Every Sunday, millions of people around the US sit down with their friends and family and watch their modern day gladiator fight known as football. For years people have enjoyed the carnage that the NFL has to offer. Viewers watch as two teams go at it on the field, and every now and then a player is carted off because of an injury. No one seems to take into consideration the seriousness of these injuries. Some of these injuries could take them out a week, a month, or even a year. Some injuries affect players for the rest of their lives; such as, concussions. Concussions nowadays are starting to become a great issue in football, and one question arises: Is the NFL doing enough to help prevent these concussions? The League claims
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One would come to think that with all the protocols and rules in the NFL that concussion rates would decrease, but they would be wrong. In the 2015 season, there were 271 reported concussions. This is the highest report of concussions since the 2012 season, when there were 261 reported concussions (Rose 1). These statistics show that concussion rates are not slowing down. Other statistics show that 28% of former players will develop a brain disorder (Reed 1). There is an estimated 21,000 former NFL players which means that about 5,880 players will be diagnosed with a type of brain disorder. Of that group of about 5,880, nearly half of them will have dementia as their most serious disease. The other half will be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s (1). What these statistics are saying is that life after the NFL will be tough. Some former players will get off lucky, but others will have serious brain problems. Even the slightest hit to the head can affect a player in a very negative …show more content…
In September of 2012, Roger Goodell, NFL commissioner, announced that the league was donating $30 million dollars to the National Institutes of Health (Taylor 1). This hefty donation was designed to support research on injuries that have affected players, with a main focus on brain trauma. The NFL also recently released new rules on tackling to help prevent blows to the head. A player cannot use their head to block or tackle (Saraceno 1). Players who do not follow these rules are fined. Ray Anderson, the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations, is responsible for dolling out the fines (Trotter 1). He believes that this push to improve player safety is indeed working. Anderson refured to a play during a Chargers-Chiefs game when San Diego safety Steve Gregory had Kansas City wide reciever Dwayne Bowe in his sights for a big hit as his proof. Rather than going high for a tackle, Gregory delivered a solid hit to the chest. “‘In the old days the defensive player would have gone to the head or neck,’ said Anderson who watched the 19-yard reception from the sideline. ‘Instead he went lower and made a solid, physical hit to the chest. That’s legal. That’s what we’re after’” (1). In addition, the NFL released a new standardized sideline concussion assessment protocol back in the 2011
One would come to think that with all the protocols and rules in the NFL that concussion rates would decrease, but they would be wrong. In the 2015 season, there were 271 reported concussions. This is the highest report of concussions since the 2012 season, when there were 261 reported concussions (Rose 1). These statistics show that concussion rates are not slowing down. Other statistics show that 28% of former players will develop a brain disorder (Reed 1). There is an estimated 21,000 former NFL players which means that about 5,880 players will be diagnosed with a type of brain disorder. Of that group of about 5,880, nearly half of them will have dementia as their most serious disease. The other half will be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s (1). What these statistics are saying is that life after the NFL will be tough. Some former players will get off lucky, but others will have serious brain problems. Even the slightest hit to the head can affect a player in a very negative …show more content…
In September of 2012, Roger Goodell, NFL commissioner, announced that the league was donating $30 million dollars to the National Institutes of Health (Taylor 1). This hefty donation was designed to support research on injuries that have affected players, with a main focus on brain trauma. The NFL also recently released new rules on tackling to help prevent blows to the head. A player cannot use their head to block or tackle (Saraceno 1). Players who do not follow these rules are fined. Ray Anderson, the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations, is responsible for dolling out the fines (Trotter 1). He believes that this push to improve player safety is indeed working. Anderson refured to a play during a Chargers-Chiefs game when San Diego safety Steve Gregory had Kansas City wide reciever Dwayne Bowe in his sights for a big hit as his proof. Rather than going high for a tackle, Gregory delivered a solid hit to the chest. “‘In the old days the defensive player would have gone to the head or neck,’ said Anderson who watched the 19-yard reception from the sideline. ‘Instead he went lower and made a solid, physical hit to the chest. That’s legal. That’s what we’re after’” (1). In addition, the NFL released a new standardized sideline concussion assessment protocol back in the 2011