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The National Football League (NFL) has come under fire for the long-lasting medical consequences of players’ game-related head injuries. The question that arises is; is the NFL to blame for the deaths of former players such as Junior Seau, Jovan Belcher, Ray Easterling, and/or O.J. Murdock? The medical and scientific factors in addition to legal liabilities in regards to brain injuries will be outlined in this paper. Brain injuries can play a major role in football. Reoccurring concussions also occur due to these brain injuries, and cause these athletes permanent damage. Trainers and doctors in the medical field diagnose these brain injuries by loss of consciousness, slurred speech, loss of balance, and loss of memory. In football, they could improve the safety of the helmets; improve the rules, or safety regulations in all sports to help prevent concussions. Football helmets are the most important pieces of equipment and have been revolutionized since football started. According to Forthofer (21012), when football was a new sport in the 1860s to 1896, helmets were not used. The first helmets that were used were made of mole skin or leather and were very uncomfortable and hot (Forthofer, 2012). In situations where the player gets injured due to faulty equipment gear, the NFL league should be held fully responsible. Even though the advantages of the helmet designs are extensive, the football players are put in dangerous and sometimes unexpected situations on the field. Players are running and hitting each other at full speed while not taking into consideration what they are doing, and considering the consequences. Sometimes with head related injuries, these players may not feel any symptoms until later on in the day, or even day... ... middle of paper ... ... In the legal aspect of things, the NFL can be held responsible for these injuries. It is not up to the players themselves to be provided the equipment that they wear, it’s the NFL’s. If this equipment is faulty, or is not protecting the players as they should, then they need to accept responsibility for this. Many have said it’s the players fault because they choose to do this line of work. They may have chosen the job, but they did not choose to get hurt in such a significant manner. As previously stated, this is another class act of getting hurt on the job. On May 2, 2012, former NFL player Junior Seau took his own life. This was due to his head trauma, and him not being able to handle his life anymore due to the mental state the head injuries had put him in. The big issue with this is the question as to if the NFL is responsible for his (and others) suicide.
For the safety of the players in the present and future, a stricter concussion protocol should be required at all levels of football. Though improvements have been made, the game of football is constantly changing and the protocol needs to keep up with the changes. Today’s athletes are bigger, stronger, and faster than ever before: "Size and physical conditioning techniques in sports at all levels have evolved to create an intense athlete. They 're able to create more force, power and speed than ever before and that leads to harder hits and a greater number of hits" (Neporent). These advances in training have led to a more dangerous sport. The protocol has improved in recent years along with an emphasis on player safety, but the increasing numbers of players with long-term effects of concussions show there is still work to be done.
Football is a sport your mother warns you not to play, but your father is on the other side of the argument, encouraging you to do it because it is a “man’s game”. Even though you don’t want ruin your manhood, your mother is always right. Football is in the top three of most injuries caused in sports (HEALTH GRADES, INC) and a majority of it comes from concussions. A concussion is a temporary unconsciousness caused by a blow to the head. Football helmets are used to prevent that from happening and is still a battle today on creating the perfect helmet to protect these young athletes. The football helmet has undergone significant transformation during the evolution of the game. To find out how this important head gear came to be, you have to
Football is one sport that has scientists working around the clock on finding the perfect solution to help decrease concussions. Scientist, Vincent Farrara, created the Xenith X1 Helmet in 2004. Ferrara used to be a quarterback for Harv...
Concussions have become arguably the #1 most prevalent issue in football today. The number of concussions throughout football has been rising for the past 20-30 years and there seems no way of stopping them. However, the NFL and many private researchers are set on finding a way to conquer this issue. They want to stop these concussions from happening and prevent the diseases resulting from them that have ruined so many football families’ lives. In order to solve this problem, I think that these researchers need to combine all of their knowledge to solve an issue that so many want solved. As soon as we conquer this “illness” we can return to enjoying the game that we love.
Many memories are made in football, but sadly some of the greatest players cannot recall them. The National Football League has been associated with concussions and brain traumas throughout the years, but lately it has been exposed by media and NFL veterans. The league recently “reached a $765 million preliminary settlement with thousands of former players who were suing the league over its treatment of concussions…” (Waldron). Many former players are experiencing the effects of taking hard hits over and over again; they were not properly treated, which makes the injury worse and long term. The concussion issue in the NFL is more prevalent today, because it affects not only the players, but the league as a whole.
In American football, helmets are required to decrease traumatic brain injuries and have been successful in doing so. A large part in the success of helmet design is improvements in technology. The sizes of athletes have gone up to make football more dangerous. To protect against brain injury, helmets designs have changed to become heavier and wider, filled within the space are energy absorbing materials, air space and padding to protect the skull upon impact. Originally, helmets were designed to prevent only traumatic brain injuries, but technology is advancing to fill the gap of concussions. Until recently, the seriousness of concussions were not considered part of the equation that needed to be addressed, so manufactures did not utilized in constructing helmets to address this issue (Post et al. 653). Upon predicting risk of concussions in tests, by themselves linear and rotational acceleration are not suitable measurements for modern helmets. These testing measurements do not address the rotational forces and minor hits to the brain which are associated with concussions (Post et al. 654). Given the seriousness of concussions in contact sports, more attention is given to prevent and reduce concussions through testing methods and advancing technology, stronger regulation and changes to the sport. As stated in the article involving the National Football League (NFL), “The risk involved in playing sports are also very real. The NFL is struggling with serious mental and physical health problems because they sustained repeated mild traumatic brain injuries, is what concussions are called. (“Concussions and Marketing of Sports Equipment” 6).
