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Essayyou need to
hing ssay
everyt he perfect e
wr i t e t
Should
Kids Play
Football? Isaiah Kahut,
More young athletes are saying Americas favorite in middle
school
sport is just too dangerous. By Jennifer Shotz
he began to think hard about the Football players of all ages have the game is so risky they wouldnt
risks of the game he loved. After suffered permanent brain damage let their own kids play.
much soul-searching and talking to from repeated concussionseven Yet with all the public attention
his family and doctor, he made an when theyve given their brains on the concussion crisis, football
agonizing decision that is becoming time to heal (which can take seems to be getting safer every
more common in youth football. months). If a players brain has not day. For example, Pop Warner has
Isaiah decided to quit football. healed, even a small jolt can cause limited the amount of practice
For good. permanent damageor death. In time that includes tackling. (Most
milder cases, athletes can be left concussions sustained in football
A Football Crisis with lifelong pain, memory lapses, happen during tackles.) Nationwide
Football is Americas most aggression, depression, personality programs are training coaches,
popular sport. Some 2.5 million kids changes, and many other issues. parents, and athletes to recognize
play the gameoften in leagues and treat concussions. All 50
that start as early as first grade. In Can Football Be Safe? states have passed laws requiring
many towns, high school football So is it time for us to give up a medical professional to sign off
is the heart of the community, our most beloved sport? Some before an injured player can go
with sellout crowds turning out on fans point out that injuries can back on the field. Even the NFL has
Friday nights to cheer on the team. happen in any sport, from soccer altered some of its rules.
College football brings in more than to skateboarding. If we got rid of But do these measures go far
$3 billion a year; the NFL rakes in football, where would we draw the enough? Some believe we should
more than $9 billion. And across the line? On the other hand, no sport ban tackling. A few schools, like
nation, star players of all ages are has more concussions than football. Isaiahs middle school, have already
worshipped as heroes. Several NFL players have stated that done so. Die-hard fans, however,
But Americas favorite sport is in say that football just wouldnt be
crisis: An increasing number of kids football without tackling.
are choosing not to play. According
to ESPN, enrollment in Pop Warner, An American Tradition
the largest youth-football league Of course, there are many
in the U.S., dropped 9.5 percent
THIS IS wonderful aspects of football.
YOUR BRAIN
from 2010 to 2012. Because of Imagine a block of Jell-O in Young athletes learn discipline,
concussions, many considered the a jar of water. Now imagine focus, teamworkskills that will
Getty Images/iStockPhoto.com (Jar); Shutterstock (Jell-O)
*More than 147,000 concussions occurred in youth football during the 20132014 school
year, as reported in The National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study. SCOPE.scholastic.com FEBRUARY 2015 11
In 2013, Paul Oliver (left) of the San Diego Chargers
committed suicide. An autopsy showed he had chronic He runs track and went to state
traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). CTE is a brain disease championships; he plans to run
found in people with a history of brain trauma, such as
in college. He stays connected to
concussions. It can only be diagnosed after death. Eight
NFL players who committed suicide have since been found football by photographing games
to have had CTE. The NFL has said one in three retired for his school yearbook.
players will likely develop concussion-related brain disease.
He still gets headaches once
to go. Football offers the most full question we have to ask is: Do in a while, but for the most part,
scholarships of all college sports. the rewards of football outweigh his symptoms have faded. I
Then again, college players the risks? understand what could have
often make football, rather than happened if Id stayed on the team,
learning, their first prioritywhich Life After Football Isaiah says. Brain damage could
puts them at a disadvantage when Isaiah, now 17, is confident he have affected my entire life.
they look for jobs. (Few college made the right decision. Since And that made walking
players make it to the NFL.) So the quitting football, he has thrived. away the right choice.
YES
The rewards outweigh the risks.
NO
ITS way too dangerous.
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