NFL Player Safety

Words: 683
Pages: 3

Player safety regarding the NFL is a very controversial topic, yet this topic just continues to be discussed, and nobody is really taking that big step towards the right solution. New rules and regulations are put in place every year, but the number of concussions is still substantial. NFL tries and tries to provide sufficient care or solutions for players that receive these blows, but the numbers still show that little progress is being made. As long as concussions are an issue in the NFL, many others like me will not be satisfied knowing grown men are technically ruining their lives playing a game they love. Sadly. After sources upon sources I have found solutions that have and haven't worked. I have sided with a solution from West Virginia …show more content…
Often caused by a sudden direct blow or bump to the head concussions leave you feeling dazed, clumsy, sluggish, having slurred speech, and loss of the ability to concentrate. Although the issues aren't seen on the first concussions, I'm looking into repeated concussions to NFL players and the effect it has on players. The biggest of which is Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) a progressive degenerative disease found in athletes brains after years of repeated concussions.
Within this paper I will use information I have found from players of the game, expert neurologists, rule changes to the NFL, and solutions to this problem. These include reasons why the solutions to this problem do and don’t work, and retired players giving their opinions on the NFL. Countless examples of retired players committing suicide and soon after we know it was due to brain damage. Statistics showing why or why not the rule changes we see happening are
…show more content…
Ironically, many experts state that the increase in protection regarding helmets is actually increasing concussions. In a article by Susan Perry, she goes on to say that the old leather helmets performed almost the same as these advanced helmets. Dr. Erik Swartz describes the issue of helmets in the NFL as risk homeostasis, saying that when you have a protected body part you're more likely to put it in danger.( Swartz Pg.2) Moreover, Hines Ward says to go back to the old-school days. He believes that when you have a helmet you will use it as a weapon just like you use shoulder pads as one. ( Ward Pg.1) With this information we can see that maybe the solution of designing new protective helmets isn't the way to go. Players have too high of a sense of protection using these helmets and put themselves in harms way using them the same they use shoulder pads. Question yourself again when you think that more protection is always the