Yes, I understand the concern about kids under 12 playing tackle football.
However, the question does have to be asked about overreach and its impact on certain demographics.
The bill would make the state the first one to establish a minimum age to play tackle football. Kids under 12 would be banned from playing.
Local coaches disagree with the ban.
Yes there are social and racial implications here.
Consider this, if children don’t learn the fundamentals of tackle football, some of them would not be well trained entering high school.
That lack of training could leave many Black and Brown children, who have no path to college, out of running for scholarships.
Let me be clear, I am not cosigning on the bill or young kids playing tackle football.
As long as it’s legal, parents have to weigh the pros and cons and decide what’s best. At least I hope they are thinking it through.
At the same time, I absolutely support protecting players of all sports no matter their age from head trauma.
The game has to be made safer, and it’s not just football.
Concussions are also prevalent in soccer, hockey and rugby players.
In 2011, I did a story on the topic while working at a print newspaper.
Great story.
Some details … Sylvia Mackey, former Altadena resident and wife of NFL great John Mackey in 2006, wrote a letter to then-NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, which inspired “Plan 88,” a program that provides financial support to the families of former players suffering from dementia.
Mackey believed John’s dementia was caused by the hits to the head during his 10 year career.
Kim Gorgens, a neuro-psychologist at the University of Denver who studied the amount of gravitational force — defined as a unit of force equal to the force exerted by gravity and used to indicate the force to which a body is subjected when it is accelerated — it takes to sustain a concussion. For an idea of what kind of impact that involves, standing outside at sea level registers 1 g. A cough produces 3.5 g’s. Roller coasters are usually designed not to exceed 3 g’s, but some produce as much as 6.7 g’s. However, it’s also about direction, location of the application, the magnitude of the force and its duration. For example, experiencing a constant 16 g’s over an extended period could be lethal. A brief but firm slap to the face, however, can register hundreds of g’s without causing much damage.
Concussive-force injuries to the head suffered in football occur between 95 and 103 g’s.
Take note, Gorgens also said young athletes often experience brain trauma that can be three times more damaging than corresponding concussions suffered by the more developed brains of adults.
Dig this part.
An executive with the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), the governing body of high school sports in California told me back then. “Nobody wants to self-report. It is no different at the high school level or in the NFL. One of our top priorities is to continue to educate. Their teammates and moms and dads have to watch out for them. We have a sports medicine team that has been dealing with this for five years. We’re excited the NFL is addressing it, because it is keeping the spotlight on the issue.”
The CIF requires students to sit out the remainder of practice or a game if a coach suspects the player has suffered a concussion. The player can only return after a licensed healthcare professional has signed a form stating the player has received treatment. But high schools are not required to report concussions to the CIF, and most players do not self-report, even when they are experiencing concussion symptoms.
But education is the key especially among young athletes.
According to a poll conducted by ESPN in November 2010, among 300 high school football players, 100 coaches, 100 parents and 100 trainers in 23 states, concussion awareness is at an all-time high, but players are the biggest roadblock to proper diagnosis and prevention.
Fifty-four percent of the high school students polled said a star player with a concussion should play while injured in a state title game.
Roughly the same percentage also said a player should be allowed to return to a game, even if he suffers a headache after a hard hit, which is the first signal of a concussion. About 45 percent of the high school students polled agreed with the statement that, “A good chance of playing in the NFL is worth a decent chance of permanent brain damage.” The poll quoted one player identified as a Texas blue-chipper who is being recruited by just about everyone as saying: “It’s a health or wealth question. I choose wealth, and I think a lot of other players will too.
Not smart at all.
Children have a higher risk of sustaining concussions and other serious injuries while playing tackle football. To make matters worse, since the brain is still developing, it is more susceptible to long-term damage from repeated blows to the head, which can lead to neurological disorders later in life.
Yes those are facts, consider this also.
The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) released a study in 2015 that found concussions are more likely to occur during a tackle football practice rather than a game.
The reason is simple, there are more practices than games. When rules were put in place by the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association limiting the amount of contact allowed in practices, concussion dropped by 57 percent.
Education, cutting back on contact in practices and shorter seasons could increase safety.
No matter what the state legislature decides, parents, teenagers, coaches, schools and even teammates must receive more education on head trauma not just in football, but soccer, rugby and other contact sports.
Safety begins with awareness,
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