First focus of the subject is medical research on how football injuries affect human health negatively. “Dr. Robert Cantu (Neurologist), sent shockwaves through the youth football establishment when he recommended that children under fourteen not play collision sports, until they are modified to eliminate head blows in routine practice and play” (Doctor Recommendation). A Neurologist studies the function of nerves and the nervous system, why people disregard a doctor's suggestion on such a large scale is a question that cannot be answered. According to a School of Medicine study, seventy percent of all United States …show more content…
football players are fourteen or younger. This means this means seven tenths of all U.S. football players are at a greater risk of obtaining injuries. Medical Research from doctors is a reason not to risk your health on football. The next subject of football injuries are cold hard facts.
“With approximately 4.8 million athletes playing youth football in the United States, the long term consequences of brain injury represent a growing public health concern” (Public Health Concern). The average players sustained 107 head impacts during a course of 9.4 practices and 4.7 games. If you add up the number of athletes who play football and the average number of head impacts, the total is approximately 513 million head impacts throughout the 9.4 practices and 4.7 games. There are 321 million people in the United States and 513 million head impacts in the game of football, that definitely is not a statistic that shows a good sport. The statistics don’t lie, football is a dangerous
sport. The last point that will be discussed is about players with personal experiences with football related injuries. Researchers who studied the donated brains of 111 former National Football Players found that all but one had evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (Former Players). Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in people with a history of repetitive brain trauma, including symptomatic concussions. Many concussion that occur during high school football often go untreated and not monitored which is a big concern because repeated trauma to the head especially with concussion like symptoms puts a young athlete health at serious risk. Players all around the country, including players on the 2017 CHS football team have experienced a concussion this year, but not all have seeked medical attention. This issue is an ever growing problem today with pressure to not see a doctor from family or coaches if a player is showing concussion symptoms. Personal experiences with football related injuries are hard to deal with, but is a very important issue that has the potential to last the rest of a person's life. Now, there are some advantages to playing like leadership qualities that can be gained from playing football. Football players have said they have gained leadership skills through the game of football, so not all is negative about football. Even with leadership, football is not worth risking a fatal injury over. Obviously there are individuals who still play football though. To conclude, football is a dangerous sport that can have life devastating consequences. These problems can be easily avoided if a person were to not participate in contact football. Medical research, statistics, and patients who have experienced these injuries show what can happen when football players are injured; therefore, Parents should not allow their children to play football because the negatives heavily outweigh the positives.