishments each player sustains for every game in the National Football League. Ironically, this occupational hazard, which is rudimentary to the game of football, is understood, especially by the players. Most of them work hard during the season, as well as the off-season, to condition their bodies to absorb vicious hits inflicted by each other. Unfortunately, there is no way to condition a human body to take multiple blows to the head, even with a thick helmet on.…

    • 557 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout the history of football there has been concussions because poor helmets have bad padding. Many people have in it taken a major part in it. How many people have died from head injuries. So people are should upgrade the helmets to protect anymore bad injuries, people have upgraded helmets but we need to do more from causing a lot more concussions. The head and brain are one of the most important parts of the body which they need to be protected and that is a very good way to protect it from injuries…

    • 391 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Players have a horrible habit of leading with their heads when making a tackle and one of the most dangerous hits in football is when two players heads collide. This hit results in a high number of concussions due to its direct force and the fact that it…

    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The National Football League has become the most exciting and thrilling sports league to watch in the last few decades. Most recently players have become much faster and bigger than in the past and the safety of their lives have become a risk. Recently the NFL has been subjected to a large amount of controversy and criticism dealing with how they have handled player safety. This issue has come to the forefront because concussions have become a weekly occurrence. In the last few years it has been studied then proven by doctors that former players have suffered traumatic brain injuries from hits to the head during their NFL careers. As a fan of the NFL, I believe it’s best for the game that the NFL makes some change so…

    • 1487 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Concussions cause the dangerous disease CTE that has already claimed the lives of many athletes in the NFL and in other sports. We are doing research on CTE but a lot more needs to be done. If the NFL is going to be safer they need to relinquish all of their information and research on player brain injuries. Some good things are being done to rule changes to make the game safer, but it is still not enough. There is a fine line however between changing rules and changing the game, which the NFL will have to navigate carefully. One of the better answers to these brain injuries is to improve the helmet protecting the head. Many developers have made ingenious new ideas to combat the concussion epidemic in football. It is up to the NFL to adopt the new innovations to the football helmet to drastically improve player safety. A person’s brain is the most important part of the body. It just makes sense to want to protect it as much as possible. As the public becomes more aware of the dangers football has on a player’s brain people may reconsider playing football. If the NFL is going to have a future, they must make their game safer. If people see less players effected by concussions on TV public perception of football will improve. Something clearly needs to be done to combat these serious health problems facing current and past NFL…

    • 3109 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Football plays a great part in the United States. It is a part of our culture and is a part of the atmosphere in the fall when school is about to start. It is an amusing experience for a lot of people and their families. This is what make football a part of our culture. One thing to actually think about though is what is essentially happening to the children, the young adults, and athletes involved in this sport; they are growing older then, attending college or even playing professional football with head injuries. Understanding that in football there are many collisions of the head to somebody else’s head or other body parts. Although, the brain sits inside of a cranial vault, also known as the skull. Even wearing the best equipment…

    • 428 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Football Helmet Safety

    • 503 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Through the 2000s and the present there have been helmets made specifically to reduce the chances of getting a concussion. Concussion research was practically unknown and frowned upon until recently. Over the past couple of years the NFL has cracked down on head injuries and have put in place new rules/ regulations to prevent them.…

    • 503 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The NFL (National football league), a standout amongst the most watched games on the planet and is famous for the aggressiveness of the game. This sport is played by two groups of 11 players each on a rectangular, 100-yard-long field with objective lines and goal posts at either end, the objective being to pick up ownership of a ball and propel it in running or passing plays over the rival's objective line or kick it through the air between the adversary's goalposts. Despite the fact that this game is generally supported by the public it seems to come with the dangers of wounds and injuries. One of the most common injuries in the game is when a player his hit with a violent shock to the head resulting in a wound on the brain. This injury has…

    • 761 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sports are an integral part of American culture. Throughout the year, friends and families will spend enormous amounts of time and money to gather together to eat, drink and cheer on their favorite teams. American football has been named the most watched sport in the nation and continues to grow in popularity. There is something about the thrill of watching your favorite team score touchdowns and win championship games that makes watching football a nationwide form of entertainment. Beyond all of the wins and losses however are the many injuries that often occur in every game. Broken arms, legs and shoulders are only minimal injuries compared to the, often over-looked, head injuries that happen more often than not. Even though there are protective measures taken to prevent concussions and other head injuries, many football players are still being hit so hard in every game that they may experience one or more concussions in a single game day.…

    • 881 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    One very important way to reduce the amount of concussions in football is informing the players about factors such as the dangers of concussions, how the athlete knows if he has one, the rules of the game, and proper tackling and blocking techniques. Teaching and making sure they know the major health and life threatening risks of concussions is a crucial aspect of prevention. Information such as what a concussion is, how it occurs, and the long and short term effects are the main points that must be thoroughly explained to the players. These must be drilled into the athletes’ heads for the reason of teaching and showing them how dangerous a concussion can be and not to take it lightly. The brutal life long effects and what could happen to…

    • 1683 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    On the other hand, there are rules in place that help deal with concussions. As well as protective gear that helps prevent concussions. The head gear is lined with vinyl that absorbs multiple shocks to the head, however these head gears are only used in football, and hockey. (Article 1) The rules also in place say that a health care provider has to allow a player to return if they suffer a concussion, but a health care provider can miss a certain point in their diagnosis.…

    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays