Youth, High School Football (and other contact sports) Child Abuse?

[ghostsinthemachine]

Now that we have a LOT of evidence linking concussions, contact sports to brain injuries and damage (CTE, Dementia, others) can we say that if you put your kid in those programs you are abusing that child?

I wouldn't let mine play contact sports, or at least those sports where there was going to be contact on every play, and that was in the 80's. Volleyball, Baseball and Soccer, that was it. No football, Rugby, boxing etc......

My Mom, even though my dad wanted us to play (who suffered and eventually died due to Alzheimer's and the 17 strokes he had due to his football playing days in the 40's), was adamant about not letting us play football. I thanks her for that.

[Iggo]

1. Why not just go all the way and call it Terrorism?

[ghostsinthemachine]

3. Because it isn't... It is though, putting your children in danger, a known danger....

terrorism is putting other people in danger. (Sure you understand and were just trying to confuse the issue).....

[Iggo]

25. Nope, just ridiculing your premise.

[Ford F-150]

21. Bubble wrap...

Put all kids in bubble wrap until the th graduate college...

[ghostsinthemachine]

2. NFL Players in Denial on Brain Trauma; Parents Can't Afford to Be

The Super Bowl is our country's national celebration of football, a game Dr. Bennet Omalu, the doctor who discovered chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), calls our "collective societal intoxication and addiction."

From an entertainment perspective, football is more popular than ever. Attendance figures, television ratings and the growth of fantasy football tell us that.

However, while the game's popularity might be on the upswing, so is the scientific evidence that football is hazardous to the human brain. And it's not just concussions.

"In terms of the truth, it is not about concussions," said Omalu in a recent interview with sport and culture writer Patrick Hruby. "It is about blows to the head."

Long term, repetitive sub-concussive brain trauma can be as dangerous as a concussion.

"CTE is part of a spectrum [of brain damage]," explains Omalu. "When you suffer a blow--a single blow or repetitive--you may have immediate symptoms or may not have immediate symptoms.

MORE HERE: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ken-reed/nfl-players-in-denial-on_b_9140222.html

[Press Virginia]

4. I don't think you can compare the collisions in youth FB

with those sustained over a career in pro football.
Obviously concussions are a risk but the parents, with guidance from their doctor, should be able to decide when that risk is too great.

Incidentally soccer has a very high concussion rate among youth participants

[ghostsinthemachine]

5. My girlfriend had a 12 year old in football

Last edited Wed Feb 3, 2016, 07:36 PM - Edit history (1)

And he had his "Bell Rung" twice when i was with her. Kid was obviously stunned for the entire day.

We also don't know that these type of collisions, with a growing brain, aren't even more harmful than those which come later....

And I know that about soccer, it would not let my child play that one now either.

in fact, I wish I had not even had them play sports and instead focused on playing music. Sports gets you NOTHING after 13 and music is forever.

[Press Virginia]

7. Been there. My HS career ended with a concussion

It's a risk but kids, generally, aren't taking the same types of hits at the youth level that one would see even at the HS level.
More than one or two incidents might be a sign that the child isn't cut out for the game or that the fundamentals of tackling and blocking aren't being taught

[shraby]

8. I had 3 teenaged boys and wouldn't let them play football in school. They didn't like it,

but this Mom wasn't hearing of such a thing.
I considered my children more precious than the football team. I figured out then, that it was a dangerous sport for them to play. This was in the 1970s.

[AngryAmish]

12. Absolutely comparable

I played 3 years in grade school. 12+ concussions. Vomiting from exertion. No water allowed. Shaved the pads out of my helmet to get it to fit.

The problem is not the concussion. It is repeated head trauma that does not rise to concussions.

Game cannot be played safely.

I also boxed.

I have about a gran mal seizure a year, started during my boxing days.

Cognition is fine now in my late 40s. If it gets bad, I will kill myself. I spent 20 years as a caregiver for my parents. I put off marriage until my late 30s because of it. I ain't signing my wife and kids up for that.

I really don't watch too much football anymore. Now that we know the facts it doesn't seem so fun anymore.

[Drahthaardogs]

6. Officially jumped the shark...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

[Brickbat]

9. How about riding bikes?

[ghostsinthemachine]

11. Can't do it without a helmet now...

in California.

