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[AlimNassor]

Maybe I was harsh but, I won'tallow my kids to ever play contact sports.The risks are too much.

 

[AoM]

Tennis elbow = RIP

I've never gotten it myself, but I'll take it over CTE.

 

[BBboy20]

Lol really? Just because it's a competitive contact sport doesn't mean you're teaching your kids to be a 'violent alpha'.

You're underestimating the many parents in this country who do want their sons to be prepped up as the best male they can be. "BE A MAN" as they say, in one fashion or another.

 

[bill0527]

My 8 yr old son plays soccer and hockey.

Am I abusing my child?

He's been ice skating since he was 4 and playing organized hockey since age 5. To be fair, in our youth leagues, there is no checking into the boards or rough play allowed. There are some collisions and massive multi-kid pileups but that's because when one falls over, its like dominos and you end up with 6 kids laying on the ice trying to get themselves back up.

Even if he sticks with hockey as he grows up and plays AAA, minor league, or even higher, I'm not as concerned with CTE at that level as I would be with football. Yes, hockey players at the highest levels do have concussions, and I'm sure there are some isolated cases of CTE, but can't imagine it would be anywhere near as massive of a problem with modern day hockey as hockey from 30+years ago with equipment advances.

I'm not worried about soccer yet either. They aren't allowed to do headers in his leagues until age 13. Only thing he has to worry about now is other kids kicking the shit out of his shins, back of his legs, and dangling hands.

 

[DudeWithNoName]

Keep the NFL far, far away from the MLS (too late anyway haha). Unless you want TV commercial timeouts every 7 minutes. Or all kinds of other NFL-esque fuckery.

 

[Wolfgunblood Garopa]

In young children's league it is. My son was 12 during the season and heading was not allowed.

Yeah kids getting concussions was more of a soccer thing than football, although of course football is terrible as well. Heading the ball is as dangerous and frankly dumb as any football play outside of maybe those insane running blindside helmet to helmet tackles.

 

[trs1080]

Really need to keep coming back to this every time CTE comes up, it's not just the big hits that cause the problem. That's why it is such a big deal and why American Football as a sport is effectively fucked based on how the modern game is played.

Other sports have similar problems (heading the ball in football/soccer, clashes and fights in ice hockey, bumps in pro wrestling) which clearly need attention as well. Repeated sub-concussion injuries leave people with CTE and it is because they are treated as no big deal.

Yep, linesmen slam into each other a 100 times a game without getting an actual concussion but the damage is still there.

And the NFL loves that everyone associates the problem with concussions 'cause they can just tweak the rules to lower concussions without ruining the game and say "See? Problem solved!".

In reality there is no way to change the game to make the players safe and still have it something anyone will watch.

 

[Hari Seldon]

My 8 yr old son plays soccer and hockey.

Am I abusing my child?

He's been ice skating since he was 4 and playing organized hockey since age 5. To be fair, in our youth leagues, there is no checking into the boards or rough play allowed. There are some collisions and massive multi-kid pileups but that's because when one falls over, its like dominos and you end up with 6 kids laying on the ice trying to get themselves back up.

Even if he sticks with hockey as he grows up and plays AAA, minor league, or even higher, I'm not as concerned with CTE at that level as I would be with football. Yes, hockey players at the highest levels do have concussions, and I'm sure there are some isolated cases of CTE, but can't imagine it would be anywhere near as massive of a problem with modern day hockey as hockey from 30+years ago with equipment advances.

I'm not worried about soccer yet either. They aren't allowed to do headers in his leagues until age 13. Only thing he has to worry about now is other kids kicking the shit out of his shins, back of his legs, and dangling hands.

The thing with CTE is that concussions are sort of related but it is not necessarily because of concussions. The danger is in frequent head to head contact. So while at the NHL level there are lots of concussions, it is still somewhat rare for players to take a hit to the head very often. However in the NHL when they do take a hit to the head, it is often very violent due to the speed and how hard the ice is.

My understanding of CTE is that it is far worse to take lots of small hits to the head on a regular basis than occasionally one big one. So, for example, the worst position in any sport would probably be a lineman who constantly go head to head with the opposing lineman. Or in soccer with frequent but very minor collisions when heading the ball.

 

[constantstatic]

It's not just the helmets, but the pads too. All that armor essentially means dudes be running into each other as fast and as hard as possible, and using their heads to hit. So then you get a lot of concussions and brain trauma.

You're not even suppose to takle helmet first which is part of the problem. Teaching players to tackle properly would go a long way to lessen injuries.

You are suppose to takle head up then wrap them up and lift not smash into people head first or head to head. NFL players tackle so poorly it's frustrating for me to watch sometimes.

In my experience I played football from 8th - 12th grade then rugby for 4 years of college and I think rugby is just as dangerous.

My coaches in highschool definitely under reported concussions unless it was really bad they probably went unnoticed most of the time. I remember a friend not knowing what day it was after a tackling drill they ended up calling his parents and taking him to the ER.

I love football and it was the one of the only things I enjoyed in school. so I would do it again even knowing the risks.

One of my good friends ended up being a starting qb in the NFL for a few years and he had several concussions even in highschool. I remember him having a really bad concusion after a game. I had to to keep him awake on the bus ride home and we took him to the hospital once we got home. so I'm sure he is at high risk for suffering CTE.

 

[Moppeh]

When I was a bit younger, I was kind of bummed that my school didn't have a football team but in hindsight, it was probably for the best.

 

[BiGBoSSMk23]

I played soccer goalie and practice judo as a kid.

Wasn't afraid of spills or slams, but when a friend talked me into football in highschool thinking he meant fútbol(goddamned ESL) I NOPED outta there so quick.

Why the fuck would I want to feel dizzy after every play?

And those varsity kids think destroying the freshmen boys is the coolest hazing thing.