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Can the NFL Protect Football Players from Brain Disease?

Americas favorite sports game has come under much fire and criticism over the past few

years. Football is being said to have a concussion epidemic and is causing players to have serious

health complications down the road in their lives. Junior Seau, a football player who many

consider to be one of the best to step on the field and was elected to the football hall of fame,

committed suicide in 2012 with a gunshot wound to the chest. The world of football mourned

and as doctors examined his body and brain they found something very disturbing. There was a

protein buildup of tau, which is linked to a disease that is very closely related to Alzheimers,

called CTE. CTE stands for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy and is a protein build up called

Tau in the brain and is a progressive degenerative disease found in people who have had a severe

blow or repeated blows to the head (Saffery). CTE was once found in many boxers and is

formally called Dementia pugilistica. The research for this disease is still relatively young but the

facts found and given means this disease is a serious problem for football players and even all

athletes that play sports where concussions are common. Along with Seau, there has been more

players who have passed away to be found with CTE. These legends like Dave Duerson and stars

like Tyler Sash were having a history of life troubles like suffering from depression, having

symptoms that were related to Alzheimers, and abusing alcohol and drugs. Since then, more of

the media is bringing attention to the crisis of concussions in the sport of football and is

pressuring the NFL to make actions on ending this crisis.

Since 2012, the NFL has been making significant changes to the rules, evolving practices, and

even changing the way practices run. Collegiate, high school, and pop warner levels have also

made changes to the rules of the game and rules on the field with the intent to better protect

players. Teams are starting to use advance training rooms to help players recover over faster and
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more efficiently from games and practices. Leading sport brands are using start-of-the-art

technology to develop and upgrade equipment such as helmets and cleats that can better protect

players from concussions and other injuries. Top high schools and colleges have also even began

using robots in their practices with the intent to reduce the risk of injury during practices. Since

even the beginning of the sport in the late 1800s, people recognize the danger of the sport and

have been pushing for changes to the game to make it safer. But with the push for change today

my intent is to see what changes are being made and if these changes are actually making a

difference. From what Ive seen, first hand and through my research, football is making steps in

the right direction but when the very essence of the game is violence the expectation of what

people want from the game would be almost impossible without fundamentally changing the

game.

Americans have participated in many violent sports over the years, boxing, hockey, football

and many other sports have become a part of our culture. Scientist have also found these sports

to have effects on our mental and physical health. Scientist have studied how physical activity

has positive influences on our health and how many people are happier who play sports and so

forth. In recent years, though, scientists are beginning to find something alarming with football

players and their brains. Players are seen to start developing CTE throughout years of playing the

sport and sustaining so many concussions. This was a problem for many boxers in the past when

it was a much more popular sport and boxers developed dementia pugilistica, another term for

CTE.

Finding CTE in the brain can only be found by examining the brain after the death of

someone. Legendary players like Junior Seau and Dave Duerson were found to have CTE and

their families blame the NFL for hiding this information of concussions and the seriousness of
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them. Doctors at Boston University are researching the effects of repeated blows to the head and

the development of CTE. Even today the research is still relatively young but it is known that

repeated concussions are linked to CTE. This information is concerning to a wide number of

people and has caused a lot of people in the media to question what is the NFL and all other

levels of the sport doing to make it safer for those participating in the sport?

Looking back to the beginning of the sport in the early 1900s, football has been constantly

evolving. Before players didnt wear shoulder pads, helmets, or even cleats. In the 1890s

president Theodore Roosevelt made it a rule to wear shoulder pads because he saw how

dangerous and violent the sport was (Silverman). But with such a huge push for safety over these

past few years people have been focused on changing the ways of playing the game, from form

tackling to new defenseless player rules. These changes are being made with the intent to make

the game between the hash marks safer and to better protect the players. Along with rule changes

schools are also enforcing rules that make coaches go to clinics on the new rules and have fines

for not following them. These rule changes are made to make sure coaches are actually following

through with the new rules and are making sure their players are as safe as can be.

The NFL has introduced what is called a helmet-to-helmet rule. This rule is a targeting foul

where if a tackler butts heads with the tacklee while making a play they are flagged for targeting

the head. This change is one way the NFL has responded to dealing with concussions. Another

way they have sought to protect players is to make players who are considered out of the play a

defenseless player and not allowed to be hit. This is made to protect players from being

blindsided and to curb unnecessary collisions. High schools all over the country have also

adapted this rule. Schools in South Carolina have also taking the liberty of making fines for

coaches who dont attend clinics for new rules and safety measures and fine them for every game
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they play and dont go (Scoope).

