Health is wealth. I believe that no matter how popular one’s child is because of his sports affiliations, if he is dead, then everything is useless. In fact, an estimated 8,000 children are treated in emergency rooms in hospitals because of sports related injuries. Thus, because of this and many other reasons, it would be beneficial to ban non-professional football.
One reason for banning non-professional football is the severity of the head injury that could result from untrained skills. Moreover, there is basically no set recovery time for the injured child. There is also no clear standard on when the child is returning to play, and if it is too early, then the damage will become severe (Armour). If medical practice cannot even set rules for sports injuries like this, then it is better to stop and ban them.
Secondly, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA, there are no set limits on the number of concussions allowed before one can be declared injured and unable to play (Armstrong). Thus, with the growing number of players experiencing sports injuries, it is highly necessary that the NCAA issue some standards to protect the child.
Thirdly, head injuries could be fatal. In fact, even NFL Pro Bowler, Bo Jackson, emphasized the lethal nature of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, as caused by sports injuries to the head (“The Science Behind”). Moreover, with 3.8 million concussions coming from sports activities every year based on the report by the CDC, the harm of sports including non-professional football is indeed be greater than anyone would think or can imagine (Vertune). Thus, non-professional football can kill children faster than it can turn them into professional athletes.
- Armour, Nancy. “N.C. Legislators Pull Back on Parents’ Concussion Say.” AthleticBusiness.com, Feb. 2017.
- Armstrong, David. “Disqualified after concussions, college football players recruited back onto the field.” Stat News, 8 Jan. 2016.
- “The Science Behind the NFL’s Biggest Problem: Story Highlights.” CNN, 2017.
- Vertuno, Jim. “Texas to Launch Largest Study of Youth Brain Injuries.” AthleticBusiness.com, Dec. 2016.