Concussion Issues In Football

861 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Safety of nfl football essay

A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury that is caused by a blow to the head or body, a fall, or another injury that jars or shakes the brain inside the skull. Injuries are common in most sports, but football and boxing have the deadliest injuries of them all, severe head trauma. In 2011, there were 120 cases of sport-related deaths of young athletes and over 65% of those cases were due to concussions, according to Southwest Athletic Trainers’ Association. Concussions lead to many different problems: confusion, anxiety, suicide, heightened risk of violence, the list goes on and on. Football isn’t the only sport that suffers from traumatic brain injuries, boxing is also one of the highest casualty rates in all of the sports. Would football still be football if there wasn’t such a thing as a concussion? Everyone in America has different views on how this issue should be addressed or situated. “Who Killed Benny Paret?” (Patterns, 13th ed. 337), “What Price Football?” (Patterns, 13th ed. 605), and “Would Football without …show more content…

The story gives examples and studies of NFL (National Football League) players, and how their lives react to brain injuries and concussions. “Despite all the money invested in the sport… Publicity about the long-term symptoms suffered by brain-injured football players has lowered participation in the sport…” (Burleigh 612) Football, no matter what you do to it, will forever be dangerous and the hotspot of concussions and problems of the brain. The added padding or penalties cannot stop a such a thing as a concussion, the only way to get rid of them is to get rid of the sport all together. There has been millions of dollars put in for researching to limit severe head trauma, which has seemed to lower the casualty rate of NFL players, but still there is cases of concussion-related

Show More
Related

  • Should Kids Play Football Analysis

    445 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the article “Should Kids Play Football” from the Scholastic Scope on February 2015, writer Jennifer Shotz discusses both issues of the benefits and dangers of playing American football. For example, Jennifer Shots mentioned that tens of thousands of young football players get concussions every year. She states that most players return to the game after they are healed but some never return because their concussion was too severe to their health. On the other hand, the writer also discusses how football isn't the only sport that encounters concussions. The rules of football are always changing and each new rule provides a safer way to play the game. For example, the writer notes that Pop Warner has reduced the amount of practice time dedicated

    Read More

  • NFL Held Responsible for Brain Injuries

    1121 Words  | 3 Pages

    The average NFL player takes up to 1,000 blows to the head throughout their football career. Some of those blows can have the force of a sledgehammer (“RealNatural”). Based on a research study by Dr. Jesse David, there were 265 concussions reported in the 2012 season, during the 2011 season there were 266 concussions, and 270 concussions in 2010 season (Kacsmar). It has been known that repeated blows to the head can cause long-term brain damage since at least the 1950’s, long before most of the NFL players had begun their careers (“RealNatural”). Past infractions of the NFL have already resulted in over 4,500 forme...

    Read More

  • American Football: Technology and Regulation of Helmet Safety

    1969 Words  | 4 Pages

    Following behind motor vehicle crashes, traumatic brain injury in sports is the second leading cause of traumatic brain injuries for people fifth-teen to twenty-four years of age. Immense concerns follows given that American football accounts for the highest incidence of concussions (Rowson and Duma 2130). In addition, th...

    Read More

  • What Can be Done to Help Prevent Concussions

    2270 Words  | 5 Pages

    Concussions and the effect they have on people ranging from the young to the old has become a very popular discussion in recent years. Generally people watch sports for entertainment and then there are those who engage in high impact sports from a very young age on. The people at home know how fun playing in a sport is, however they may not know the brutal consequences for some participating in that sport. Injuries to the brain are a main concern among those in the world of high impact sports. Football, soccer, wrestling, lacrosse, and rugby are among sports that athletes receive injuries in. The injuries vary from sprains, to fractures, to torn MCL or ACL, and bruised organs. Concussions are a severe type of injury endured by athletes in the sports world and this life changing injury is one that people are becoming more aware of.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Football Concussions

    1821 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Football’s Endgame: What would happen if America’s Pastime just...died” is the title that had heads turning when it made its way onto Sports Illustrated. Football is the United State’s favorite sport so an article like this one was sure to shock fans. The article was written to be set ten years from now when the game of football met its death. Giving the ongoing issues surrounding the game in 2016, the author Austin Murphy dated the article September 7,2036. In this article Murphy talks about the factors that led to the end of one of the U.S’s beloved sports. Factors like the AIG not protecting athletes against head injuries in the NFL, Pop Warner settling a death with the family of a former football player who committed suicide at the age of 25 from CTE caused by hits to the head, and the 10% rise in football concussions. A woman whose son had passed away from a motorcycle accident noticed changes in her boy. Playing football for almost a decade he was bound to get hurt, but it was after his death that doctors found he had CTE. CTE is a topic of discussion in this article. Sports Illustrated works to inform everyone about CTE and its effects on the mind. This disease targets the way a person thinks and changes their moods, “He had all these [football-related] problems with his knees and back, but his brain was

    Read More

  • Head Trauma In Athletes

    1049 Words  | 3 Pages

    A. Background In recent years, there has been an increase in research investigating the long-term effects of repeated head trauma on the brain, especially in athletes. Following his discovery of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), Dr. Bennet Omalu inspired a movement of research aimed at establishing better safety standards and protocols in football. It was not until 2002 that the initial connection between repetitive head trauma, such as concussions, and brain injury was suspected (Ott, 2015). As common as concussions were during the late 1970s and 1980s, they were often swept under the rug, as they were seen as insignificant injuries.

