Doc Who Discovered CTE says "Don't Let Kids Play Football"

[UBBullsfan]

There is also a special collar that they are developing that will somehow reduce head injuries.

 

It's called the Kerr Collar.

Edited December 8, 2015 by UBBullsfan

[Observer]

To stick with your cancer analogy, playing soccer or lacrosse rather than football would be like chewing Copenhagen instead of smoking Marlboros. Those sports may not quite have the concussion notoriety as football dies, but they are in the same neighborhood.

 

All football needs is someone to either invent some type of helmet/harness/??? that will drastically reduce concussions and this will all be forgotten. There's way too much money on the line for it to just fade away.

 

How many times does it have to be said? This isn't just about concussions! It's about accumulated blows to the head in a game where getting hit in the head is part of the game. It will happen.

 

In those other sports, (except soccer headers which can be minimized), blows to the head are not part of the game.

Edited December 8, 2015 by Observer

[Observer]

There is also a special collar that they are developing that will somehow reduce head injuries.

 

It's called the Kerr Collar.

For neck protection, especially in heads-up tackling.

[PO16FFS]

The speed of the game is ridiculous. Men weighing near 200 pounds running into each other at x miles per hour with shoulder pads and helmets.

 

Seems like every game players are seriously getting hurt.

 

Oh well, what do I know.

IMO McCoy should have never comeback after that concussion. He was using smelling salts and you could see that he was dazed. But hey, we won the game!

[NoSaint]

It's not just the head injuries, you have people who played only in high school needing knee and hip replacements in their early 50s. Once you get to college ball the severity of the hits increases tremendously. All sports to some extent put people at risk of injuries and problems down the road, but football in particular requires many things out of your body that can lead to significant problems in later life. Heads and knees simply are not meant to be rammed by very hard plastic items with great force.

I think the broader point is relevant. I have 2 coworkers in their 30s - one with a bum knee and one that can barely stand upright some days due to back issues- both a product of high school football.

 

Love the game but hardly seems worth it

[Chuck Schick]

How many times does it have to be said? This isn't just about concussions! It's about accumulated blows to the head in a game where getting hit in the head is part of the game. It will happen.

 

In those other sports, (except soccer headers which can be minimized), blows to the head are not part of the game.

 

What in the world does "getting hit in the head is part of the game <of football>" have to do with anything, when in all those other sports, kids often get hit in the head? The numbers I've see show concussion rates in HS football as 11.2 per 10,000 athletic exposures. Lacrosse comes in at 6.9 and girls soccer at 6.7. Apparently there's data showing ice hockey and wrestling may be higher than lax, but I didn't see anything backing that up.

 

I also think an argument can be made that "athletic exposures" in football are now drastically lower since rarely do coaches have players do full-speed live hitting any more. Games are once a week and there are far fewer games in a football season than other sports.

So theoretically, even though the rate of concussions may be higher, the occurrences can be lower than other sports due to the fewer exposures. (I'm only talking about youth sports here, not the NFL).

[Observer]

What in the world does "getting hit in the head is part of the game <of football>" have to do with anything, when in all those other sports, kids often get hit in the head? The numbers I've see show concussion rates in HS football as 11.2 per 10,000 athletic exposures. Lacrosse comes in at 6.9 and girls soccer at 6.7. Apparently there's data showing ice hockey and wrestling may be higher than lax, but I didn't see anything backing that up.

 

I also think an argument can be made that "athletic exposures" in football are now drastically lower since rarely do coaches have players do full-speed live hitting any more. Games are once a week and there are far fewer games in a football season than other sports.

So theoretically, even though the rate of concussions may be higher, the occurrences can be lower than other sports due to the fewer exposures. (I'm only talking about youth sports here, not the NFL).

 

Are you taking the position that blows to the head (and other long term injury rates) are lower in football than most other sports?

 

In football, players get hit in the head as part of the game. Helmets hit. Heads collide. Hands, knees, elbows, chests, shoulders hit heads. The statistics showing football concussions you quoted have football as twice as likely as other sports for concussions, but as has been said many times, as bad as football is with concussions, this is about accumulated head blows (and even other long term injury issues that kids carry forward).

 

Of course contact can happen in every sport, but only in football are blows to the head a normal part of the game.

 

I played nearly every sport and of course took a few blows to the head here in there in them all but nothing compares with football, as I'm sure you know. I doubt you're even really arguing this with conviction.

[TheFunPolice]

It's going to require a culture change

 

Taking unnecessary big hits out of the game would help.

 

For example sideline hits are some of the worst. Just shive the guy out of bounds. No need to light him up.

[Reed83HOF]

For example sideline hits are some of the worst. Just shive the guy out of bounds. No need to light him up.

 

Shiv the mofo

 

Concussion will be the least of his worries then

[B-Large]

 

So does any other sport....

 

true, how does that pertain to the discussion?