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safety of nfl football essay
nfl player safety and the effects of concussions
researech paper on concussions in football
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American football in the past several years have really developed, not only from the fans perspective but also from the players and the official heads. Safety is the most important topic talked about in all sports but it is a must in football, especially because of the way the game is played with all of the tackles and hits. It is really important not only for the players to be safe but also the officials to keep it safe. Both players and officials play a key role in making the game of football safe and interesting to watch for the fans and a great experience for the players as well. As said in the Denver Post, players are expected to play with the rules…coaches are expected to teach…and game officials to emphasize the rules. The game of football, in the NFL, is safer than it has ever been because of the rules, penalties and the equipment. First, the rules that are enforced are a great way of making the game safe for the players. There are rules like, not being allowed to tackle certain ways. For example, if you tackle someone from the back by pulling them, then that is said to be an illegal tackle. It is also said that it is illegal for someone to pull on others facemask when tackling. There are many others rules that are enforced in the game. Another one is the rule that says, Head to Head is not allowed. What that basically is that you cannot tackle someone by contacting your helmet to the opposing player. This rule makes it greatly safe because it reduces the numbers of injuries that occur to the head and the neck. The head is the key part of the human body. When someone hits another player with the helmet in the head, it reduces the risks of concussion and that can result to serious and severe body failures, including being... ... middle of paper ... ...Works Cited "2013 Player Health & Safety Report." 2013 Player Health & Safety Report. National Football League, n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. (Magazine) "Football Safety of Equipments." Personal interview. 13 Nov. 201. (Interview) Kremer, Andrea. "Health of the Game: Brain Injuries beyond Concussions 0." NFL.com. N.p., 7 Mar. 2013. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. (Online Video) Legwold, Jeff. "In Name of Player Safety, NFL Starts Enforcing Rules on Illegal Hits." The Denver Post. N.p., 21 Oct. 2010. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. (Newspaper Article) Mon, Mary K. "For Equipment Managers, Taking Inventory and Ensuring Safety Are Keys to Success | Youth Football | USA Football | Football's National Governing Body." USA Football. N.p., 15 Oct. 2012. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. (Online Article) "NFL Sunday." NFL Sunday. CBS. Woodland, California, 10 Nov. 2013. Television. Transcript. (Television Program)
The Frontline episode entitled “League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis” focuses on the injuries incurred by players during football and the impact of such injuries. Throughout the episode many acronyms are used, such as TBI and CTE. The effect the sport of football has players can lead to certain injuries also discussed in the episode. Meanings of these acronyms and their consequences are explored in the following paragraphs.
Thiel, Art. “NFL’s Plight on Brain Injuries Not Over.” Al Jazeera America. N.p., n.d. Web. 10
Playing football comes with several risks factors that players’ acknowledge prior to playing the game starting a young age. Regardless, these players still chose to play the game, which they end up loving and cherishing despite all the risks accompanied with it. Football is one of the toughest sports in the world; it takes a certain amount of strength, speed, and aggressiveness to play 48 minutes of hard-nosed football. However, the National Football League (NFL) is in the midst of a controversial issue. Is the NFL getting soft? This has been a debatable issue for several years. While some believe that implementing all these rules in the NFL is progressively turning the game soft, others say that the NFL is not getting soft; it is just trying to make the game safer for its players.
The targeting rule will help to reduce the number of head injuries received by football players, both in college and the NFL, that lead to lifelong health issues. As Geoff Calkins from The Commercial Appeal notes in his article about Brian McCrary, there are many former college football players who suffer from moderate to severe brain damage later in life due to playing college football and having received targeted hits. The long-term effects of these head injuries suffered in the game are just being understood and acknowledged (Johnson). Andy Staples, from Sports Illustrated, notes that the targeting rule is the committees attempt to recognize the problem and help to make football a safer sport. The main purpose of the rule is to “save players’ brains” from permanent damage, with the secondary purpose to help make the sport safer (Couch). Football is a contact sport, but with this ...
Gregory, Sean. “The Problem with Football: How to Make It Safer.” New York Times. 28 Jan.
