Down, set, hut! Almost everyone in America knows these famous lines spoken while the game of football is in play. However, what is the next thing to happen after these words? The following events that occur after a ball is snapped back to the quarterback are destructive, not only to the physical body but also to the mind. Immediately concluding a snap, ten to twenty football players hit, jolt, and tackle one another in light of furthering or stopping the ball. The ranges of these hits happen from anywhere on the body including the legs, torso, and even the head and neck area.
Although many people look at this type of activity and sport as a type of entertainment or amusement, are the right precautions taken to make sure it is safe? Do people realize how much force can impact the body from one significant hit to the head? Well for those people out there who do not realize it, a lot can happen to the mind, emotions, and body in general from one massive hit. While we look at the history of sports, football to be more specific, it is not until the most recent years that people have started to realize the long-term damages it causes. Throughout the basis of this position paper, I will be debating on the controversy of concussions present in the National Football League (NFL) and the sport of football in general. Currently in the National Football League, concussions are looked at as a dangerous aspect but most definitely a recoverable feature. Concussions are an
Steve Almond’s story “You Knock my Brains out This Sunday and I Knock Your Brains out the Next Time we Meet” speaks to the underlying truth about America’s Sunday pastime and how concussions can be prevented not only by the industry, but by its viewers as well. Football is well known after having been brought to the public’s eye as study after study was released proving that there was a link from football to head injuries. Although in our modern society we have already subconsciously made the connection between football and concussions. The fact that this problem is not decreasing, could be surprising, as the lack of understanding about who has control and the ability to influence change. We hear that football helmets and pads, are getting better, but that does not stop concussions. We do not hear how helmets make players feel and change their play style based on the feeling of invincibility that people feel while wearing a helmet. Pads and helmets do help protect the players but false senses of security due to lack of knowledge on what
The NFL as you probably already know, stands for the National Football League. It is the elite league for the best players and best athletes in the world. These players are in tip top shape and are extremely strong. Now the big question is this. What is one of, if not the biggest problem in the NFL? Concussions. Nate Jackson, a former NFL player and writer says this, “Why is it that men who were the strongest and fittest people alive when they were young degenerate so quickly? That’s the million-dollar question.” With all of the protective equipment and top-of-the-line helmets, you would think that the players are safe from these types of injuries. But, there is a remaining problem of concussions that is still very
In 2007, the NFL finally started to take steps to slow down the rate of concussions in football (Lauren Ezell). Although concussions still occur today, there are specific protocols that were inserted to protect players’ health. This topic is so important to me because I am a big fan of the sport, and I would hate to see my favorite players end their career with disabling conditions. I hope to the see the NFL continually trying to find ways to limit concussions. I believe that one day football can be played without the risk of living the rest of your life with a critical
In the sports world today, there are many different injuries that athletes experience and one of the most devastating injury is a concussion. Concussions can happen to anyone, in any sport, but we tend to see most concussions in contact sports (Świerzewski 1). While having an informal conversation with my dad about football, he told me it was common for athletes to receive a head injury in a game and continue to play as if nothing was wrong. While watching SportsCenter, I found that some of the greatest retired athletes don’t remember the best moments of their careers due to the lack of treatment. The worst aspect of concussions is that the symptoms can be delayed; in some cases, it’s only a headache so athletes don’t seek medical treatment. Multiple concussions over time can lead to life-threatening complications due to the damage they cause to the brain. Concussions can happen to anybody at anytime, but there is more to concussions than meets the eye.
The NFL is watched all over the United States. There are many injuries during this game such as breaking a leg and arm. They can get their lungs collapsed if someone was to step on them with all force. Concussions though are the most dangerous you can get a concussion and not even know.”The Patriots tight end suffered a helmet-to-helmet blow from Jaguars safety Barry Church in the final minutes of the first half and was immediately taken to the locker room for medical evaluation.’’ Any of these injuries can happen to anyone so we gonna talk about how to try to avoid them and to treat the if they happen to you. So tune in and join us in reading this so you don't end up on the sidelines and are always playing the game that many people love,
Over the past five NFL seasons, 1,215 concussions have been diagnosed. American Football has been around for over a century and is the most watched sport in America. Recently, questions have begun to be asked about football’s safety. I watch football every weekend, and I am very angered whenever one of my favorite players gets a concussion. Even before researching this topic, I knew a lot about concussions in football. Concussions can ruin careers but have recently been affecting the after careers of many former NFL stars. Football can be very dangerous yet but can be improved upon in next couple of years. I will first describe what a concussion is, then examine concussions in football, and finally discuss how it can be solved.
