Football is fun, but is the risk of CTE in the future worth it?
Football is a great sport, but the risk of concussions, especially at a young age, is not worth the possible long term effects. When you think of football, you picture the Super Bowl, touchdowns, and tackling. But what slips your mind are crippling diseases, concussions, and even the possibility of developing Alzheimer’s. These consequences of playing football raises a serious question: is football too dangerous for children? One reason football is too dangerous for children is because of professional NFL role models. Children all over the world love football, they look up to their favorite players and admire them. These children strive to be as good as them, and mimic everything that player does. When a child sees a big hit by their favorite player, or a clutch quarterback sack, they don’t see the physical harm that’s been done, they only see how cool it was. Other reasons include how unsafe the helmets are, the child’s undeveloped brains, and the consequences of head injuries.
A concussion is a traumatic brain injury that is caused by contact to the head. You don’t necessarily need to be knocked unconscious to get a concussion. Some symptoms to a concussions include memory trouble, feeling nauseous, feeling more emotional, and having a different sleep schedule. The way someone gets a concussion is from hard contact to the head or repeated smaller contacts. The fluid in your head is used as a cushion to protect your brain from colliding against your skull. However, when you’re hit hard enough, the fluid in your head won’t be enough to support the collision, and your brain will be injured. The symptoms of a concussion can last for hours, days, weeks, or even months. These symptoms can make you feel slow and not being able to think clearly or able to concentrate. You can also have many physical effects, like feeling nauseous, dizziness, and an awful headache. It is important to stay in comfortable environments so you can heal. For example, a safe environment is a dark room, where there is little to no noise and nothing that forces your brain to focus. It is also important to stay away from any school work to lower any stress factors. Examples of factors that extend your healing time are video games, television, lights, and loud noises. The different healing times for a concussion depend on the range of the injury, and the way you heal is pivotal to your brain. If you don’t fully heal and get another head injury, the consequences are detrimental (Daneshvar). In the 11 years of my hockey career, I have obtained 2 concussions. The healing time truly affected my grades at school and set me back on major assignments which took weeks to make up. These concussions took a toll on my education as well as my social life.
Athletes are at risk of developing CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is caused by repeated head trauma. However, children are at more of a risk to obtain a concussion more than an adult because of their underdeveloped brains. There is an increased risk for developmental and neurocognitive problems that can result in behavioral disturbances (Gilbert). Youth football players are at risk of developing a concussion in practices, scrimmages, and games with any head contact they make. Multiple concussions or repeated head trauma causes chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Athletes with CTE show signs of apathy, aggression, depression, irritability, impulsiveness, suicidal behavior, memory loss, and difficulty thinking (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy). In fact, CTE was first known as dementia pugilistica. It was first studied among boxers and expanded to other sports like football, soccer, hockey, and wrestling. Increased awareness of CTE has led to more protection with concussions and other head injuries. This awareness has spread to youth, high school, college, and professional level athletes. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy causes “progressive brain shrinkage and loss of nerve cells,” mainly in areas of the brain that control the ability to think clearly, make choices, organize, and maintain memories. As CTE progresses, people may also develop “dementia and difficulties walking or talking. Under a microscope, brains with CTE show dense accumulations of tangled protein filaments within cells. The tangles are composed of an abnormal protein called tau” (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy). Similarly to Alzheimer’s, the tangles are also present within the cells. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy symptoms may develop decades later, even if the person is exposed to the brain injury or multiple brain injuries in their early life. Unfortunately, there is no way to see if a person has CTE before they pass, the only way to test it is to inspect the brain after the death.
Too many people have faced the consequences of CTE particularly in the NFL. Of the 91 brains donated to Boston University in 2015, 87 of them were confirmed to having CTE. While there are positions on the field that take more contact, there is no position that is completely immune to this debilitating disease. Former quarterback Ken Stabler for the Oakland Raiders (1970-1979) died of colon cancer at the age of 69. Stabler won Super Bowl XI with the Raiders and was the MVP of the game, he was also inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016. Stabler, apart from dying of colon cancer, had stage 3 CTE. Stabler anticipated his conditions years before, stating how he distanced himself years in advance, and prayed his grandsons wouldn’t play football. Tyler Sash, a football safety star, was found dead in his home on September 8, 2015. The cause of his death was an overdose of painkillers. At only 27 years old, Sash had gone through 5 diagnosed concussions, and the disease of CTE had advanced to a stage that was unseen in someone so young. Mike Webster, also known as "Iron Mike", carried the Pittsburg Steelers to win four Super Bowls in the 70's. Webster suffered depression and dementia, and later died in 2002 at the age of 50. Webster was known as the first case of footballer's dementia. Webster’s brain had gone through the equivalent of 25,000 car crashes over his 25 years of playing football. Dave Duerson, Super Bowl XX winner, was found dead in his home in February 2011. At the age of 50, Duerson had an extreme case of CTE. Duerson texted his ex-wife an odd request: "Please, see that my brain is given to the N.F.L.'s brain bank." Where Duerson's body was found, there was a handwritten suicide note repeating the request. Chris Henry, Bengals wide receiver, died at the age of 26. His death reported that he fell out of a truck during a domestic dispute. After the brain autopsy, Henry’s brain was confirmed to having CTE. Dr. Julian Bailes says how he was “surprised in a way because of his age and because he was not known as a concussion sufferer or a big hitter.” Justin Strzelczyk died in a car crash in a high speed police chase in 2004. Strangely, Strzelczyk wasn’t intoxicated in any way, which leads us to question