...Concussions in the NFL Concussions have been and will continue to be a major threat and liability risk to the National Football League. Head related injuries can have devastating long-term effects, causing serious brain damage, neurological disorders, and other cognitive health problems (“Concussions in Sports”). Within the past couple of years, suicides by former professional football players have been linked to Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, a disorder attributed to multiple concussions (Hanna). As a result, numerous class-action lawsuits have been filed against the NFL alleging “negligence, fraud, and concealment” (Brandt). Although the League has implemented new safety mechanisms and rules regarding head injuries, the main focus of the lawsuits is based on the NFL’s past failure to perform its legal duty of protecting and informing players about the true dangers and life-long impacts associated with concussions. The various lawsuits filed by football players demonstrate a liability risk to the NFL. Under the United States legal system, a liability risk arises when a person or entity can be held financially responsible for the life, income, or health to someone else (Rejda). Brain injuries and severe cognitive repercussions suffered by former NFL players can be categorized more specifically as bodily injuries. This type of liability damage imposes legal responsibility “for losses a person may incur because his or her body or mind has been harmed” (Rejda). In addition...
Words: 882 - Pages: 4
...thing I would say is that while football is certainly fun and entertaining to watch, the human body was not designed to handle the frequent hard hits to the body and head as a result of playing the sport. Unfortunately these professional athletes end up suffering from brain damage as a result of our thirst and fascination for hard hits and violence. I would explain that while football helmets seem safe, they truly only provide very minimal protection against concussions that cause the brain to bounce, shake and rotate back and forth hitting against the wall of the human skull as a result of frequent football tackles that appear harmless to those watching the sport. To ensure the message hits home, I would bring up examples of their favourite former NFL players such as Hall of Famer Mike Webster who actually suffered neurological effects of playing the sport. It is important to highlight the most severe consequences first, which is that playing football can cause severe trauma to the brain as a result of multiple concussions that these athletes regularly experience. This trauma starts to destroy the integrity of the brain cells, causing a degenerative brain disease known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). High levels of CTE in a football player’s brain can result in memory loss, agitation and even increased anger management issues. It can also cause death, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS). This neurological trauma affects your ability to regulate your...
Words: 3380 - Pages: 14
...Bennet Omalu in the movie Concussion. With over 30 million dollars in gross sales, the film has delivered a message to its many viewers: The dangers of Football. Dr. Omalu’s discovery of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in former NFL players (CTE) over 10 years ago has questioned the legitimacy of the National Football League’s priorities and morality. According to Frontline, NFL players have suffering from 322 concussions in 2014 and 2015, an increase from 2012 and 2013. As explained in the film, the constant hits on the player’s head starts causing permanent damage on the brain with symptoms of memory loss, impaired judgment, depression, aggression and dementia. The after effects of the hustle and bustle of a NFL career has affected and triggered the deaths of former players including Junior Seau and Terry Long. The NFL’s lack of...
Words: 537 - Pages: 3
...to the NFL need to focus more on the dangers of concussion sin football. In sports everyone who commits to playing for an organized team knows that there is a large risk involved by the time you are stepping onto the field, Court or Ice Rink. One of the most common sports that athletes are being injured in is the sport of football. Every one knows the dangers of the the full contact sport because it is so widely commercialized in for all ages. From High School all the way to the NFL football is a big deal but what about the injury's that come along with playing this violent game. Concussions are one of the most common injures that occur out of the football field and it has...
Words: 2094 - Pages: 9
...asdfkjnsdf;jansfjkanwepjfnwejfnsajkdfnsadfnsamdnfjwaenfjsandfkanwejfnwkjefnakejfnkjnkjnjnjnkjnjknjknkjnThe NFL is commonly regarded as America’s favorite sports league, watched by millions around the country. The Superbowl is typically the most watched event on American television every year. However, the NFL has recently come across increased intense scrutiny by former players and the media for their lack of action towards preventing concussions. The NFL is often compared to a gladiator arena, where players push through serious injuries and perform spectacular feats in front of a roaring and bloodthirsty crowd. Many people look at professional football players and forget that they are still human. They are not invulnerable to pain, and they are not immune to the side effects that come with playing such a violent game. Former players who played in the 1980’s and 1990’s played with rules that allowed dangerous helmet-to-helmet hits, and in a society that expected them to play through injuries, such as concussions. Players at particular positions are at an additional risk for concussions, with 18.2% of defensive backs suffering concussions sometime in their career (Pellman, Viano). Players that suffered repeat concussions were found to have a much greater risk of “increased neuronal vulnerability”, and that there is an increase in the likelihood of “recurrent concussions with each successive previous injury.” (Guskiewicz). Former players are experiencing increased rates of brain...