American football has been a well-known sport for over 140 years. The first college game ever played was between the Rutgers and Princeton. Little did they know about the risk that occurs when playing a physical contact sport. Some common risk that is associated with playing football is the chance of experience a concussion, disabilities caused by brain damage and sometimes death. In the essay “Would Football Without Concussions Still Be Football” written by Nina Burleigh, she discusses that it’s important to implement tougher rules to protect the safety of young football athletes to keep them safe from concussions. In other words, American football is better played when physical contact is not in place because it will protect football players
Concussions in sports have become a very popular issue in the past century. Athletes are becoming bigger, faster, stronger, and more aggressive. With this, though, comes more injuries as a whole and injuries that are more dangerous as well. Parents, coaches, fans, and athletes have become more aware of how dangerous concussions can be and what effect they can have on an individual throughout the rest of their life. Many advancements and changes have been made in an attempt to keep athletes and players safer and more protected. Some individuals believe parents, coaches, and trainers are becoming overly protective and are ruining the entertainment of the game and the competitiveness of the players. Any sort of traumatic brain injury can have many effects on the individual; there are short-term, medium-term, and long-term consequences of concussions that can continue affecting the individual for fourteen years after he or she has suffered the head injury. Although many advancements have been made and preventing concussions has become a priority in the ‘sports-world,’ authority figures and athletes still ignore the symptoms of concussions to allow the athlete to continue to participate. However, in order to continue the entertainment that sporting events bring fans and the enjoyment that they bring to the participants, more precautions should be made to keep the players on the field and in good health.
The NFL is big part of many Americans life during the fall and the off season. It’s a multi-billion dollar industry that hosts the most watched 4 hours of television in America. As an athlete who played football for many years, I wanted to ask the question; is the NFL’s new rules and penalties preventing concussions? During the first two weeks of April, I have compiled six different resources relating to this topic. Some, such as Trevor Horn’s article "Tackling seminar teaches new methods, inspires faith in safer football” cover the aspects of how youth and high schoolers are effected by concussions and what role the NFL plays. Other articles talk about research being put towards helping diagnose brain trauma in athletes, and also whether or
This falls mainly on the defensive player, the player that is delivering the hit. When playing football everything happens in a flash. You have only a few seconds to react to everything going on. The defensive of player goal is to prevent the other team from scoring at all means possible. If they can’t break up a pass before a receiver grabs the ball the only other option is delivering a blow to the receiver to stop him from gaining more yards. In the result of this he may launch himself at the receiver and make contact in the upper head area. In football this would be considered a defenseless receiver depending on the case but it is still hard when playing at full speed to determine this. This also takes away from the physical aspect of the game having to think where and how hard you can hit someone when running 16-20 miles per hour and weigh 200 or more pounds. Some players jump off the ground with over a thousand pounds of force meaning if they jump off the ground into another player it will cause some serious pain. This is just player playing and it’s kind of
The national football league has stiffened its policy on legal hits. The hit zone has shrunk, while player frustrations have grown. The policy is enacted in an effort to reduce the number of concussions in the game of football. The enforcement of these rules has strayed away from being all about safety. The policy on hits has created a divide among its players and fans alike. The policy of hits being enforced so strictly has had a significant impact on the sport. The sociology of the NFL and the rule itself drive this argument. By stepping on the field as an NFL football player, it is accepted that it is very dangerous. The players make enough money to make the concussions worth it. Profiting from the fine money for these hits has caused the NFL to be enforcing these rules unethically, the rules and the impact they have had on the sport have been detrimental to football.
There is a lot of rising controversy surrounding minors and high-impact sports like football. From Elementary age kids playing little league to high school football, an increasing number of studies are surfacing that are showing many negative effects surrounding head trauma. Some experts are even calling for the sport to be banned from middle and high schools. The concerns surrounding head trauma have existed in the NFL for numerous year, and these concerns brought foreword extensive new research in detection, effects, and prevention. Even today the NFL plans to spend 100 million dollars on new prevention and treatment options for concussions. The shock absorption technology used in football helmets has made advanced majorly in the last 10 years, yet concussion rates are increasing. With the risk of head trauma having long term consequences, especially in minors with developing brains, the ideas of terminating the sport take root. Although serious, these risks are far outweighed by the benefits of football that a substitute sport can not provide: The answer to how to make football safer for minors is much simpler and cheaper than advancing technology.
Peter Park 2/6/2016 Language Arts 6-6 Football Argumentative Essay Final Draft Football and Concussions: the Crisis on Our Hands Football is America’s banner sport. Every year, millions of people watch the National Football League either genuinely on stadiums or live on televisions. The NFL is treated like a golden piggy: fragile, but all-powerful in money making. However, it seems that America’s front-runner sport is in a crisis. Concussions are having a seismic effect on youth football.
This article portrays how playing football can cause negative long term effects on your body. Frontline reported on numbers from the Department of Veterans Affairs and Boston University, where researchers studied the brains of 165 people who played football at the high school, college, or professional level. They found evidence of CTE in 131 of them—79 percent. Of the brains studied, 91 of them belonged to former NFL players, and 87 of those 91 (96 percent) had signs of CTE. In an attempt to further reduce concussions some teams are considering adopting a tackling style similar to that of rugby, where players
If you do not play super cautiously, you can easily make one mistake and suffer concussions, brain damage, limb damage, and overall destruction to the body. Because of this, we see that football can completely ruin your life. In the first source, “Hard Knocks”, the article showcases a real life example of a boy who, when playing football, hit heads with another individual with a lot of strength. He sustained a concussion, and still to this day, he suffers headaches, memory problems, and so much more. In the video, “Concussion Hazards in Youth Football”, the video shows how the brain is affected when a concussion occurs. Also, it presents how the youth are more capable of sustaining permanent brain damage when hard hits on the head occur. In the last source, “How Many G’s?”, an infographic shows the real dangers of a football hit, when compared to a heavyweight boxers punch, and the force from a roller coaster on the body! Together, all three sources show that football is a highly competitive sport that can tarnish someone’s whole life plan in a couple of