Preview

Concussions in Sports

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
712 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Concussions in Sports
Concussions in Sports: Tackling the Issue
It happens every game, a player gets hit very hard and is injured in some sort of way. In the current days of football, concussions are the most common and most dangerous injury there is and should be given more attention to protect players and athletes. Whether it's short term or long term, concussions can cause serious damage to athletes brains and in serious cases put them in the hospital. While NFL players shake off concussions as not being that bad, they need to be taken very seriously as children across the country look up to these professional players as role models. Fan morale is also declined when their favorite players get injured and cannot play because of these injuries. Awareness needs to be raised so we can put a stop to these dangerous concussions.
The main reason concussions are so dangerous is the health risks associated with them. Although the big deal in the media is made for NFL players, this issue goes through all levels of football. Jeff Victoroff, author of the article “Diagnosis and Treatment of Sports-Related Traumatic Brain Injury.”, says that “there are about 100,000 college players, 1.3 million high school players, and 3.5 million youth players.” This shows that there is a very large amount of athletes playing football with the risk of getting head injuries very high. Victoroff elaborates by saying that “between 1.6 million and 3.8 million sports-related concussions occur each year.” The severity of these injuries range from headaches for a few weeks, to being placed in a wheelchair like former Duquesne University football player Preston Plevretes has. He suffered a traumatic brain injury stemming from a concussion and now has altered speech, jerky steps, and a dark tunnel vision. These are just some of the serious side effects these injuries can have on an athlete over time.
Along with the health risks, concussions can cause a moral decline among the very loyal fans of the NFL. If one of a

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

    Nfl Rules Research Paper

    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The new rules in the National Football League are changing the way the game is being played and the way it affects the players. One of the many ways it affects the players is benefiting their health, and that’s why most of the new rules are added into the NFL. There is an average of 128 concussions per year and about nine concussions per week. There are positive ends and negative ends of the whole situation that can make the game boring for the players and also the spectators. This also makes the game safer for the players in their long-term life from their kids to their own health. The NFL could be changing for the better, or for the worse of it.…

    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hooka Concussions

    • 805 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The number of concussions in just the preseason games is up 50% than last year’s same games. The first myth is that the NFL is on their way to resolving its crisis on concussions. Almond emphasizes that the NFL has no crisis with concussions it has a problem with violence. Colliding together makes soft organs smash against their skulls, and no miracle or rule change can undo the physics and physiology of the football game.…

    • 805 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Although football is a high paying sport where many athletes make it big and live long happy lives after retirement, this in fact isn’t the case for all players. The injuries these players sustain and effects they have to live with for the rest of their lives really deserve respect from the fans of football. Tragic events have happened due to concussion related injuries. From suicides to prison sentences the NFL needs to become accountable for these injuries or pay the…

    • 1522 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to Ken Belson of The New York Times (2014) one in three NFL players is affected by brain trauma. The New York Times has also stated that NFL players are eight times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s or dementia than the general population. The NFL has come across a rise in concussions over the past decade. Over the past three seasons there have been over 690 recorded concussions throughout the league. Not only are current players being affected, but so are retired players. 87 of 91 deceased NFL players were found to have Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE, after years of concussions and hits to the head during their NFL careers. CTE is a brain disease with symptoms of memory loss, aggression, confusion,…

    • 1028 Words
    • 5 Pages
    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

    Concussions in football players is a growing problem all the way from pee-wee league to the professionals in the National Football League. “A concussion causes temporary loss of brain function leading to cognitive, physical and emotional symptoms, such as confusion, vomiting, headache, nausea, depression, disturbed sleep, moodiness, and amnesia,” written by Joseph Nordqvist (par. 2).…

    • 873 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Head Injures in the Nfl