While the use of helmets does aid in protecting players from brain trauma, they also increase the risky behavior of players; this is called risk compensation. Risk compensation is the adjustment of individual behavior, responding to the perceived changes in risk (TheFreeDictionary.com). Most people that wear helmets have a pre-conceived idea that, because they have a helmet on, they can possess more daring behaviors and be fine. The helmet is basically thought of as a tool to hit harder, or improve performance in today’s culture. Adventure writer and pilot, Lane Wallace (2011) accurately understands the dangers of helmets being used incorrectly, and how they are used as weapons instead of safety. Wallace also theorizes like the NFL, a change in football culture and of viewpoints towards helmets would vastly reduce trauma to the
Helmets are an area of concern. To aid in the development of new technology, the NFL has made technology available for people to test new helmet concepts virtually. This is available at almost no cost. Additionally, all players wear the same helmets currently,
As most of us know football is a contact sport, and when you have contact you need the most efficient and up to date safety equipment. To protect the player the pads are becoming lighter and have more range of motion, without sacrificing protection. Football is responsible for more than 250,000 brain injuries in the United States each year, to combat this Riddell, Shutt, and other companies are changing the design and technology in their helmets. Some helmets have been equipment with sensors to monitor the player’s head trauma during games and practice. Even major sports clothing companies, such as, Nike, Under Armour, and Rebok have develo...
Tackle football is one of the most controversial sports in the modern day. As more and more pro football players are diagnosed with brain diseases, the argument against tackle football is growing. Football has always been a contact sport. After all, that’s what makes it so much fun to watch. However, with new technology, the cause of diseases such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is becoming more clear. “It’s not concussions that cause CTE. It’s repeated hits.”
Some people say scientist are developing helmets with more cushioning that will lessen the likely hood of getting concussions and brain damage, but studies have shown, “no amount of protection can stop the sudden acceleration and deceleration of the head” (The Week). This sudden acceleration and deceleration can be due to a copious of things like blocking, tackling, and being hit. This can cause the brain to move around like the yolk inside of a strongly shaken eggshell. By the sudden stopping and starting of the brain, it causes the brain to damage neurons, which never can fully recover. This means that you are permanently damaging your brain in football even if you have the best of the best
Much like the blood offering given within the arena of gladiators as they fought to the death, violence is one of the factors that make the sport of professional football so entertaining. Fans of the game love to see big hits but the truth of the matter is that those big hits could be slowly killing players. “In my experience, every American male who put on a helmet for his high school when he was 16 years old…thinks he understands the level of hitting in professional football. He doesn’t. Not even close. But he can comfortably and safely act like it from his couch on Sunday afternoons, and argue the NFL players are richly compensated for the risks in catching passes over the middle.” (Layden). Most professional players aren’t being exposed to the real possibility of long term brain damage from the sport. This is entirely the fault of the NFL and those responsible should be required to assume full legal and moral responsibility. If this serious issue had been addressed when it should have and with the proper means, players like Junior Seau, Ray Easterling, O.J. Murdock, and Jovan Belcher might still be
Football has been around for decades, and in that time changes have been made to make the game safer, but still captivating. The recent controversies about concussions have brought up some debates about the safety, and future of football.
However, football playersare not in constant motion throughout a game like soccer players are.” People form their ownopinions about the subject based on their values.Why do football players acquire more injuries than athletes in any other sport? Thehelmets. They are meant to protect you, but instead when you get tackled or hit, your headrattles around inside that helmet. When you hit the ground really hard, the helmet slams onthe ground, also causing your brain and head to also slam. Causing concussions day after day.The safety features don’t them out too much. I hope they can find a safer way to make it safeone day because the safety features are outdated and inefficient. “Football players are morelikely to suffer injuries to the cervical spine, which can be catastrophic or life-threatening,” saysAllen again later in comparing both soccer and football and their injuries.According to another Article called NFL Vs. Soccer: Which Version of Football ReignsSupreme? By Justin Block and Gavin Evans, “The rest of the world sees “beauty” in the game,while many Americans have nodded off for a nap. When you wake up to catch the ending,
Many people have suffered life long injuries due to the way old padding was made and the player were poorly equipped. Since when the game has started scientist and equipment specialist have worked hard and increased the safety of the game today to make to a lot better for the players. Years ago it was easier for players to get conscious and etc.. As years have went on helmets have had extra padding,shoulders have been more reliable and the way of hitting has been changed to prevent life threatening injuries. When people began to suffer from real bad injuries the game began to improve so much about protection people started getting penalized for certain tackling