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 National Football League is considered one of the most lucrative sports corporations in the world, with millions of people devoting their Sundays to the nonstop action and intense drama that is the NFL. But, what we don’t see as passionate sports fans is the trauma that our favorite players have to go through each and every play of every game. We watch as a player lies on the ground, but what we don’t notice is the pain that they are going through at that moment. According to Spinal Surgeon Michael Glieber, “Concussions are the most common injury in all levels of football.” Concussions can change an individual’s life in the blink of an eye, it’s not something you can take for granted. In this paper I am analyzing the different views on this devastating roadblock in an athlete’s career. Those views include those who believe more rules should be made to prevent concussions, those who think players should fend for themselves when it comes to the game, and lastly those who are not sure where to stand on this issue. Whatever the case, concussions are a big deal,
The number of sports-related concussions throughout the United States have increased dramatically in the past 10 years, which could lead to permanent brain damage or death for the athletes that suffer these concussions. Which is why football has not been sissified in America, the new precautions only make the game safer for those who play it. Football is an ever changing sport in which 300 pound athletes can now run the 40-yard dash in under 4.5 seconds, which would have been nearly impossible for any athlete to run when the sport was just created (Schottey). The NFL has set up safety precautions to help preserve the lives of its’ players, including new penalties added to the game, the teaching of brain trauma to young adults in high school, the long term effects that concussions can leave on people, and the addition of new systems inside of helmets that can track G-forces felt by a player after a large hit.
One of the most loved sports in America is professional football; however, it is one of the most dangerous sports. The endless amounts of concussions and head related injuries does not deter the players or fans. The few who are fortunate enough to play in the National Football League typically retire with early-onset Alzheimer’s because of the multiple head injuries they have encountered throughout their career. A few football players have committed suicide because of the brain injuries they receive while playing. To say football is dangerous to one’s health is an understatement.
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.
The NFL knew what could happen with concussions for a long time but didn’t want to say anything about it. In the graph it shows that there was only 162 concussions in 2011, but then the next year in 2012 the concussions about doubled with 261 concussions. In 2012 there was more kick returns than there was 2013. 2015 had the highest amount of concussions from 2008-2015 with 271 concussions. There was 54 concussions just in preseason and 45 in 2016. From 2008- 2012 the concussions kept going up every year. This year there has been a lot of NFL players just getting injured in practice either a big injury like a torn ACL or a small injury like an ankle
Concussions and football are a very common combination. Some of the effects that concussions can permanently give you is kinda scary. Every person will have different effects. With the combination of, getting them and the dangers of them, people began to question if football is safe, some people questioned if the steps for diagnosing and clearing concussions was good enough to properly protect the players. Due to all the concussions and people getting on the NFL’s case, the league made some rule changes to protect the players even more. Coaching is always important, and coaching can play a big role in how to teach the players to be safe out on the
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Junior Seau was one of the best middle linebackers in the NFL during his 20 playing years, amassing over 1,500 tackles, and delivering an insurmountable number of hits. In 2011, shortly after retiring, he abruptly committed suicide by shooting himself. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) conducted a study on Seau’s brain and diagnosed him with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease caused by repeated head trauma (Pilon and Belson). Seau is among countless other former players whose careers’ of playing football changed their lives forever. Former quarterback Terry Bradshaw told USA Today about how poor his mental health has become. He says, “I couldn’t focus and remember things, and I was dealing with depression” (Breslow, “NFL Concussions: The 2013-14 Season in Review”). Seau’s death and Bradshaw’s decline link to a growing epidemic in today’s sports: concussions. Recently, concussions increased in contact sports, specifically football (Breslow, “What We’ve Learned from Two Years of Tracking Concussions”). This increase, along with better awareness and pressure from lawsuits and the media, led to research for better concussion diagnostic technology and rule changes in football. Concussions and the effects associated with them forced football to evolve, for the better.
Football is one of the most popular and most viewed sports in the nation; people of every race and ethnicity love to watch the game of football, but when playing this sport, participants must always account for injuries that occur such as ligament tears and brain, neck, and spinal injuries, all of which can produce short and long term effects on a player’s life.