[Brickbat]

10. Soccer is no protection; it causes the most sports concussions for girls.

[AngryAmish]

13. Concussions are rare in golf and tennis. Squash. Crew.

Let your kid play prep school sports.

[Brickbat]

14. Prep school sports indeed.

Mine are in the old standbys, though; football, hockey and baseball.

[OldHippieChick]

15. In hindsight I might have been more adamant about

preventing my son from playing football. But he had a very high testosterone level and was very aggressive. Football was an excellent way for him to take out some of that aggression. He never suffered a concussion and played offensive line all through HS. He had also played soccer, baseball and basketball. None of those seemed to have the same affect on his testosterone level. I'm no doctor, so this is not scientifically based. My son is now a classical cellist and quite a pacifist. Maybe he was lucky. I do now have a different view of football than I once did, but I will still be rooting for the Broncos on Sunday.

[ileus]

16. My son just finished his 4th year of football (started in 3ed grade)

The head of our counties CPS sits beside me for every practice as our kids hit the dirt.

Unlike a lot of the parents we don't use the provided equipment. We instead invest in different pads, helmet, padded jersey, and elbow pads (added the elbow pads this season after he broke the tip during his 2nd practice.)

Of course Football isn't near as hard on him as his motorcross "career"...LOL

Now his real love is baseball, and being a pitcher he gets hit a few times every season.


My daughter teaches batters not to crowd the plate by sending them high and to the inside. She doesn't like getting hit though....odd...we just bought her a new 80 buck helmet for this season.

Some of their biggest hits have be on the bike hitting the Mountain bike trails behind the house....suppose we should stop that also.

It's also kinda dangerous with them in the yaks in the summer, so I suppose we'll sell those also.

[MineralMan]

17. I never heard of a concussion from

Band or chorus in high school. Drama, either. All offer the same benefits as team sports. Leadership, cooperation, competition, and benefits from dedication to a group effort. No concussions, although there might be non violent physical contact at times. Risky sometimes, but not injurious.

Yet those programs are usually the first to be cut. Go figure.

Signed,

Band, chorus and drama geek in HS.

[Recursion]

20. Drama? Definitely

Particularly if you're doing tech and working the flies and arbor.

[Bigmack]

18. Football is dangerous at any level...

Last edited Wed Feb 3, 2016, 11:53 PM - Edit history (1)

I'm coming around to the opinion that it is simply gladiatorial combat.... with cheerleaders. A friend who was a college football hero and played in the pros for 6 years just died... CTE.

At the least, we need to look honestly at the damage football does.

It's actually worse in the younger football players, too.

“....because a young athlete’s brain is still developing, the effects of a concussion, or even many smaller hits over a season, can be far more detrimental, compared to the head injury in an older player.”
“Our best coaches are coaching our best players, and that’s in professional football. Our worst coaches are coaching the most critical position, and that is the 9-, 10-, 11-year-old people.”

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/08/americas-most-dangerous-football-is-in-the-pee-wee-leagues-not-the-nfl/279229/

"I am shocked to see that these children receive levels of brain trauma comparable to college football players," Nowinski said. "At one-third to one-fourth the mass of the average college player, it appears they deliver and receive nearly the same force to the brain on each hit."

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/7601017/study-impact-kids-football-head-hits-severe-college-games

Edited to add.... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/nfl-quarterback-had-stage-4-cte-when-he-died-report-finds_us_56b27489e4b01d80b244fa26

Some high school hits:

[Recursion]

19. I nearly lost an eye fencing in college

Opponent's blade snapped, leaving a sharp edge, which punctured my mask.



You're never going to find a "safe" sport.

[Marrah_G]

22. No

[phylny]

23. Nah, but your mom was right.

Our middle daughter is a Certified Athletic Trainer, and she said if she has kids, they'll "NEVER" play football. She also hates working football, because she said the pressure to get the kids back into the game is really tough on her as she does an evaluation, and it's tough on the kids. The coaches lose their minds trying to bully them back in.

We had all girls. They had enough head clunking in soccer. I can't imagine football.

[dembotoz]

24. my youngest fell down some stairs....only single level buildings for him

you assume they will not play pick up games of football. with no equipment.....