Football helmets have always been designed to prevent and stop skull fractures. Now they have the same design and are trying to prevent concussions and professionals don't even fully understand concussions. “The majority of helmets are designed , tested and certified for linear compression only. They don't help/prevent violent twisting during angled impacts. The sharp twisting from angled impacts. The sharp twisting from angled hits increases the potential of…
One rule that has been changed this season is when a player loses his helmet, the play is immediately whistled dead. And now during the field-goal the defense cannot position any player on the line directly across from the snapper, who is considered defenseless. While NFL is actually concerned of the players health risks there are other sports who don’t do much about the health risks. UFC is an american mixed martial arts sport. UFC allows kicks to the head. Being able to kick the opponent in the head is ridiculous. A fighter on the receiving end of a knockout has been concussed. A concussion will have a negative long term effect on a person’s health, yet we so often hear of a fighter being “okay” after being knocked out. The rules of this sport should be modified immediately because lives are at risk. It shouldn't matter if the “sprite” of the game is changed, the lives of the athlete matter…
The new rules in the National Football League are changing the way the game is being played and the way it affects the players. One of the many ways it affects the players is benefiting their health, and that’s why most of the new rules are added into the NFL. There is an average of 128 concussions per year and about nine concussions per week. There are positive ends and negative ends of the whole situation that can make the game boring for the players and also the spectators. This also makes the game safer for the players in their long-term life from their kids to their own health. The NFL could be changing for the better, or for the worse of it.…
his college football season, multiple players have been called out for targeting. The fact that not all of the officials calls have been correct is one of the main issues. According to the AFCA, (American Football Coaches Association) rule 9-1-3 states, “ No player shall target and initiate contact against an opponent with the crown (top) of his helmet. When in question, it is a foul.” Many officials this year called targeting on players who were not following the outline of this rule. The targeting call should be changed to how the officials are calling it.…
If the NFL truly cares about its players like they preach, then they should be taking stronger actions than they have now. The NFL should be enforcing stronger punishments and investing more money towards research of concussions and head trauma in the league. This would better the NFL and its players by making it a much safer league. In the end players want to remember their time on the field, not forget it from not being protected…
Throughout the history of football there has been concussions because poor helmets have bad padding. Many people have in it taken a major part in it. How many people have died from head injuries. So people are should upgrade the helmets to protect anymore bad injuries, people have upgraded helmets but we need to do more from causing a lot more concussions. The head and brain are one of the most important parts of the body which they need to be protected and that is a very good way to protect it from injuries…
“Pro football is like nuclear warfare. There are no winners, only survivors.” -Frank Gifford. Football is a full contact sport, so it is not supposed to be safe, and no one ever expected it to be safe. Recently the effects of countless head injuries endured by players many years ago had just started to surface. The NFL has started to attempt to make professional football as safe as they possibly can without ruining the game. The majority of the rules the NFL has in place are necessary when it comes to how the game is played and maintaining the safest environment on the football field for the players, however some of the other rules being added to the rulebook are arguably unnecessary and truthfully ridiculous. Players are more often than not…
Concussions cause the dangerous disease CTE that has already claimed the lives of many athletes in the NFL and in other sports. We are doing research on CTE but a lot more needs to be done. If the NFL is going to be safer they need to relinquish all of their information and research on player brain injuries. Some good things are being done to rule changes to make the game safer, but it is still not enough. There is a fine line however between changing rules and changing the game, which the NFL will have to navigate carefully. One of the better answers to these brain injuries is to improve the helmet protecting the head. Many developers have made ingenious new ideas to combat the concussion epidemic in football. It is up to the NFL to adopt the new innovations to the football helmet to drastically improve player safety. A person’s brain is the most important part of the body. It just makes sense to want to protect it as much as possible. As the public becomes more aware of the dangers football has on a player’s brain people may reconsider playing football. If the NFL is going to have a future, they must make their game safer. If people see less players effected by concussions on TV public perception of football will improve. Something clearly needs to be done to combat these serious health problems facing current and past NFL…
Football plays a great part in the United States. It is a part of our culture and is a part of the atmosphere in the fall when school is about to start. It is an amusing experience for a lot of people and their families. This is what make football a part of our culture. One thing to actually think about though is what is essentially happening to the children, the young adults, and athletes involved in this sport; they are growing older then, attending college or even playing professional football with head injuries. Understanding that in football there are many collisions of the head to somebody else’s head or other body parts. Although, the brain sits inside of a cranial vault, also known as the skull. Even wearing the best equipment…