If you have the brains when you start, you are aware that banging your head into people is not the best thing for your body,” stated Chris Cooley, tight end and a 2 time Pro Bowler with the Washington Redskins (Do No Harm, 2). Research over the years has gathered extensive data on the mental and physical illnesses of retired NFL football players. It has proved that players who accumulate numerous concussions are at a higher risk of health problems after their football career than players who’ve sustained fewer. This data is proven by various studies that have caused worry for many retired NFL football families. The examples of deaths resulting from past concussions are astonishing, and the stats that show high risks for the possible problems can prove why they possibly died. Countless retired players are now frightened by the potential hazard of destructive health problems.
Athletes are one of the most highly paid professions, and with that comes a great responsibility to everyone but themselves, even it means putting their lives, and others around them at risk. A football player’s goal is to entertain the fans that tune in to watch them, however their only job is to win their games, and untimely a Super Bowl Championship, but not for themselves, for the franchise that owns them and their bodies. As long as they can run a play and take a hit foot players are gold to their employers, or if you will their owners. “Toughing it out, turns out, can kill people.” (Diaz Truman, M 2013), and cause irreversible brain damage to football players. Continuing to ignore evidence that supports the growing concern of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and how it relates to the NFL players is troubling because of the long term affects it has on a player’s mental s...
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.
Present players in the National Football League disagree with all the protective rules now but when they are no longer playing football it’ll be a different story. Players also tend to forget that they won 't be playing football forever and that they will need to be healthy later on in life when they can no longer play football. It’s not okay for players to complain about the safety rules now, and then later claim the National Football
Since football’s inception, it has been considered a manly sport. Young boys have been encouraged by their parents to participate in the game. For many boys, it is considered a rite of passage. However, football is a dangerous sport. A study conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy found, “an estimated 5.25 million football-related injuries among children and adolescents between 6 and 17 years of age were treated in U.S. emergency departments between 1990 and 2007. The annual number of football-related injuries increased 27 percent during the 18-year study period, jumping from 274,094 in 1990 to 346,772 in 2007” (Nation 201). These reported injuries include sprains and strains, broken bones, cracked ribs, torn ligaments, and concussions. A concussion usually happens when a player takes a hard hit to the head or is knocked unconscious on the playing field, and if not diagnosed and treated quickly, a concussion can result in death.
The NFL is known for its gruesome de-cleating hits on players, but the rising number of concussions has stripped players from being able to make these types of plays anymore! After the 2011 lawsuit, the NFL realized that new player safety rules had to be enforced into the NFL rule book. Rules such as no crown on crown to the helmet outside the tackle box have taken away the element of “big hits” in a football game. 1Redskin’s safety Brandon Meriwether was fined $42,000 for a helmet to helmet hit on Packer’s running back Eddie Lacey. Thank God for technology, because back in the 40’s they played football with leather a helmet. Also the NFL stated a new rule that each NFL team has to have a neurologist placed on the sideline for every official game. Jet’s player Jeremy Kerley suffered from a mind boggling week one injury. Kerley passed the mandatory concussion evaluation and soon after returns to the team. Suddenly, the following same day Jeremy was diagnosed with a concussion. I agree with the saying taking one the team, but playing with a concussion is like playing with fire. Some big hitters in the NFL are viewed as dirty players because of their bone crushing tackles. A lot of coaches like to blame big hits for the fact of...
The National Football League was formed on August 20, 1920. Players wore pads, not quite as protective as the ones today, helmets and legs pads. Even though their protective gear was not as advanced as the gear today they still made contact with the players of the opposing teams. As the years progressed the league made several changes to the rules due to player safety. They invented better protective gear for the players and they also made stricter rules regarding playing guidelines. The main goal of those rules, like the targeting rule that is so controversial today, is to protect the players. The targeting rule itself states that no player shall target and initiate contact against an opponent with the crown of his helmet, when in question, it is a foul (Targeting). Although helmet to helmet hits come along with the game of football, the targeting rule is an attempt at making the game safer without changing its integrity.
The majority of children who play football will not avoid the inevitable and most likely sustain an injury to their body. However, there are some positive attributes for children to learn when participating in youth football. Some positive attributes children will learn are physical fitness, discipline and structure, and the importance of teamwork. The aforementioned attributes are favorable for children where they will learn to be young men, adapt to life, and adjust to different circumstances off the
Smith, Rodney(2013).. Thomas Jefferson Law Review, Vol.35(2), 127-191 Solving the Concussion Problem and Saving Professional Football
II. Summary: Players’ safety should be focused on more by making rules stricter in the NFL, teaching younger players how to tackle, and increasing the rules because helmets do not always prevent concussions.