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Sunday, November 15, 2015 | BataviasBest.org
Throughout this High School Football season, I have continuously been forced to adjust my opinion on the issue of safety in the game of football. First, having read a report of a successful high school football program in Missouri disbanding its program due to safety concerns early-on in 2015, the way I saw things, the sports as it once was was indeed dying – and it needed saving.
However, following Week 4 of the local High School Football season, further reports had surfaced that not only were programs and the sport dying, but players were also dropping dead around the country. For through four weeks, three players across the US had been killed due to trauma-related injuries suffered while playing in live game action. Needless to say, this made me slow my roll and reconsider my viewpoint on the state of football safety at the high school level.
Having said that, upon viewing an ESPN Outside the Lines report on head injuries in football just this past week, things became even more muddled for me.
In said report, Jonathan Drezner (Seattle Seahawks team physician) and Matt Chaney (concussion blogger) argued different sides of the debate concerning whether or not football can become a bit safer through different types of programs and legislation within the game. On the side of the affirmative was Drezner, while Cheney argued that football is a ‘kill sport’ unable of becoming safe in any way, shape, or form.
Leading things off on the OTL report was Drezner, who stated the goal of making football as safe as possible is in fact achievable – contrary to the thoughts of his adversary Chaney. The Seahawks team physician claims that programs around the country are working to make the sport safe based on truths that we as a society understand – which lie in the fact that proper equipment and certain educational programs can indeed save players from injury, and in turn have saved lives. Also unlike Chaney, Drezner expressed how he has seen a positive transformation in football culture in recent years, which he believes will contribute to a continued trend of safer football.
At the forefront of this change in culture which Drezner has witnessed is the increased presence of the aforementioned educational programs used to help coaches react to concussion injuries, as well as the use of several data sources to better treat those players who are affected.
For example, Kristina Kucera (UNC Dept of Exercise & Sport Science assistant professor) has spent the past several years at UNC gaining better understanding of injuries, as well as how to prevent them via an online portal used to track concussions around the country. Using the portal, Kucera and her team study the various aspects of each concussion injury which has been reported throughout the US over the past several years. With the data collected, they work to find better understanding of each individual injury, as well as how to treat and prevent them going forward.
Another display of this newfound culture of safety which surrounds football is the story of Brian and Kathy Haugen. The Haugen’s, parents of a 15-year old who was previously killed due to a traumatic hit on the football field, have spent the last couple of years working with popular sports equipment company EVO Shield in hopes of finding more effective ways to protect football players abdominal regions – which is the area that was affected upon their son’s tragic death.
Brian and Kelly hold the belief that, in the world of sports safety, we spend too much time reacting and not enough time being proactive. In relation to that, another qualm of the Haugen’s has been the fact that there is no information available which can be used to discover exactly which programs around the country are being under-supplied with the appropriate equipment needed to slow down the rush of injuries – which they believe has led to the sport’s inability to be proactive in this area. In their minds, those involved need to figure out which programs around the country are being undersupplied in order to make informed decisions upon improving certain situations around the country. In the end, they believe this will lead to increased safety within the sport.
However, despite what Drezner, Kucera, and the Haugen’s believe, concussion blogger Matt Cheney is on the complete opposite side of the spectrum.
In short, Cheney considers football safety as a complete lost cause. From his point of view, the sport itself harbors and promotes violence in such a way that football comes no where near to being safe, and he also argues that injury awareness has simply enveloped the sport rather than making it safer – part of which I agree with. In a perfect world, Cheney would like to see football “removed from the private sector and insurance pools” while also forcing football to “tell the whole truth” instead of minimizing health risks – which he claims the sport has done since 1890.
Now, as I sit somewhere in the middle of the two separate sides of the issue, it is tough for me to completely agree or disagree with either Cheney or Drezner’s point of view. Yeah, certain adjustments can be made in order to make it appear that head and other traumatic injuries are being legislated out of the game, but will the changes put in place actually be effective? I am not so sure.
As I stated in a previous post earlier last week, sports are dangerous. And when it comes to the most dangerous sport of them all, football presents such a high rate of injury on a game-to-game basis that I do not believe there will ever be a method that will proactively decrease the trend which has been set over the past many years. To put it plainly, concussion issues and other trauma-related injuries will continue to be present at the forefront of athletics – with those taking place on the football field leading the way.
But does that mean we should stop playing football, or sports all together? In my opinion, no.
Rather than placing all of our focus on the danger which football presents and proactive ways to prevent the sport from becoming dangerous, we should instead do our best in accepting the danger that comes with athletics in order to continue to work towards improving awareness of such frightening circumstances – which will allow us to better treat those affected down the road.
In other words, those groups and organizations who have placed their primary focus on searching for ways to legislate ‘unsafe football’ out of the game are directing their attention incorrectly – in my opinion. Instead, I believe our primary focus should be dedicated more-so to continuing to develop methods that will improve the awareness and treatment of those affected by unsafe play, in hopes of keeping their injuries from progressing to a drastic, or fatal end. For in many circumstances, those who have succumb to drastic injury are put back on the field only to suffer another, more-excruciating, and in some cases fatal injury, when in the end it could have been prevented with proper reaction to the initial injury on part of players, coaches, and trainers.
Perhaps if we are able to improve our ability to identify and react to horrifying injuries in a more effective, rapid manner, the rate of trauma and fatality that have continuously surrounded the sport of football, and sports in general, may finally decrease – and even come to an end.
But enough about what I think. What do you think?
Other articles you may like:
Three High School Football players have died due to football related injuries this year
HS Football team recently disbanded due to safety concerns years after appearing in State Final
Heads Up: New U.S. Soccer guidelines may signal the end of headers in youth soccer
