Blog #2 In the News
Hi everyone, so for this week's blog post I will be talking about this article produced by the New York Times about how playing tackle football before the age of 12 can result in brain problems later.
In the article Playing Tackle Football Before 12 Is Tied To Brain Damage Later is written by Ken Belson on September 19, 2017. In this article, he talks about this study that was done by Boston University and Wake Forest School of Medicine, that researcher the brains of those who played tackle football before 12. Wake Forest concluded that "Between the ages of 8 and 13 who played just one season of tackle football had diminished brain function." This is very concerning to this age group because at this age their brains are still not developed and would benefit greatly by not having contact sports at this age. Recent studies have now begun to take place to research more about the effects of brain trauma and if contact sport are worth having around anymore. As stated in the article "Participation in tackle football by boys ages 6 to 12 has fallen by nearly 20 percent since 2009." This is happening because of the media that we have today movies like Concussion shed light on what is happening with football today and how the NFL is treating and not treating concussion. People are becoming more aware of how brain trauma can affect you and others. The article also states that many schools in the past few years have had to shut down their tackle football programs because of safety concerns and a shortage of players. Some solutions that the article gave to solve this problem were to implement flag football until 7th grade. This would allow their brains to develop enough to where they can handle a head collision and not have permanent brain damage right away. Another solution that was stated was to change the way that football tackles. Ken stated in the article "USA Football, the governing body for the sport, is introducing a 7-on-7 version of football that includes measures, like players starting in a two-point stance, designed to reduce the risk of head hits." Measures like these will not only cause less people to get concussions because of football, but will cause people to be more aware of the seriousness of this problem and things are being done to limit the amount of head collisions in football. Although football is an American tradition and will probably never go away studies and articles like these at least try and get you to think about the consequences of contact sports.
Source:
Belson, Ken. “Playing Tackle Football Before 12 Is Tied to Brain Problems Later .” The New York Times, 19 Sept. 2017, https://nyti.ms/2ybPtrb.
In the article Playing Tackle Football Before 12 Is Tied To Brain Damage Later is written by Ken Belson on September 19, 2017. In this article, he talks about this study that was done by Boston University and Wake Forest School of Medicine, that researcher the brains of those who played tackle football before 12. Wake Forest concluded that "Between the ages of 8 and 13 who played just one season of tackle football had diminished brain function." This is very concerning to this age group because at this age their brains are still not developed and would benefit greatly by not having contact sports at this age. Recent studies have now begun to take place to research more about the effects of brain trauma and if contact sport are worth having around anymore. As stated in the article "Participation in tackle football by boys ages 6 to 12 has fallen by nearly 20 percent since 2009." This is happening because of the media that we have today movies like Concussion shed light on what is happening with football today and how the NFL is treating and not treating concussion. People are becoming more aware of how brain trauma can affect you and others. The article also states that many schools in the past few years have had to shut down their tackle football programs because of safety concerns and a shortage of players. Some solutions that the article gave to solve this problem were to implement flag football until 7th grade. This would allow their brains to develop enough to where they can handle a head collision and not have permanent brain damage right away. Another solution that was stated was to change the way that football tackles. Ken stated in the article "USA Football, the governing body for the sport, is introducing a 7-on-7 version of football that includes measures, like players starting in a two-point stance, designed to reduce the risk of head hits." Measures like these will not only cause less people to get concussions because of football, but will cause people to be more aware of the seriousness of this problem and things are being done to limit the amount of head collisions in football. Although football is an American tradition and will probably never go away studies and articles like these at least try and get you to think about the consequences of contact sports.
Source:
Belson, Ken. “Playing Tackle Football Before 12 Is Tied to Brain Problems Later .” The New York Times, 19 Sept. 2017, https://nyti.ms/2ybPtrb.
After having an experience with a concussion, I know how serious they are. Especially now, since everyone in the NFL has CTE stories now. Players are starting to retire sooner to avoid CTE.
ReplyDeleteI certainly think football is a dangerous sport for children/teens, pretty much entirely due to the possibility of head injury. I have read articles discussing the possible decrease in children playing the sport, which could result in lower viewership for the NFL, as well as less possible players in the future. The case of head trauma needs to be taken seriously, especially at the age when the brain is still developing.
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