Inevitability is the strongest stance that the leaders on the National Football League have against the concussion controversy. Football is one of the most barbaric, brutal sports played in America it is a high contact sport that is known for the big hits during crucial moments in a game. Because of the nature of the game there has always been protective equipment that the players are required to wear, one of the most important being the helmet. Players are signing contracts with various teams knowing that they are involved in a contact sport and that there is a guarantee that they will be hit. (Rovell) There is no way to stop a player from the opposing team that is running at their full speed to just stop on a dime and not make contact with a player, it simply goes against physics. Rules have recently been put in place fining players for helmet to helmet contact but you cannot knock out the contact entirely without changing the…
POW!! CRACK!! I just attempted to deliver a key block on a 240lb linebacker in order for my quarterback to score a touchdown. Our helmets collided. I was dizzy, the lights got brighter, and my head was pounding; I could have sworn I had a concussion. On the sideline a teammate said I’d be fine and that I was going to have the game of a lifetime. I strapped my helmet back up and went back onto the field. I actually did have that game of lifetime, but at what cost? The football helmet is associated with strength and toughness, and so are the men who wear them. The helmet is not there to protect strength and toughness; it is there to protect something much more fragile- the brain. Can the technology of the helmets keep up with each generation of bigger, faster, and harder hitting players and prevent concussions?…
Doctors proved that, “Recent studies have shown that head injuries sustained by NFL players can eventually lead to debilitating, chronic brain diseases such as dementia” (“NFL Head Injuries). This is a problem because the NFL isn’t doing enough to protect their players. Yes, the players do provide entertainment for everyone, but if the NFL keeps being careless many franchise players won’t be able to play. NFL players should be better protected by the NFL so players don’t develop brain disease, and won’t have to get sidelined during games due to concussions. Doctors researched and found out that, “A total of 87 out of 91 former NFL players have tested positive for the brain disease” (“FRONTLINE”). This shows that the NFL doesn’t protect their players enough. Only 4 former NFL players out of 91 weren’t diagnosed with concussions. The NFL needs to take better care of players so this doesn’t happen as often. Although brain diseases due to concussions are a tremendous problem, one thing that is much worse than that is a player's chances of getting another concussion. Once a player suffers their first concussions they are more likely to develop a concussion. “Studies show, after the first concussion, the athlete is four times more likely to suffer another” (“Concussions in Sports”). This is very important because as players get more and more concussions. Eventually they will develop permanent brain damage or they…
There are 1.1 million High School football player in the U.S. Many parents are questioning whether or not football is the right sport for their children and many pros think that is may not be the right sport for themselves due to the numbers of concussions that are happening. Three or more concussions could cause brain damage and/or memory loss. Should football be banned because of concussions?…
The NFL is trying to make football safe and they are spending a lot of money in making the game safer. Improving player safety is the top priority for the league. According to forbes.com, “it is now illegal for offensive or defensive players to lower the crown of their helmet outside the tackle box” (Forbes). Lowering the crown of the helmet causes head to head contact. Leading with the head can cause severe concussions. Some people think that this rule is taking safety to another level. This rule causes players to not lead with their helmet and to make safer tackles. According to USAtoday.com Reyes said, “Reported concussions in the NFL have declined by 35% over a three-year period, according to the league’s 2015 Health and Safety report released Wednesday” (Reyes). This quote states that concussions have dropped significantly because of the recent rule changes and changes in the type of helmets that are being used. Reyes also explained the NFL’s study on helmets. He said, “More than 500 helmets were tested with repeated impacts designed to replicate average hits sustained on an NFL field. Each helmet was fitted to a crash-test dummy head” (Reyes). The NFL is putting in a lot of money and hours to try to make the game safer for the players. The settlement between the NFL and ex-players is an example of how the NFL is handing the concussion situation correctly. According to NFL.com, “The NFL has reached a tentative $765 million settlement over concussion-related brain injuries among its 18,000 retired players, agreeing to compensate victims, pay for medical exams and underwrite research” (NFL, Ex-players Agree to $765M Settlement in Concussions…
There have been instances where cases have reached Congress to try and resolve this growing matter. Recently, Will Smith put out a movie entitled Concussion to show football players how much the sport they love does so much harm to such a fragile part of the body. Some coaches were in dismay at the film and did not allow their players to go see it. The National Football League has tried to make waivers for the players to sign stating that they know, they could sustain concussions or any sort of blunt trauma. This action has also not been all too successful. The National Football League should take major precautions in the safety of their players be enforcing soft hits, and no head on hits to rule our brain…