I think that the measures the NFL has taken to try and make the sport of football safer is a great advancement in the world of sports. To an athlete, an injury hurts their body as well as their pride. Many players have had a great career and retired with outstanding achievements and trophies to show their success. Some of those same players experienced the effects of their rough NFL career by having problems with their brain and developing brain diseases after their many, literal, head-on collisions. Many players don’t receive severe injuries from one hit; instead, they may experience a compounding of small, minute injuries over a period of time.
There are many kinds of injuries in the NFL that are gradually becoming illegal and being banned. Some of the illegal moves are spearing, helmet to helmet, chop blocking, etc. These are some of the most common offenses that are committed in the NFL recently. The fines for these illegal hits are very large and should not be taken lightly. Many players have been fined a lot of money and have been suspended for a number of games for one hit that could severely injure someone. A very good example of someone taking cheap, illegal shots at the opposing team’s players would be Ndamukong Suh. Suh currently plays for the Detroit Lions and this season alone, he has been fined more than any other player for illegal hits.
One of the most serious types of injuries that come from collisions in the NFL are concussions. New studies of retired NFL players have shown that a concussion doesn’t always come from one large hit. Scientists have said that you can get a concussion from multiple hits that jar the head over a matter of time. Concussions aren’t the only head injuries that come from a helmet collision, there are many brain diseases that develop over time. One of the most prominent brain diseases developed by previous NFL players was CTE or chronic traumatic encephalopathy. This neurodegenerative brain disease comes from multiple blows to the head. Other brain diseases that can occur later on are diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease.
CTE has caused a lot of problems for NFL players and their friends and families. There have been multiple cases of previous NFL players committing suicide because their brain was so messed up from all of the trauma they received every game.
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...
Football is a dangerous sport, in fact, retired NFL players are 19 time more likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease of any other similar memory loss diseases, found by a recent study by the university of Michigan. CTE a disease that Acura as a result of constant head injuries and contact, and has been growing rapidly in the NFL. The NFL has been denied giving the many claims that CTE has a direct connection with professional football, until recently. The NFL has been taken to court multiple times over the topic of CTE. Although the National Football League is preparing to settle a class-action lawsuit with players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the League should do more for players because not only has it profited from
Stats for the football leagues are a big deal for fans. Fans are obsessed with numbers its a big deal for the fans. In 2001 there were 150,000 athletes that were injured at the age of nineteen and younger. In 2009 there were 250,000 injured athletes at the age of nineteen and younger. There is a 6.3 per 1,000 incidence a college player will suffer a concussion while a high school athlete has a 11.2 per 1,000. Risk of concussions in football is high and equipment should continue to improve, but rules should stay the same in order for the game to remain
A big part of NFL’s hold on players is their contract and money. Thousands of young men aspire to be on a professional team, just for the fame, money and title. They are not made aware of the lasting conditions that come with playing football and their everlasting effects. If anything NFL has gone out of their way to discredit the newer research that links playing football with CTE. CTE stands for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is a disease that has the same effects as dementia and Alzheimer’s, except for CTE leaves tau protein deposition in distinctive areas of the brain, which is what separates C...
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 NFL (National Football League) up until recent years has intentionally tried to cover up the long term effects of concussions on the brain. Is been hidden from the athletes at all levels youth through professional. Many player’s lives were changed and some lost as a result. Dr. Bennet Omalu was the first to shed light on the long term effects of multiple concussions on football players. Players like”NFL” Hall of Famer Mike Webster who suffered from dementia and passed away at the age of fifty. He became the first player to be diagnosed with CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) by Dr. Omalu. As well as players at the youth level like Zackery Lystedt who suffered a concussion and was sent back into play he now suffers from permanent brain
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.
Not many sports are as physically demanding on the human body as football. The physical toll that football players pay is almost impossible to comprehend unless one has actually played the sport for a significant amount of time. However, until recently any connection between the hits taken by football players and their health down the road was largely ignored. A common, yet difficult injury to detect in football is a concussion, the most common traumatic brain injury (Pearce). A concussion is defined as “a brain injury that is caused by a sudden blow to the head or the body. The blow shakes the brain inside the skull, which temporarily prevents the brain from working normally” (Heiner pa.5). Reports and studies have surfaced shedding light on just how much damage is inflicted upon the brain due to crippling hits. These studies suggest that NFL athletes who received concussions suffered lasting damage to the brain, which opens the gate to a multitude of other health issues such as dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and clinical depression (Pearce). This is an aspect of the game that not many are aware of and it is a serous issue that needs to be dealt with sooner rather than later. There have been too many heartbreaking stories such as that of Justin Strzelcyk who heard voices and died in a crash while fleeing police or that of Andre Waters who shot himself in the head after struggles with depression (Zarda pa.1). Many current and former players are suffering in silence; this shouldn’t be the case. The National Football League needs to extend a hand to former players debilitated by head injuries. The problem of concussions and other head injuries in the NFL is one that needs to be tackled head on.
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.
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 NFL has already had changes to the way the players are allowed to come in contact with a defenceless player, but it does not address the problem as well as it needs to (“NFL” n.p.). There should changes that affect how long an athlete must sit out after receiving a head injury to avoid more brain trauma. Also, there should be trained personnel at every game to decrease the amount of undiagnosed concussions which will increase the player’s safety. These changes would make big strides in protecting the players while also appealing to Americans by not further changing the contact rule which would ease this
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.
Are you a fan of hard hitting and instant impact? Do you get excited when you see grown men and boys colliding with each other? Football is the most popular sport in America, it is like by me and a lot of other fans that watch the liveliness of the sport. While it is the most popular sport in America it also has the worst repercussions for the athletes that play the sport. Football has a direct correlation between the sport and concussions. The NFL should take more action to prevent high impact head collisions which can lead to concussions. Potential long term effects from physicality of the football. A question always asked is if football ever going be safe? More and more concussions multiple lawsuits against the NFL and the ratings for league
Concussions have lifelong effects that are detrimental to people's health. 99% of people who have had concussions have C.T.E. which is a very traumatic brain injury. A substantial amount of NFL players have C.T.E., and studies show that former NFL players get dementia six times faster than other people their age. Some must wonder if trying to play professional football or just playing football in general is worth the lifelong risks that may be acquired. NFL player make lots of money, but they also endanger themselves. College athletes obtain a free education, but they also put their health at risk. Even with the potential of free college education or monetary gain, full contact sports such as football are detrimental rather than