Concussion Regulations In Sports

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Concussion Regulations in Sports The number of reported concussions in the NFL in 2016 rose by 32 percent (Belson 1). This number is very shocking knowing that there are only about 1,700 NFL football and about 4 million youth and high school football players (Nader/Reed 1). More regulations are needed in order to make sports safer because concussion symptoms are often difficult to diagnose and can result in lifelong injuries, coaches need regulations so they keep their player’s best interest as a top priority, and players often want to win in spite of injuries. First, many concussions are hard to diagnose because symptoms are difficult to identify and they can result in lifelong injury. In some cases the medical staff at different infields …show more content…
Many coaches are happy about changes that are happening. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Nascar driver) is happy about these changes, “This is a positive step toward protecting our drivers. Good to see progress being made and implemented. Health and safety is top priority” (Tucker 1). There should also be changes in football too, not just Nascar racing. NCAA President Mark Emmert says,”Football practices remain a frequent source of injury, including concussion and repetitive head impact exposure, in all three NCAA divisions” (Futterman 1). “Contemporary research reveals the risk of concussion is greater in practices that allow tackling versus practices that allow contact without tackling. Such research also reveals that head-to-head contact carries greater risk of concussion in football that head-to-ground contact” (Futterman 1). The goal is to eliminate as much head-to-head contact as possible in practices and games because studies show that is where the most concussions are occurring (Futterman 2). When it comes to high school and youth football players, safety should be the top priority. Today youth and high school teams are allowed significantly more full contact practices then the NFL teams. In high school 60-75 percent of concussions occur during practice (Nader/Reed 2). On top of that number 20 percent of all high school players suffer brain injuries in any given season, according to …show more content…
Many players who enter NFL brush aside concerns about concussions and head trauma, they just want to play to win (Clarke 1). Many football players will play football until they can’t (Clarke 1). “John Gagliardi coached Division III St. John’s University in Minnesota to four national championships with a ‘no tackling practice’ policy. Mike Grant and Buddy Teevens used a similar policy and were very successful (Nader/ Reed 2). Many NFL players are aware of the risks in football, but play anyways hoping that they will stay safe and unharmed. Not only do NFL players play with concussions, but Nascar drivers also want to race when they have concussion. “Concussions had been discussed with the Driver Council midway through last season, but the issue ‘fired back up’ after Matt Dibenedetto was held out of an Xfinity Series race at Texas Motor Speedway last fall after being placed in the concussion protocol. He had not been assessed through a CT scan and tests at a local hospital, as had become protocol, but observed and diagnosed through remote consultation. DiBenedetto raised concerns initially because he was slow to lower his window net and wobbled when walking away from his wrecked car, but blamed it on soreness in injured knees (Tucker