Essay On Football Safety

Football Safety

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 wasn 't all that protective they still made contact with the players of the opposing teams. As the years progressed the league made many changes to the rules due to player safety. They invented better protective gear for the players and they also made more strict 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

First the rule in the NFL was that the play would be an automatic penalty, would result in player fine, and an additional fifteen yards would be added from where the foul was committed. The play is reviewable; however, if the call on the field does not stand the player is not fined, but it is still a fifteen yard penalty. A lot of coaches and other National Football League associates disagreed with that section of the rule and after debates and discussions the rule was changed. As of the season, if the play is reviewed and there is not an actual penalty then

Gaines Page 4 the whole penalty is overturned, including the fifteen yards. Even though the penalty seems harsh it doesn’t compare to the National Collegiate Athletic Association 's targeting rule. In college if you are penalized for a helmet to helmet hit, you get ejected from the game. This rule has a possibility of changing the outcomes of games, because teams can lose key players.

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

So whats one more thing to think about? There professional level athletes,they need to give themselves more credit. And yes there right, injuries are bound to happen in a contact sport, but they need to try and do their best to play within the rules that are being set for their benefit.

In regards to referees calling the games inconsistently, they pledged to do their best to try and stay consistent. We can’t totally blame the referees because they have to throw the flag for what they see, but the foul is reviewable and can be overturned. It would help them out tremendously if players did not lead with their heads. They don 't want to call the penalties but they definitely will if they have to. They are just trying to do their part and help keep the game