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[bonesmccoy]

This comment seems far more malicious than the bad joke that got John Gibbons into trouble last week.

 

[TBiddy]

But I'm a Dad and I don't want my kids playing football. I don't want them realizing their body starts to break down for an unlikely dream. I want my kids to be engineers. So, what say you Dad-gaf?

I want my (future) kids to be whatever they want to be. If they want to play golf, go ahead. Soccer? Sure. Ballet? Well, if you want..

 

[platocplx]

Listen i get it, but in retrospect I think it is pretty insane that you have kids so young while their brains are developing to be doing full contact intentional collisions when you really think about it.

I think football should be no-contact tackling until at least high school age at least.

Personally as much as i love the sport I dont want my kids playing it. Id rather they play basketball or baseball.

If you watched the recent superbowl and saw the intros to all the superbowl MVPs you can see how disabled some of the older players looked it was pretty damn sad to see.

 

[KodaRuss]

Stupid comments. If my son really wants to play football I will support him but I am not going to encourage him to try it. I would much rather him play Baseball or basketball.

My son has a way to go (turning 1 this week) but I have seen some of the things that my dad is going through with his body (he was a college quarterback) and it is tough and getting worse for him. He does not seem to have any of the mental/brain issues that I know of but his ankle is completely messed up and there really is not anything they can do other than fuse it which he obviously does not want to do.

 

[Wereroku]

I'd have no problem with my (hypothetical) kid playing football from the age of 12 onwards.

The biggest problem in the NFL and college is that the weight these guys carry turns their bodies into missiles of momentum. At school level where the size and speed of people is so reduced the danger is far, far less. I actually think that two-a-days in the heat in states like Texas might be a bigger deal.

I took a bad concussion playing rugby when I was 17 and wound up in hospital for 2 days while they checked me out. I was in a pretty bad way. But it didn't affect me at all once I recovered. Injuries happen, that one was to my brain, and I healed. The end.

Now, if my kid wanted to play after high school? At a high college or pro level? That's actually where I'd start to have concerns and ask if it's worth it.

Yeah you healed but what if a college scholarship was riding on you playing in the championship the next day? Would you have been allowed to sit out for 2 days or would they have tried to get you back on the field? That is the problem football has that some of the other sports don't. You are encouraged to not report concussions or other medical problems because you will get cut from the team or be mocked for being weak. The most damage is done when you get multiple concussions in a short time span and football especially suffers from that.

 

[Ripenen]

As a father of 2 girls, football isn't an option.

However, if I had a boy, he could play football, lacrosse, soccer, baseball or any other sport he decided he wanted to.

While we are seeing players that have lots of health issues, there are also plenty of former players that don't have them.

I love football, and so do my girls, and it will be a sad day when people take the little hitting that's left in football out of it.

Little hitting? Isn't football as violent as it's ever been? It's not rare to see a player knocked out cold on the field.

 

[andthebeatgoeson]

You have one of the biggest sports industries in the world actively denying and covering up head trauma and you guys want in depth, double blind data on kids? You can keep caping for these dudes but it's led to a point where we don't have any great data at the college level and you have to agree, it makes it difficult to fully understand the implications of head trauma in football because of the NFL's actions.

The lack of data could just mean, we don't have data. Every significant trauma research over the past 40 years has indicated we need to have less head trauma. That's why I grew up skiing without a helmet and have memories of riding in the front 'seat'/bench of a car, and my kids won't get out of a booster seat in the back, until age 8, and wear bike helmets, skiing helmets, etc.

 

[Keri]

Yeah, I won't allow my son to play football. Hopefully, since neither his father or I are very interested in the game, he won't feel drawn to it. If he does, I'll just be as honest as possible with him about the dangers (when I explain why I don't want him playing). Same with boxing, I would never want him to be a boxer. There are plenty of sports that can be played that focus on physical skills separate from brute force or in contexts which are much less likely to cause injury.

 

[pwack]

I've read medical reports from 35-45 year old football players who can hardly walk, sit, or sleep due to thee constant abuse and injury heaped on them by the game. The mental issues are also extreme -- people who are hardly able to function on a daily basis. I love football, I'm a dad, no way my kids will play. I am actually about to boycott the sport in my house (and, I guess, learn to love baseball.)

What struck me most is that to make it to the NFL, you've had to play for years and years already, all the time getting beat the fuck up.

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

It means plenty when I'm deciding what to do with my kid.

It's also conclusive proof to me that you can take a terrible concussion and be just fine. I know that as a fact since I've lived it.

Suffering a single concussion may cause lasting brain damage, researchers report in the journal Radiology.

