The Next Coffin Nail - American Football
The US National Institutes of Health have formally determined a causality between collision sports and CTE.
CTE stands for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. It is defined as a progressive brain condition thought to be caused by repeated blows to the head and repeated episodes of concussion. You can now remove “thought to be” from the definition according to US NIH.
As someone with diagnosed Traumatic Brain Injury and an estimated 12 or so concussions, CTE scares the shit out of me. CTE can only be diagnosed AFTER death. The symptoms are; memory and thinking problems, confusion, personality changes, and erratic behavior including aggression, depression, and even suicidal ideations. It increases the chances of dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease, especially for those that have suffered TBI in early or mid-life. This is serious.
Collision sports include rugby, hockey, soccer, boxing, UFC-style fighting, and American Football. The recommendations from US NIH to reduce incidents of head trauma for children 14 and under is no contact, no heading, no tackling even in games. For high school and above, it recommends limited heading in soccer and no tackling or contact during practice. That includes high school, college, and even professional sports.
Soccer, hockey, and the rest have already started to make adjustments. Youth hockey limits hitting and the kids all wear cages to protect their faces. Headgear in soccer is becoming more prevalent. I wear it when I play now. The US Soccer Federation already outlawed heading for kids 10 and under. They will just move that to stipulation to 14 year olds. I am a firm believer that headgear will become mandatory for soccer in the next ten years, just like shin guards. I don’t even play rugby and I know there are touch rugby leagues and there are plenty of rugby players that wear headgear. Boxers ALL wear headgear in the Olympics. You are seeing that in UFC-style fighting in small doses as well.
The difference between all the other sports and American Football? Outside the US, those other sports are not impacted by what US NIH says. They are global and have their own health bodies to make determinations like this. They can go on for decades before they catch up. Those sports will survive. Yes, UFC is predominantly a US sport, but not entirely. The difference is; American Football is generated FROM HERE and it centers around tackling. That is the essence of the sport itself.
What happens when there is no tackling until high school? Youth football turns entirely into flag football. Without hitting, that is a completely different game. Offense and defense changes. Kids won’t learn to hit properly until high school, which is arguably a bigger danger than learning it when they are young. And even then, they won’t be allowed to do it in practice…only in games. If you think the NFL is soft now, just wait. It will rapidly become even more unwatchable than it is now. Every game will look like the Pro-Bowl. Who even watches the Pro-Bowl?
There will be parental and coaching resistance to the NIH determination. I can already hear the old football players now…”Back in my day” and “That’s bullshit” and “I played my whole life and I’m fine”. Is CTE a definite for anyone who plays one of these sports? Of course not. Neither is cancer if you smoke, but your risk is a lot higher.
How long will it take in today’s cancel culture for parents and coaches to be branded as “risking their children’s health” by letting them play American Football? How long will it be before insurance companies will no longer insure youth tackle leagues or high schools with football programs? THOSE will be what kills American Football. It won’t be parents looking out for their kids (as much as it should be) and it won’t be a government mandate (as much as that could happen), it will be insurance and social media that kill football.
It started long ago, but the CTE determination by US NIH is the next nail in the coffin for American Football. The day is coming.