Football & Concussions

This semester I am going to write about the controversy surrounding the sport of football and concussions. Sadly, at least once a month on the news you see a tragic story of high schooler or college student suffering a serious injury or even death due to suffering a concussion from football. Which brings up the question “Why do we still play this sport?”

Also, should we still be playing a sport that is so prone to ending the bright future of a young athlete? It turns out that a majority of players continue to play despite having the symptoms of a concussion. Which suffers serious consequences in the long run. Kids seek the opportunity of playing at a higher level in one day of hopefully fulfilling their dream of becoming a professional football player. So what they usually do is hide their injury from their coach which hurts them in the long run. A lot of concussions heal within a few weeks , but more serious concussions can have long-term problems for the players, such as problems with memory and concentration, particularly if subjected to continuing trauma.

Awareness about the potential seriousness and consequences of concussions, particularly on the developing teenage brain, has increased a lot in the last few years. In hopes of protecting the young developing mind of the athlete. Most states have passed laws requiring concussion education for athletes and coaches. But at the same time, the dream of being a big NFL star has grown among young people — not only because of the possibility of college scholarships, but because of the ridiculous salaries they hear some of the NFL players receive and celebrity status that comes with becoming a star professional athlete. If an athlete incurs a second concussion before the first one has healed, the consequences may be compounded. exposing kids to the dangers of CTE while their brain is still in its developing stage is a recipe for disaster. Another issue is the NFL does barely anything to help prevent concussions and they treat their players like a piece of meat. So, again basically I’ll be writing about football and concussions.