Draft One

With the growing love for sports and sellout crowds, have we realized what we are watching? Could the sports that we watch be so dangerous that they are shortening lives? With the increasing level of technology going into contact sports makes people believe that these sports are becoming safer. Despite what you hear, “A government study found a lower death rate among former NFL players than among men in the general population. Former players also had a lower rate of cancer-related deaths. And the rate of deaths from heart disease was lower, too.” (NFL Player Fact vs. Fiction) Could this all just be a myth? After a little more research I found that maybe it’s not shortening lifespans but destroying the qualities of life. With research and interviews I can answer questions I never thought I would.

With contact sports there is always the risk of a head or neck injury. With technology doing its best to prevent this, there is still a huge concern, “One study estimates that the likelihood of an athlete in a contact sport experiencing a concussion is as high as 20% per season.” (Vanlandingham) But how serious are concussions and what is causing them? A concussion is caused by a blow to they head or neck area, bouncing you brain and smashing it to one side of your skull. This will cause obvious symptoms such as, “amnesia, disorientation, mental fogginess, confusion, nausea or vomiting, blurred vision or loss of consciousness.” (Vanlandingham)

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is the new and most recent disease that is overcoming athletes. Although this can only be diagnosed once the athlete is diseased, the symptoms are very serious and life degrading. Most people believe that CTE comes from concussions, but these two head injuries are entirely different. CTE symptoms are much more serious and long term. If an ex-player suspects he or she has CTE they must find help immediately. Treatment options are very vague. The amount treatment options are very low because of how recent this has been in existence. You cannot treat CTE itself you can only treat each symptom individually.

With all this in mind, is it worth playing contact sports? Dr. Omalu askes the question, “you wouldn’t let your child drink a glass of cognac or smoke a cigarette, so why would you send him out on a football field to risk brain damage?” A very blunt and honest way to put it but is this comparing the same thing? Being a football player for majority of my life has been the most useful resource and life changing experience of my life. I have been privileged to play a team sport so useful to me as a human being. Not only on the field but off the field. I have learned so many life lessons through football that I wish other kids could experience. The work ethic and determination that it takes to be a football player helps put young children on the right path for success. If you’re going to compare football to drugs and alcohol, you have to remember that there is a huge upside to this sport as well.

With everything we know already, what are we doing to prevent these injuries and diseases? The increasing number of concussions, “3,800,000 concussions reported in 2012, double what was reported in 2002” (Headcase) isn’t helping worried parents decide what their children’s athletic participation will be. If numbers are doubling how can we be so called “preventing life-threatening injuries?” The answer is this,