Words: 10424 - Pages: 42
...nationally. Injuries such as concussions, fractures and worse of all chronic traumatic encephalopathy or more commonly know as CTE. CTE was first discovered by Dr. Bennet Omalu a forensic pathologist and neuropathologist Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The NFL and NCAA are implementing and regulating rules to make the game safer for players. Football is the leading sport in sport related injuries. In a research conducted by the Center for Injury and Research and Policy at Columbus Children's Hospital...
Words: 737 - Pages: 3
...5 million concussions occur annually. This is a mind blowing number that is only rising each year, especially in middle school and high school sports. The definition of a concussion according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a type of traumatic brain injury - or TBI - caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head or by a hit to the body that causes the head or brain to move rapidly back and forth. This sudden movement can cause the brain to bounce around or twist in the skull, creating chemical changes on the brain and sometimes stretching and damaging brain cells. Vince Lombardi, a legendary Green Bay Packer football coach, pointed out, “football is not a contact sport; it is a collision sport--one...
Words: 812 - Pages: 4
...,“League of Denial” The NFL Concussion Crisis ave you ever taken the time to consider the consequence? Not the immediate consequence, maybe not even the short term, but the long term consequence of how we as society treat our bodies. For the NFL, its players and “Iron Mike” Webster, the consequence’s became reality on September 24th 2002 when “Iron Mike” meet Dr. Bennnet Omalu as he lay lifeless on a cold autopsy table at the Allegheny County Coroner’s Office. Concussion: a condition resulting from the stunning, damaging, or shattering effects of a hard blow; especially: a jarring injury of the brain resulting in disturbance of cerebral function and sometimes marked by permanent damage (http://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/concussion). Concussions have become more prevalent in the National Football League as awareness has risen. There are numerous cases of CTE that have resulted in permanent damage or death over the course of the last 15 years. The reality behind concussions is that there will never be a total solution to the issue, in contact sports the danger will always be there. We must continue to raise awareness and develop protective equipment to minimize the risk. Concussions are one of the leading causes of CTE among all professional athletes toady. Mike Webster retired in 1991 from the NFL and the Pittsburg Steelers after 17 years in the “pit” and made an attempt at a normal life, a short time into this journey it became apparent that “Iron Mike”...
Words: 770 - Pages: 4
... In the year two thousand, one thousand and ninety retired NFL (Nation Football League) players had some type of brain injury (Advance sport staff). The players had speech, mood, or change in reaction time. Many doctors and trainers have proven, the injuries are from player, spearing (using their helmets to hit the other players helmet: which is harder and throws off other players balance). The biggest problem is younger children are developing a similar problems too. On a young brain, the affects are worse. New technologies or strategies must be created, or else football could be in danger. Football officials should provide the teams with newer helmets to lower the occasions of concussion, rule change and long-term effects. To comprehend the subject you must grasp difference of types helmets. The new helmets from Riddell are so far best in class by the University of Pittsburgh Neurology department. What makes the helmets different are wear they put the padding, the padding then absorbs more of the blunt force. This should be the standard football helmet from Midget (little league for football) to professional. This study is monumental for how we will build helmets. The study was taken over a three period, with more than two thousand football players from over one hundred schools. With Riddell Revolution helmets, players are thirty-one percent less likely even have a concussion. When the player did have a concussion the rate was two point three percent lower than the traditional...
Words: 2075 - Pages: 9
...Society Concussions in Sport: An Analytical Discussion “I had no idea what a nickel was (Kevin Kolb, The Concussion Blog).” NFL quarterback Kevin Kolb has suffered three major concussions since 2010 (Galliford, Buffalorumblings). His most recent one just this past August effectively ended his football career. This is just one example of the many in which multiple or severe concussions have cut short careers in sports. The issue of player safety in sport has become a topic of controversy and debate in recent years. Many professional leagues such as the NFL and the NHL have adopted strict concussion test protocols and procedures for its players. Player safety has no doubt become a major concern in contact sports. The problem is, many of these regulations have yet to address what happens after playing careers are over. What happens to former players’ mental and physical health after they retire? How do players whom have suffered multiple concussions playing contact sports live their lives as opposed to players whom have played non-contact sports such as golf or baseball? What will be questioned in this analysis is do known players that have suffered multiple and/or severe concussions throughout their playing careers due to playing a contact sport develop abnormally high levels of mental and physical health problems at an early age? Previous history on the attempts to lower the frequency of severe injury and concussions have shown advances...
