Counterpoint: Call to ban football collides with the facts

Nice effort but a very poorly constructed argument.

Its possible to advocate for the game without sounding like a moron.  The author, a physician, advocates that kids should, "play football because they'll jump off roofs if they don't, 'cause kids...nothing you can do 'bout dat"


This was the position of two University physicians, recommending football be eliminated.

www.startribune.com/minnesota-doctors-call-for-removal-of-football-from-public-schools/352464821/

Quite frankly, BOTH articles are written like a 3rd grader.  The point here should be for advocates of the game to raise the level of discourse, NOT present our interest as one of a shady used car salesman.  Identify the root issue (pursue the science of CTE and not run from it) and be champions of improving the game (if the sport is unsafe, we should be the ones making it safer).

The more we encourage science to uncover what is going on with concussions, the closer we'll be to the truth.  Right now, we have a lot of conjecture that does paint a picture where football collisions correlate to brain trauma. Okay, so is that a fact and how much evidence has been done? What specifically is the cause of these effects (it isn't just throwing/running the ball)?

This is attack on football is pure politics. That is why the rush to change the rules is silly. Safety is just the excuse kill the game. The people who are behind could not care less about kids, the safety of kids.  The worse case for somebody calling himself a football coach has more concern for the safety of kids than these people.

excellent article.

I reserve the right to be absolutely wrong later, but there is a world of difference between the hits a 15 year old takes in a game takes, a 23 year old kid takes in DIII ball, and a career in the NFL.

This is really like comparing a prop plane pilot vs a jet pilot vs an astronaut. They all are flyers, but are not subjected to the same stimulus / environment. Just because they advance in the field based on an increasing set of criteria, doesn't mean the parallels remain consistent (a collision with a player of equal size does not produce the same relative force to the body). The mass/force generated by high school athletes is largely within the realm that the human body can adapt itself to.  The mass/force and frequency that can be generated in an arena played with (super) humans is easily beyond which the fragile human body can ever account for

The problem we are facing has a legion of nuances that it is important to identify, isolate and address or have the whole thing come crashing down on us. The EMOTION of NFL fandom is real to most football fans. That "tangible" emotion is interpreted as TRUTH to people who do not slow things down and examine an issue objectively. "when I think football, I think the HOMETOWN SPARTANS of 'The League'....so naturally, the SPARTANS are football" (I cannot separate the two). The problem with that thinking is that the NFL does not represent the sport of football. The NFL has business interests, and where there is business there is money. Where there is money, there is a legal factor. Where there is a legal factor, there is liability between parties involved.....ad infinitum. The root of the issue is a physical sport played by TEAMS, running, blocking, tackling, kicking and throwing. THAT should be where we focus our energy and look to how we can play this game safely and effectively.

"My son can't play anymore football. Football bad, injury = concussions."


Sincerely,

- Parents who has the communication/grammar skills of my 4 year old niece.

Brophy, right on. I love your "pilot" analogy.

These attacks are coming from the same people who feed kids these god awful school lunches. The same people who claim our kids are obese, but in the same heart beat claim that PE is to stressful for kids. This is not a safety issue. It is a political issue. Safety is just the vehichle the politicians are using to attack the sport.

We as coaches are going to get this argument from parents written poorly or not doesn't make a difference.

The question(s) remains:
1) what are you doing to make it safer?
2) how do you know your actions make it safer?
3) what are you using to measure safety?

I have posted before about our protocol that we have in place. We have done the baseline testing /impact sensor in every hat / iPad / athletic therapist thing since 2013. We have since measured every impact game or practice on every kid. In turn we have tracked this and compared the data.
It has resulted in a change to HOW we practice & HOW we teach tackling. That being said kids still get concussions, all be it far fewer & they are out far less time because we catch them earlier.

I stand by it there are kids playing our game getting concussions that are not diagnosed because the symptoms are so minor they go undetected until the hits accumulate & Johnny has a severe concussion when in reality he's had one for a few weeks but the continued exposure to impact has compounded the injury.

The only answer to this issue is:
1) make the game safer
A) equipment gets better
B) coaching gets better / changes to meet the realities of the game
C) we find effective ways of measuring safety & wellbeing of athletes

Our state association released data today stating approximately four (4) percent of HS kids who played Football in our state last Fall suffered concussions.


www.mhsaa.com

Or the use of performance enhancing drugs (HGH in Seau's case which he tested positive for), alcohol, narcotics etc.