FLATOW: Does that mean that everybody who has a concussion is going to have lasting brain damage?

FLANAGAN: Absolutely not. So, most people who have a concussion - which is a mild traumatic brain injury - do fairly well and actually become asymptomatic within a fairly short period of time. But there is a, what I would call a significant minority - that can range anywhere between 10 and 20 percent, depending on what literature you read - that may go on to develop chronic problems.

And that may include problems with mood, being depressed or anxious, or maybe problems with headaches or balance, or maybe just difficulty with their thinking, having problems paying attention or concentrating. So it's a small percentage, but a significant minority.

And that's from a single concussion, let alone all of the sub-concussive hits sustained over time.

 

[Griss]

Yeah you healed but what if a college scholarship was riding on you playing in the championship the next day? Would you have been allowed to sit out for 2 days or would they have tried to get you back on the field? That is the problem football has that some of the other sports don't. You are encouraged to not report concussions or other medical problems because you will get cut from the team or be mocked for being weak. The most damage is done when you get multiple concussions in a short time span and football especially suffers from that.

Yeah, all of those things are huge issues - but the problem lies with the organisation of the sport and exploitation of kids rather than the fact that boys are allowed to play it. That 'pipeline' that leads through scholarships for a lottery ticket career that never materialises for 99% of kids.

In my school a pro team came to scout one of our rugby players and coaches told them to fuck off - we were kids playing a sport for fun/educational/character building purposes and that wouldn't be sacrificed for any reason.

The (18yo) kid in question was upset but now realises he was being protected. Three years later he was a successful professional rugby player

Suffering a single concussion may cause lasting brain damage, researchers report in the journal Radiology.



And that's from a single concussion, let alone all of the sub-concussive hits sustained over time.

So I was right, you can take a bad concussion and be just fine. Thanks for the research, I need to have a son quick so I can get him out on the field.

 

[Achire]

It's quite possible that American football faces a long decline in participation, interest and relevance over the next couple of decades. This is what happened to boxing after people realised getting hit in the head's not that great for your kid.

 

[DontBeThatGuy]

Little hitting? Isn't football as violent as it's ever been? It's not rare to see a player knocked out cold on the field.

I have a couple of nephews who have suffered concussions and both have had a leg broken playing High School football. It's plenty violent, and they're not even dealing with teams that big and explosive.

 

[Camwi]

I'm a dad, and if my second child ends up being a boy, I don't want him playing football.

 

[Tal Shiar Agent]

Baseball, Soccer, Basketball, they want to play, whatever. Football? Fucking never.

 

[haimon]

Little hitting? Isn't football as violent as it's ever been? It's not rare to see a player knocked out cold on the field.

Football has outlawed lots of hits in the past ten years.

The game is far far different then it was even 10 years ago.

Not even talking about qb's, just general hits and tackling.

 

[Wereroku]

Yeah, all of those things are huge issues - but the problem lies with the organisation of the sport and exploitation of kids rather than the fact that boys are allowed to play it. That 'pipeline' that leads through scholarships for a lottery ticket career that never materialises for 99% of kids.

In my school a pro team came to scout one of our rugby players and coaches told them to fuck off - we were kids playing a sport for fun/educational/character building purposes and that wouldn't be sacrificed.

The kid in question was upset but now realises he was being protected. Three years later he was a successful professional rugby player

I agree the NFL as it is today is the problem but it takes science and parents removing players to get them to do anything. However compared to other sports I believe football as it is now is more dangerous than other sports. If we altered the sport to encourage body blocking and less full speed impacts it could become significantly safer.

 

[Dr. Black Jack]

I will never, ever let my kids or grandkids play football. High school football destroyed my knees, put me through years of pain/physical therapy and gave me a huge chip on my shoulder about authority figures, and for what? Not one goddamn thing, not even any kind of title/award. Fuck that sport.

 

[esquire]

One case doesn't equal a trend, we don't know what predispositions he may have had. Also that is through college. Not youth football. To suddenly say that the activity that millions of people have participated in over the last century and been just fine is now unconscionable is ridiculous. Dangers? Sure. Like many other things including sports in general. Let's just not make them out to be bigger than they are.

I sense you really like football and that is why I asked you that question earlier...

The thing is, it really doesn't sound like you know what you are talking about or you are just ignoring the evidence because you don't want to hear it. This is BEFORE people knew about concussions and the great scourge of angry politically correct moms existed, read: http://www.history.com/news/how-teddy-roosevelt-saved-football football is an inherently dangerous sport. You are welcome to like it and play it if you want but let's not deny what we have known since the sports inception. The biggest difference now is we have more evidence and a better understanding of the human brain.

For all the paranoia about serious mental conditions developed from playing football, there is no evidence it's any more likely to happen than a player going pro which we all agree is tiny. When you consider it's not even most of the pro players that are symptomatic you realize how small the likelihood is of a football player developing mental issues when considering players from every level. Not trying to say there aren't risks just people are being a little paranoid here and overblowing the issue.

...

This is what happens when you don't understand how science works and conflate your ideas of masculinity with a sport.

 

[Dryk]

It means plenty when I'm deciding what to do with my kid.

It's also conclusive proof to me that you can take a terrible concussion and be just fine. I know that as a fact since I've lived it.

Can be fine. CAN

 

[LizardKing]

For all the paranoia about serious mental conditions developed from playing football, there is no evidence it's any more likely to happen than a player going pro which we all agree is tiny. When you consider it's not even most of the pro players that are symptomatic you realize how small the likelihood is of a football player developing mental issues when considering players from every level. Not trying to say there aren't risks just people are being a little paranoid here and overblowing the issue.

 

[garath]

I love football but neither of my kids will be playing it at more than a flag football level. Just not worth it. There are other less violent organized sports that offer strong team building.

For the record they won't be playing hockey either (it's too expensive more than anything lol).

Contact sports are all well and good but safety is too much of a concern. Football is a big offender for burning out fast, let alone the long term potential issues.

My oldest son is 8 and has already played a season of flag football. Fortunately he likes baseball much more.

 

[Omegasquash]

Not really a risk I want my son to take. My son plays soccer and takes Tae Kwon Do. I'm not sure where martial arts rank on the injury scale, admittedly.

 

[FStop7]

This idiot is literally angry that "moms" don't want their kids developing CTE. The nerve of them to care about their kids! Those bitches!

 

[CapitalismSucks DonkeyBalls]

For all the paranoia about serious mental conditions developed from playing football, there is no evidence it's any more likely to happen than a player going pro which we all agree is tiny. When you consider it's not even most of the pro players that are symptomatic you realize how small the likelihood is of a football player developing mental issues when considering players from every level. Not trying to say there aren't risks just people are being a little paranoid here and overblowing the issue.

This is the shit Goodell has said for years even when smacked in the face by significant scientific evidence stating the contrary.

 

[andthebeatgoeson]

Proper tackling means shit when you have OLs and DLs who run the same blocking schemes involving their heads over and over.

And kick offs. Not a lot of proper tackling happening, more just running as fast as possible into each other. As a matter of fact, there should only be one proper tackle on a kick off. But it might be one of the more dangerous plays on the field.

 

[nillah]

At any rate other sports offer more $...

 

[QuantumZebra]

As a father of 2 girls, football isn't an option.

However, if I had a boy, he could play football, lacrosse, soccer, baseball or any other sport he decided he wanted to.

While we are seeing players that have lots of health issues, there are also plenty of former players that don't have them.

I love football, and so do my girls, and it will be a sad day when people take the little hitting that's left in football out of it.

Uhh, you know there are multiple women's leagues right? And a "WNFL" is brewing (but if CTE becomes more and more well-known and football continues to take hits in the media, it might never come to be, just like the NFL might become more marginalized and shunned.

 

[Wereroku]

For all the paranoia about serious mental conditions developed from playing football, there is no evidence it's any more likely to happen than a player going pro which we all agree is tiny. When you consider it's not even most of the pro players that are symptomatic you realize how small the likelihood is of a football player developing mental issues when considering players from every level. Not trying to say there aren't risks just people are being a little paranoid here and overblowing the issue.

Dude we have so little evidence because the NFL hid it for so many years. Most of the science on this is recent and is suggesting it's a pretty widespread problem depending on the position the player is in. Also we don't really know how many players are suffering from this because it has varying symptom levels and can only be diagnosed after death by examining the brain.

 

[willow ve]

For all the paranoia about serious mental conditions developed from playing football, there is no evidence it's any more likely to happen than a player going pro which we all agree is tiny. When you consider it's not even most of the pro players that are symptomatic you realize how small the likelihood is of a football player developing mental issues when considering players from every level. Not trying to say there aren't risks just people are being a little paranoid here and overblowing the issue.

I get that you're a die-hard fan, what with the Lions avatar and all, but the science is still coming in on CTE in regards to football and literally none of the research is on your side.

In related news US Soccer is changing rules to not allow heading the ball before a player is 14.

Anecdotally I've yet to meet a single parent in real life that will let their kids play football. Too much risk. Loads of other activities to compete in.