Words: 3098 - Pages: 13
...traumatic encephalopathy” or CTE for short. The disease is the result of having multiple concussions over many years. Since people had never heard of this disease decades before, so when a player got hit in the head it was natural for the coach to leave the player in the game. As time goes on, society continues to learn what this disease is and its harmful effects such as depression and increased risk of suicide. In turn, the NFL improved how it combats CTE because of rule changes, the introduction of new tackling techniques, and the implementation of new technology to keep...
Words: 1061 - Pages: 5
...Jason Moore The University of Findlay Dangers of Football Abstract Using the research of Juliet Macur, Barry Wilner, Dr. Robert Graham and Melanie Stout of TMJ4 news, I observed and analyzed concussions amongst American football. In the past, head injuries amongst football have been known to be looked over and not taken serious. Based on what I’ve found, players who did not tend to their injuries suffered serious health issues later on in their careers. Cases about Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, dementia and etc. amongst former players are a lot more common. Tragic reports about former players committing suicide, as well as incidents amongst the youth. Dangers of Football Football is arguably the most dangerous contact sport in America. Head injuries and concussions have always been a part of the game. The number of tragic cases and the lifetime effects that experts are beginning to witness on the older players, make experts question the health of the youth’s future in the sport. People do not take sports related head injuries as seriously as they should. Many NFL players who did not tend to their head injuries like they should’ve were known to have had C.T.E. (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy). Many cases and reports about head injuries go to show why athletes, parents, doctors and even coaches should start taking head injuries more seriously. When we think of a concussion in football, we instantly think about a hard head clashing tackle, or a blindside hit on...
Words: 1912 - Pages: 8
...properly treat concussions is by using modern technology and science. Because coaches and players cannot be trusted to report concussions the NFL can now “employ technology to get around the problem altogether through widespread real-time monitoring of head impact exposure” (Lench). Honesty is compromised in professional sports on reporting injuries because the teams want to perform the best they can and players want to make the most money by playing the maximum minutes on the field as possible. Technology has least chance of error in locating concussions and can be standardized all throughout the league and in other parts of the world for all different types of contact sports. Technology can be trusted...
Words: 984 - Pages: 4
...Concussions in NFL athletes Daniel Cetnarowski DeVry University Concussions in NFL athletes. Football, a sport of hard hits and exciting plays. Every year you see something in football which is amazing. A player breaks a record or catches a ridiculous pass for a touchdown. Your favorite team goes to the super bowl and wins. Your favorite player has a career season and breaks NFL records. These are the reasons why I love the game of football. But with the good, must come the bad. Players receiving injuries while playing. Minor injuries to major injuries, sooner or later every player in the NFL will experience an injury. The sad thing is, there is one injury that has an everlasting effect. Concussions. Once thought to be no big deal, concussions are now at the center of a huge lawsuit against the NFL and forcing retired players to change how they live. So, are concussions changing the lives of NFL players or is there something else happening to the players that are causing these brain disorders? My vote is the concussions are causing these players lives to change forever. The purpose of this proposal is to show that if something is not done to limit concussions the sport may change the way we know it and love it. I would not want to watch football if the NFL went to flag football and not full tackle. The players would not want that either. If that happens the players’ salaries will get decreased. It will be a trickle down affect. The NFL will lose...
Words: 2735 - Pages: 11
...Running head: CONCUSSIONS IN SPORTS 1 Concussions In Sports Robert Hayes DeVry University CONCUSSIONS IN SPORTS 2 In todays society the sporting world plays some kind of role in all of our lives whether we realize it or not. Some of us may say that “I never watch sports” or “I’m not really a fan of sports,” could be true. One thing I can guarantee is that you have a family member, neighbor, friend, or co-worker that has some kind of affiliation with sports, it could be the clothing that we wear or that some else is wearing, maybe the accessories you see people wearing when you go out, or just could be a commercial you have seen on television. Wherever you are in the United States I can guarantee that you have some kind of affiliation with some kind of sport. As of the year 2013 studies show that “sixty percent of our children between the ages of five years of age and eighteen years of age play some kind of sport outside of school activities”, and if you think about how much sixty percent of our child population in the United States is, that is a lot of kids. Now think about how many of those parents think about there children having the potential for a brain traumatic injury, I would guess that statistic is probably quite a bit lower than ten percent, no study to my knowledge has been done for this. So I am writing this paper to make parents aware of what is currently...
Words: 1528 - Pages: 7
