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Richard Sherman, one of the top NFL players and also a Stanford grad, is very outspoken about this, and agrees with you: https://www.si.com/2013/10/23/richard-s
by twentythree 9y ago
Richard Sherman, one of the top NFL players and also a Stanford grad, is very outspoken about this, and agrees with you: https://www.si.com/2013/10/23/richard-sherman-seahawks-concussions-in-the-nfl https://www.si.com/2013/10/23/richard-sherman-seahawks-concu.... His argument is that at this point, everyone playing the game knows the risks, and is taking that into account when making their decision to play.
To your second point, there's a recent push to ban tackling at levels below high school football (and play flag football instead). The current theory is that it's not the big hits that cause brain damage, but all the smaller "sub-concussive" hits that happen on every play. Eliminating those until high school would hopefully limit the long-term damage of football, especially for kids who only play through high school or college. I don't think banning tackling at either of those levels is feasible, though; college football is a huge business itself, and a change as dramatic as eliminating tackling there would completely change the sport.
- briffle 9y agoThat protects the running and defensive backs.. but the linemen take pretty substantial hits on almost every play..
- nradov 9y agoOne option would be to require the linemen to stand up and prohibit helmet strikes.
- twentythree 9y agoIn flag football, you generally don't have linemen in the traditional sense; there's no blocking allowed, and the quarterback is protected by a count instead of his blockers. The American Flag Football League is one of the organizations trying to take over this space (they recently played a game in Levi's Stadium with Michael Vick and Terrell Owens, among others). Here are the full rules if you're interested! https://www.americanflag.football/official-rules/ https://www.americanflag.football/official-rules/.
- oreo81 9y agoIt's a joke that will go nowhere though.
- scott_karana 9y agoNot with support like yours, no.
- oreo81 9y agoYou really think flag football can potentially become a major sport?
- JoeDaDude 9y agoI am unable to locate a source, but I recall a quote by an NFL official that all it would take is for 10% of the parents to believe football is dangerous to kill the sport. Moving to flag football would confirm this notion, setting aside the idea that flag football will probably not have the spectator draw that the current football has.