    • 989 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Over 60% of NFL players have suffered from at least one concussion in their professional career. The NFL should consider the impact of head injuries that plague many players past and present. Many football players suffer from concussions, and may experience CTE chronic traumatic encephalopathy, chronic headaches and loss of memory. Over 3,800 players or families of living and deceased players have now sued the NFL due to head injuries (King). Many concussions have been undiagnosed; players may not even shows signs of an actual injury, it could be months or many years before they realize the effects that have taken place due to the undiagnosed concussions. Blows to the head and trauma causing hits can only take seconds to occur during a play but the effects could last a lifetime. Head injuries range from the kickers linebackers and even the quarterbacks. Head injuries and concussions are a common factor today on the game field.…

    • 989 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The short and long term effects of concussions can be devastating to the human mind. Not only does the brain suffer long term physical damage but many players often suffer from long term mental problems. A prime example of someone who had been affected by head trauma was former linebacker Junior Seau. Recently “a team of scientists who analyzed the brain tissue of renowned NFL linebacker Junior Seau after his suicide last year have concluded the football player suffered a debilitating brain disease caused by two decades worth of hits to the head” (ABCNews). Junior Seau who had a 20 year NFL career was diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) after his death. The real question is what could’ve the NFL done to prevent such a terrible tragedy or did they not have the capability to control what happened to him? The NFL has said many times that it did not intentionally hide the dangers of concussions from players and is doing everything it can to protect them. With the focus on head injuries in football being put under a microscope the past few seasons, the NFL is taking drastic measures trying to find solutions that will help in the…

    • 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
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The movie concussion was the first time of the correlation between concussions and football. As I read Nationwide Children’s article, “Concussion in sports”, allowed me to increase my knowledge. Throughout the article, the author categorized what is a concussion and how it affects players. During reading, I found that concussions are a serious issue in sports, because it can cause severe brain damage to an athlete. This is concerning because the brains is one of the most important parts of a person’s body and if effected it could change a person life forever. Furthermore, I found it upsetting that the NFL does not make the risk of playing football known. Although, I understand the NFL provides minorities with opportunities to become successful.…

    • 175 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Concussions in Football

    • 860 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Before we get started, it's very important to know what exactly a concussion is. A concussion is the most common type of traumatic brain injury. A concussion involves a transient loss of mental function. It can be caused by acceleration or deceleration forces, or by a direct blow to the head. Whether a player is hit with a helmet to helmet type of hit, a face mask, or just hit's his head to hard on the turf; they can all cause serious concussions. Concussions weren't taken very seriously until the middle of the 20th century. Often times, if a player said he was ok to go back onto the field after a concussion; the team doctors would let him. Recently, however, the NFL began doing studies on concussions due to the career ending injuries to Troy Aikman and Steve Young.…

    • 860 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sport-Related Concussions

    • 1064 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The coach also has a lot of knowledge in this field as well because they have to set up realistic goals, help build confidence, and also need to evaluate the athlete before they should let them back to game style play. Statistics say that it has nothing to do with the physical therapist; it is all a mental thing that athletes go through when they have an injury that will put them out of the season. The coaches are supposed to have some kind of strategy that they have when someone is coming back from an injury so they don’t get hurt again and or they aren’t scared.…

    • 1064 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The NFL and other organizations that have instances of concussions are simply not going to go away. While many will outweigh the rewards financially, for playing pro football with the costs of a shorter life, others will consider if concussions should be an acceptable part of the game. In order to continue allowing sports with higher than average amounts of concussions applied ethics needs to be implemented.…

    • 458 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Concussions in football are not surprising anymore and we don’t think about the effects it will have on us later in our life. Concussions are a brain injury that alters the way our brain functions and if enough damage occurs it can produce long term effects. Concussions are changing the game of football more and more every year. Players are experiencing long term effects from concussions from the NFL and now the NFL is taking some heat from how they handled the injuries at the time. The game is trying to help players, and it’s important to understand what they are and the dangers of them, Effects of them such as CTE, and how rules are being put in place to protect players.…

    • 821 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays