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Essay about football safety
How serious of a problem are concussions in sports
Effects of sports on child development
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Recommended: Essay about football safety
Argument Outline
Introduction
Hook: Football players that started playing football at a young age had a higher chance of suffering depression.
Explanation of controversy: With all the injuries that an adult can suffer in football. A child that is developing their body has a higher chance to suffer an injury. That is why the parents are divided when it comes to deciding if their children should play football at a young age.
On March 2016, the NFL acknowledged that concussions in football are connected with brain problems.
With all the risks that football has parents should not allow children to play this violent sport.
First Point of Argument (least controversial)
First of all, football has aggressive plays that cause brain damage to a child.
According to Dr. Omalu, “repetitive blows to the head in
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Second Point of Argument
In addition, the concussions that are caused by football can increase the risk of suffering depression.
According to Dr. Omalu, if a child plays football during many seasons, the child can “manifesting symptoms of C.T.E. like major depression, memory loss, suicidal thought and actions…”
According to a study from Boston University, football players that started playing at a young age had “clinically elevated depression scores.”
Depression is not a problem that people should have because of a sport, that is why children should not play football.
Third Argument
The worst part of all is that the damage that is caused by football is sometimes irreparable.
As stated by Dr. Omalu, “The risk of permanent impairment is heightened by the fact that the brain, unlike most other organs, does not have the capacity to cure itself following all types of injuries.”
According to Dr. Omalu, “if a child continues to play over many seasons… the injuries accumulate to cause irreversible brain damage, which we know now by the name Chronic Traumatic
He Appeals to Logos when he writes, “Over the past two decades it has become clear that repetitive blows to the head in high-impact contact sports like football, ice hockey, mixed martial arts and boxing place athletes at risk of permanent brain damage….Why, then, do we continue to intentionally expose our children to this risk?” He continues by writing, “If a child who plays football is subjected to advanced radiological and neurocognitive studies, there can be evidence of brain damage at the cellular level of brain functioning…. If that child continues to play over many seasons, these cellular injuries accumulate to cause irreversible brain damage, which we know now by the name Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy,” a disease founded by Dr.Omalu in 2002. C.T.E can cause “major depression, memory loss, suicidal thoughts and actions, loss of intelligence as well as dementia later in life.” C.T.E has also been linked to “drug and alcohol abuse as children enter their 20s, 30s, and 40s.” Dr.Omalu Appeals to Ethos when he writes, “As physicians, it is our role to educate” and “protect the most vulnerable among
This damage is called chronic traumatic encephalopathy and it occurs when individuals suffer from many concussions or any other form of head injury. This damage has a lasting affect and can cause people to die at an earlier age then which they should. The life expectancy goes down for people with chronic
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
Football players can suffer from TBIs, which could ultimately lead to the development of CTE.... ... middle of paper ... ... It was stated in the Frontline episode, “As long as the NFL dismissed claims [of TBI and CTE] parents continued to [allow] their children to play football without knowing the repercussions.”
As explained early on in this article, football can cause several physical and mental injuries either instantly or in the near future. This is due to the constantly tackling, hitting, and screaming from all the players and coaches. Because of these intense actions, football can increase the chance of dementia-like symptoms in players. This was examined by Ann Mckee, a neuropathologist, who ran several tests in the Veterans Hospital
“Concussion rates for children under the age of 19 who play football have doubled in the last decade, even though the overall sports participation has declined” (Youth Football Concussion Statistics). Football is extremely popular in American culture. Children all across the world love watching and playing the sport. However, many studies have shown numerous possible long term effects of starting the beloved sport when young. Undeveloped brains have a harder time recovering from bumps and blows that occur during playing time. After examining the long term effects of children playing football, it is clear that the tradition of tackle football in youth should be held off until the brain is more fully developed,
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).
To understand the issue of concussions in the NFL we must first understand exactly what a concussion is. A concussion is a minor traumatic brain injury that jars or shakes the brain inside the skull. Severe concussions can cause loss of consciousness and/or forgetfulness. However, you do not need to lose consciousness to have a concussion. Minor concussions usually cause headache, nausea, dizziness, and tiredness. An NFL study showed that most concussions occur when one player delivered a hit to the side of the head of another, and when the player was either standing still or moving slowly. These hits that cause concussions pack an average force of 980-pounds. Concussions affect professional athletes as well as amateur or youth football players. Studies have shown that high school football players are nearly twice as likely to get concussions as college football players and high school athletes in other sports. Also, they show that 47% of high school football players say they suffer a concussion each season. As a result about 250,000 people under the age of 19 went to the emergency room with concussions in 2009, compared with 150,000 in 2001.
“Maybe I´m stupid or whatever, but to me if I got a concussion, if I could see straight and carry a football, then I´m not telling anybody”, Ricky Williams, NFL Football player. The argument about whether kids should play football or not is an important topic to argue. People need to understand that the concussions and other injuries are more serious with young kids. The problem is that many people think that it could be stopped by not allowing kids to play at all. Although parents can reduce risk of injury by not allowing their kids to play football, parents should let their children play football because it lets kids follow their dreams, it helps kids become more mature and independant, and if kids use proper technique they can reduce injuries.
While doing research on how concussions affected the brain, they came upon SIS. SIS raised concern in the sports community, they found that they need to be more cautious with the care and d management of athletes the suffered head injuries. '" occurs when an athlete who has sustained an initial head injury, most often a concussions, then sustains a second head injury before symptoms associated with the first have fully healed (Cantu and Voy 1995).'" Michael Bay was a athlete that got a concussions, shortly after he was hit again while being in practice. Mr. Bay die in a deep coma, after the medical examiner perform the autopsy it was found that Michael cause of death was a massive cerebral edema ( a cerebral edema is "the accumulation of fluid in and resultant swelling of the brain that may be caused by trauma, a tumor, lack of oxygen at high altitudes, or exposure to toxic substances." MedlinePlus). The next one is the intracranial injury, there are four major types of intracranial injuries: epidural hematoma, subdural hematoma, intracranial hematoma, and cerebral contusion. The epidural hematoma is a bleeding that develops between the dura and the cranial bones. Subdural hematoma is also a bleed, but it develops below the dura mater. The intracranial hematoma is a bleed that happens within the brain tissue. And the last one the cerebral contusion is
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.
Every sport has its tricks and ways of doing things the right way. You can assure anyone that the sport their child is playing is safe, because there is always a stronger, bigger, faster player than them. Personally, I believe football is a demanding sport that requires a lot of strength, and stamina. If you read the article “Hard Knocks” by Alan Schwarz, it gives a brief story about a young football player. “The autopsy showed that his brain was in the early stage of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, more commonly known as C.T.E.” Many football players die from this condition.
From long practice hours, hot summer workouts, and many Friday nights, my personal observation of this dangerous sport is exceptionally prevalent. My initial experience of the damage that football brings came my eighth grade year when I witnessed a senior football player on my team try and eat a phone on the ride home after receiving a concussion in the third quarter of the game. Which is a prime example to defend the fact that football related injuries to the head result in people not “being all there.” Not only have I seen someone try and eat a phone, but I have also witnessed head injuries resulting in my own friend randomly yelling at me after a game for no reason, and also a friend trying to jump down a full flight of stairs thinking he was starring in a movie. The fast paced, high intensity contact that comes with playing football is nothing to think flippantly of when it plays a role on brain trauma, and the results of brain trauma.
are just some of the many injuries that can be inflicted on other players. In (source 2) it states that youth football sustain more injuries playing and are more prone to brain disease while in the process of a developing brain. The brain is protected by one layer of thick skull. Any shock or severe movement of the brain can lead to concussions. Concussions happen when the brain is shaken and hits the skull.
The best way to prevent concussions is to not allow football to be played altogether in high school. Another danger that poses to football players at all levels is chronic traumatic encephalopathy, also known as C.T.E. Alan Schwarz (n.d.) describes C.T.E as a “head-trama-induced disease linked to depression, impulse control problems, memory loss, and dementia” (p. 24). Owen Thomas, a football player for most of his life, was found after his suicide to have C.T.E., even though he was never diagnosed with a concussion. This disease is most likely to be the cause of his suicide. C.T.E. can be present in a football player and still be undetectable by doctors.