Its important for the NFL to be the one making the rules as well because its the most looked

at level of the sport. Many people would question why a college or high school would change the

rules of the game if the highest level wouldnt do it. Its the NFLs credibility and fan base that

determines how it will affect other levels of the sport because the NFL is the highest paid and

most watched level of the sport. Many officials also make the rules based off of what the NFLs

rulings are as well. Thats why the media focuses so heavily on the NFL making the rule changes

and not the lower collegiate and high school levels of the sport.

While making the games rules safer, I dont believe you can make a game where the core of

the sport is to be violent and aggressive. Yet that doesnt mean you cant make the game safer

through improving the rules and equipment. Many schools and professional teams have looked

towards changing the culture off the field to keep athletes healthy from improving helmets,

cleats, and shoulder pads to using the best training rooms and athletic-trainers around to help

these athletes. One of the top ranked high-schools in America, St. Thomas, has been a prime

example of how using technology has made the game safer for athletes.

The Florida based school has been looked at by a lot of the media because they are one of the

first teams to use M.V.P.s. or Mobile Virtual Players. These are hitting dummies that are remote

controlled and are used in practices (Schmidle). The MVPs are being used by NFL and college

teams. The intent of the dummies is to reduce the amount of injuries and collisions at practice

and to protect the players from being used as hitting dummies. Along with these robots they also

have a state-of-the-art training room. Its equipped with ice baths, licensed athletic trainers, and

other high tech equipment to help athletes rehabilitate and recover. And along with being one of

the most successful programs in America, last season, they didnt have a single concussion.
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Many of the players and coaches accredit this to the brand-new Riddell helmets. That are able to

absorb impacts throughout the helmet saving the brain. This is proof that technology evolving,

we are able to better protect our players.

The president of Riddell wrote an open letter on the subject of concussions and injuries on the

field. He believes that football at the very core is dangerous, violent and aggressive (Arment). He

wants his and other companies to keep striving for more and innovating more in order to help

keep these athletes safe yet there will only be so much to do. The sport of football has always

been recognized as a brutal and vicious sport, which is also why so many people love it. In order

to make football safe, we would have to change the whole sport which would defeat the purpose

of making it safe to play and most people wont be accepting of the change to Americas most

popular sport.

Americas number one played sport has come under a lot of fire by outsiders. Since the

beginning, people have recognized that football was a dangerous and violent sport. Yet, it

embodies so much of the American spirit that we just cant give it up. With the advancements

and changes to the game since its beginning it has become much safer. Yet, many people still

want more. And with valid points, there is still much more to do and that can be done. I believe

that many outsiders are looking at the sport and expecting too much of a change to the game. In

order to make the game of football safe you would have to change the game fundamentally.

Yet, many couldnt accept that realistically. So its up to us to do something to change the

outcomes of these injuries and try to prevent them.

As a community we need to help push for more safety rules. We also need to help these

organizations studying brain research because research for CTE is still relatively young. The

more we can help figure out how to stop this problem the more we can help our community as a
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whole. That also means that it could help not only football players, but it could help soldiers who

have received concussions and have developed CTE. It also helps other athletes in all other

sports as well. We need to protect our young athletes and care for their well-being.

Competiveness cant get in the way of our well-being and often athletes put the sport before

themselves. Thats why its up to coaches, officials, and spectator to help promote safety on the

field and make sure these athletes dont destroy themselves on the field for a sport they love.

Works Cited

Saffary, Roya, Md, Lawrence Chin, Md, and Robert Cantu, Md. American Journal of Lifestyle

Medicine. Sports Medicine: Concussions in Sports (n.d.): n. pag. Print.

Silverman, Steve. Equipment Needed to Play Football. LIVESTRONG.COM. Leaf Group, 05

Feb. 2014. Web. 03 Jan. 2017.

Scoppe, Rick. New prep football rules include targeting, defenseless players. Daily News, The

(Jacksonville, NC), Aug 17, 2014

Schmidle, Nicholas. Can Technology Make Football Safer? The New Yorker, The New

Yorker, 2 Jan. 2017, http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/01/09/can-technology-

make-football-safer.

TACKLING CONCUSSIONS BETWEEN THE HASH MARKS. By: ARMENT, DAN,

USA Today Magazine, 01617389, Jan2014, Vol. 142, Issue 2824