    Read More

  • The Concussion Problem in Professional and Amateur Football

    2124 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • High School Friday Night Lights

    857 Words  | 2 Pages

    In contrast to the positives, high school athletics can be seen in a negative light. “Concussions [from athletics] cause structural brain damage” (Solotaroff 7). Even though nobody is said to get a concussion in Friday Night Lights, they are very frequent in football and in other sports today. They occur all the time in football especially. In addition to that piece of nega...

    Read More

  • Concussions in the NFL

    1768 Words  | 4 Pages

    Even though the devastation of concussions is just rising to the surface, they have always been around. In 1994, the NFL started a committee called the MTBI (Mild Traumatic Brain Injury). Dr. Elliot Pellman was appointed as chair, and he was quoted saying, “We think the issue of knees, of drugs and steroids and drinking is a far greater problem, according to the number of incidents” (Ezell). This quote shows how concussions did not hold much importance, even though it should have been the committee's main focus. This is ironic, because in today’s sport world concussions are a highly talked about topic. They hold such significance that some rules are even being changed to lower the risk for players.

    Read More

  • Concussions In Sports

    1985 Words  | 4 Pages

    The world of sports is filled with great memories, grand moments and at times complete mayhem. There are moments like hitting a Home Run in game 7 of the World Series or memories of scoring an overtime goal during the Stanley Cup finals. However, there are also incredibly low moments when mayhem occurs such as an action or incident that results in a concussion. An injury such as a concussion can ruin your sports career or potentially your ability to function normally in the future. Concussions are caused by blunt force trauma to the head, a fall or an injury that shakes the brain inside the skull. Recovering from a concussion can take weeks, months or even years to heal. For some, it can impair your mental or mobility functions for life.

    Read More

  • Should Children Play Tackle Football?

    1412 Words  | 3 Pages

    Football is America’s favorite sport. It is a fast-paced, hard-hitting game. Every week thousands of men and boys all across the country take part in football and every week these men and boys receive violent hits during the game. Frequently, as a result of these violent hits, the player receives a concussion. However, the long-term effects of concussions on players are not fully understood. New research shows that even a slight concussion in a football game can have lasting effects on a player. As a result of this research, children under the age of fourteen should not play tackle football.

    Read More

  • The Effects of Concussions on Athletes

    1581 Words  | 4 Pages

    Recreational athletes, competitive athletes, high school athletes, college athletes, and professional athletes all have one thing in common: the risk of a concussion. It's impossible to go a season without one athlete from a team receiving a concussion. The more that these concussions are studied, the more we learn about them, such as their detrimental effects on athletes. Because of the risk of health issues and death that come with concussions, doctors, coaches, athletic trainers, and lawmakers are stepping in to protect athletes of all levels from receiving concussions. Concussions occur time after time throughout different sporting events and many are familiar with the word concussion, but what really is a concussion?

    Read More

  • Concussions In Football

    1397 Words  | 3 Pages

    Football is one of the most popular sports in the world. It is played in a lot of different ways, fashions, and other countries. It can be a very brutal sport with players hitting at the intent to hurt one another. With these intents come great consequences. In recent years the head injuries involved with this brutal game play have been getting uncomfortably high. Many rules have had to be enforced for player safety, because of the increase of head injuries resulting in tragic effects on players both old and new. One of the injuries that have had the most devastating effects is the concussion.

    Read More

  • Football Vs Cte Research Paper

    1516 Words  | 4 Pages

    Jeff Miller, the vice president of health and safety of the NFL, accepted that football shares a connection with injuries like CTE. Until this day, to prevent responsibility in court, the NFL has never admitted to this connection (Andrews). How can the NFL help prevent injuries if it has only acknowledged the link between football and CTE now? Due to cowardliness of the NFL, youth will follow the belief that concussions have no effect on their playing ability. Unfortunately, even though the NFL has started to consider the health of the players, it is too late as “eighty-seven of 91 former NFL players who donated their brains to science after death tested positive for… CTE… a degenerative disease that's linked with repeated head trauma and concussions”(Kounang). Many players currently suffer and will continue to suffer due to the NFL’s carelessness. Minors shouldn’t have to play under a negligent organization that treats its players safety without any concern. It may seem concussions have little to no effect on youth, yet constant blows to the brain build on each other leading to amnesia, depression and senility (Ask). While youth may not show signs of brain trauma at first, the build up of injuries will impact them negatively in the long term. For football to maintain its reputation as a dream sport, the issue of concussions needs greater recognition. Minors should compete with increased prudence and not risk their health with potentially harmful

    Read More

  • Football Injuries

    2497 Words  | 5 Pages

    n a couple games my freshmen year of high school football, I was a running back, and there were a few times where you would be hit and you wouldn’t remember the play. I thought I had a headache or something that every other football player got throughout a game, but I taught myself to suck it up to keep playing. I loved the game. Why not keep playing? I would stagger to the huddle and call a play that the team had never heard before, but I learned to fight through it and control it. That “it” could’ve been a concussion but I will never know. Eventually I would remember everything. Now concussions are something more than an injury. They are the most dangerous injury in all sports. Concussions will effect you the rest of your life, and your brain will never be the same. Concussions are bleeding on the brain, and that bleeding on the brain may cause future problems later in athlete’s lives. Many football players don’t even think about the consequences of brain injuries before playing NFL games. Eventually, the players find out about the consequences. Therefore, many football players love the game but hate the results because of short term memory loss, long term brain problems, reoccurring concussions, and life long brain injuries.

    Read More

More about Concussion Issues In Football

Open Document