 

[pwack]

For all the paranoia about serious mental conditions developed from playing football, there is no evidence it's any more likely to happen than a player going pro which we all agree is tiny. When you consider it's not even most of the pro players that are symptomatic you realize how small the likelihood is of a football player developing mental issues when considering players from every level. Not trying to say there aren't risks just people are being a little paranoid here and overblowing the issue.

This is bullshit. The issue isn't just pro football. To be a pro, you have to play years and years of football. 3-4 years of college football can fuck you up too.

 

[pelicansurf]

Moms are tough.

Boom.

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

So I was right, you can take a bad concussion and be just fine. Thanks for the research, I need to have a son quick so I can get him out on the field.

Your cavalier attitude toward this is troubling. You to have know "It happened to me and I turned out fine" is not a valid argument.

Oh well. It'll be your kid, not mine.

 

[Maxim726X]

Moms are tough.

Hahaha... Don't remind me of that shit show.

And maybe it needs to be, or at least 'attacked' by people who care about the potential long term damage done by playing football.

 

[ElFly]

What if they want to play football?

What if your kids want to do drugs.

 

[7DollarHagane]

its time for football to sink into history. It's just unsafe and there's no morally responsible way forward for the sport that involves the levels of contact and collisions even in high school football.

Let it go. We need more engineers and scientists and less jocks anyway in the US.

Then again, we can't even convince morons in the US that vaccinating their kids is a good idea, what hope do we have to convince them that football is dangerous?

 

[robochimp]

What if they want to play football?

You tell them no.

I have two sons and I enjoy watching football, I don't watch it because I don't want to expose my kids to the sport.

 

[GoldenEye 007]

its time for football to sink into history. It's just unsafe and there's no morally responsible way forward for the sport that involves the levels of contact and collisions even in high school football.

Let it go. We need more engineers and scientists and less jocks anyway in the US.

Then again, we can't even convince morons in the US that vaccinating their kids is a good idea, what hope do we have to convince them that football is dangerous?

People playing football and sports aren't taking away from the pool of available scientists and engineers.

And besides. What happens when the market is flooded with scientists and engineers? Scientists already have a tough time finding jobs without having advanced degrees.

I'm not sure if I follow any of your logic.

 

[ApharmdX]

Football is being rightly attacked by people who value their kids' health. I love watching it, still, but I don't know if I'd let my sons play.

At any rate other sports offer more $...

More for the athletes, maybe. The league itself is the biggest revenue stream of any professional sports organization in the entire world.

 

[braves01]

There definitely is a bit of a media scare campaign going on, which I kinda understand. There's some evidence playing pro football can cause CTE, and outlets like the NY times smell the next big tobacco and want to establish themselves as the ones carrying the story.

 

[Fenderputty]

What if they want to play football?

I wanted to and didn't because of my parents. I'm not an axe murderer yet. If I end up with a boy I won't let him play either.

 

[Vicetrailia]

I think football gets rightfully attacked. I would let my future kids play though, or whatever sport they want.

You all want all of these engineers, but whose amongst the first to get laid off? Engineers. You want them to turn into Entrepreneurs.

 

[Spinluck]

I'd let my kids play

Spoiler

flag

football.

 

[Goro Majima]

I don't think it's particularly inaccurate to suggest that mothers will tend to be more protective than fathers when it comes to football, especially when you have an outdated perspective, like Arians does, that predates the whole CTE thing. The kids that I knew that weren't allowed to play football back in high school was because their moms said no.

I do think he's underestimating how fathers are seeing all this CTE stuff and are probably more likely to steer their kids away from full contact sports than they were maybe 20 years ago even. So I don't believe that it's only moms doing this.

 

[bwahhhhh]

Yeah, wouldn't want my kids to play football. All the science says it does awful things to people, they can run track, play basketball, play baseball, be on the chest team or something else, but no football.

i think it's more pc to call them cheerleaders

 

[Knuckle Sandwich]

I'm a dad and I'm not going to let my boys play football.

 

[massoluk]

If I have a kid, I wouldn't let them play American Football (or Rugby) also.
There are plenty of safer ways to exercise.

 

[Kill3r7]

My parents (mostly my mom) did not let me play football in high school and that was nearly 20 years ago. I doubt I will let my kids play football, rugby or soccer either. However, it is worth noting is that all sports are dangerous and take a toll on your body.

 

[Hari Seldon]

There is no way I'd let my kids play football. I don't even watch the sport anymore.

 

[harSon]

I will never, ever let my kids or grandkids play football. High school football destroyed my knees, put me through years of pain/physical therapy and gave me a huge chip on my shoulder about authority figures, and for what? Not one goddamn thing, not even any kind of title/award. Fuck that sport.

Not sure if that's how things work