why he had such an erratic behavior? Dr. Ronald Hamilton states that if he knew nothing of the case and only looked at the slides, he would’ve assumed the brain belonged to a boxer. Terry Long played for the Steelers from 1984-1991, and was found dead in 2005 at the age of 45. Long committed suicide by drinking a bottle of antifreeze. Dr. Bennet Omalu claims that the reason Terry Long committed suicide is because of his long term CTE. Andre Waters was known as the league's hardest-hitting defensive backs during his career with the Philadelphia Eagles. He committed suicide in 2006 at the age of 44. Waters brain tissue was the same as an 85-year old with Alzheimer’s. In fact, if Waters lived another 10-15 years, he would have been fully incapacitated. Junior Seau was known as one of NFL’s best and fiercest players. Seau committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest in May of 2013. Seau’s brain was compared to two other brains, finding that his brain was similar to those exposed to repetitive head injuries. Ralph Wenzel played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and San Diego Chargers during the 60s and 70s. Wenzel died in June 2012 of complications of dementia. In fact, his dementia problems became so severe he had to stop working as a coach and teacher and be institutionalized (NFL Players with CTE). Jovan Belcher was a linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs who suffered from chronic CTE. Belcher murdered his 22-year old girlfriend then drove to the stadium where he shot himself (Staff). All of these players had life threatening problems with CTE which caused them to perform things that seemed almost insane. All of these players have one thing in common, pain. Each of them suffered in different ways that affected them and people who cared for them. From these examples we can see what CTE can do to someone. People commit suicide, they suffer from dementia, they lose cognitive functions, they make bad decisions, and they hurt others. CTE is a crippling disease that affects thousands of athletes today and only deteriorates over time.
Children love the sport of football, and watching their favorite player every Sunday means everything to them. For example, the family team is the Seattle Seahawks and they love to watch Kam Chancellor play. Chancellor is a safety on the Seahawks who is known to currently be one of the hardest hitters in the NFL. After watching Chancellor knock someone out of the game after a big hit the whole family goes insane. What they don’t see is the physical damage the body takes from the hit, as well as the head. Now when the kid is playing his football game, he will use his full strength and determination to mimic what Chancellor did, because he loved him so much. These football players are serving as role models to children because they see what they do and mimic it. These role models are influencing children to repeat what was done, and this may cause physical harm to the child.
Children’s brains are extremely sensitive to any damage because they are still developing. This is why football is not safe for them to play. Football is a collision sport, which means they are purposely trying to hurt each other to win the game. A study was conducted during the 2005-06 academic high school year to see how many sports related concussions there were compared to the 2014-15 academic high school year. During the 2005-06 academic year, there were 1.5 million sports related injuries among 9 sports. Approximately 133,000 of the 1.5 million injuries were concussions, representing only 9% of the injuries. Compared to the 2014-15 academic year, 1.2 million injuries were recorded. Approximately 292,000 of the 1.2 million injuries were concussions, representing 24.5% of all injuries (Brzycki 2). Concussions among young athletes are rising, and even with better awareness and more protection, they are a major concern.
As mentioned before, youth athletes are at increased risk for lasting neurocognitive and developmental deficits due to football. These consequences can result in behavioral disturbances and a worse academic performance. The helmets that are used in youth football are not safe enough. In fact, researchers tested different brands of helmets and found no difference between them. To be more specific, Xenith company brand helmets have over a 6% concussion rate, Riddell company has over a 9% concussion rate, and Schutt company headgear has over 8% concussion rate (Osborne). These numbers may seem small, but with the millions of youth football players, they add up. Children may also have an increased chance at developing the Alzheimer’s disease. This is caused by a buildup in protein in the brain, which has been proven to occur five times more often in players with a concussion (Osborne). These consequences are not worth having your child playing football. It means the difference between a healthy life and a handicapped life.
A lawsuit ended recently leading to the end of youth football. Debra Pyka’s son played youth football for multiple years of his life and suffered multiple head injuries, causing CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Unfortunately, Debra Pyka’s son committed suicide at the age of 25 and she claims it was due to his head injuries. Mrs. Pyka stresses how tackle football is a “war game” and is a collision sport, not a contact sport. The lawsuit ended the $5 million case under $2 million. Pyka fights her case stating how in one game alone, 5 children got concussions. Even though the coaches got suspended after the game, the damage had already been done (Salzberg). This lawsuit is a threat to the survival of youth football. Some people believe that athletes are required to play during their childhood so they can get a good experience of the game and develop to it early on. These people want their son to play football because they need to become a pro athlete and be the best in their age division. This is not the case. These children are putting their life at risk when playing football, the consequences of a brain injury is too dangerous. This lawsuit is the beginning to the end of youth football, and with more recognition, we can stop putting children in danger.
Football is a tough sport that is dangerous to children and even professional athletes. The human body is not meant to undergo what football players do, especially at a young age. The spine is not meant to be smashed into by a 350-pound lineman, let alone a 100-pound lineman. The knees are not meant to take sharp cuts in the turf and change directions so quickly. The head is not meant to collide with other helmets and is not meant to be lashed back and forth, especially with the brain damage that is involved. Concussions are known as one of the worst injuries to the human body, and they are known to be common in the sport of football. With more concussions comes problems with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a life threatening disease. CTE is not the only consequence to concussions, Alzheimer’s can also be developed. Because of these life threatening consequences, football should not be played by the youth.