This. When Mike Ditka comes out and says he wouldn't let his son play football today, things are a little more serious than fans want to admit. As reported by that leftist, liberal, feminist Washington Times.
“If you had an 8-year-old kid now, would you tell him you want him to play football?” Mr. Ditka asks Mr. Gumbel.
“I wouldn’t. Would you?” Mr. Gumbel asks.
“Nope. That’s sad. I wouldn’t,” Mr. Ditka replies. “And my whole life was football. I think the risk is worse than the reward. I really do.”
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Who is they? Moms?
I was an insurance executive actively involved in Workers Compensation. I am very well versed in injury statistics and I know well, too well actually, the workings of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (OSHA). If any industry in the United States had the rate of serious injury that Division I college football has, the federal government would sue them and/or fine them out of existence.
I love college football, but I realize that the athletes playing the game do so at huge risk to their long term physical and mental well being. I'm not sure what that makes me, but it's probably not a good thing.
Just a hunch, but I'm guessing this dickhead wasn't too happy with how the midterm elections turned out.
Not surprising that he wouldn't want his kids to play football..
You're not surprised that Mike Ditka wouldn't want his kids to play football?
Just a hunch, but this "dickhead" is a professor of medicine at the U and probably is a hell of a lot more versed than what he's talking about than you are. Actually, I'm sure of it.
Some of you people don't get it. Concussion is only a part of the issue. The bigger concern are the constant collisions that occur on every play. Lineman collide hundreds of times per week due to practice and games. Every single collision rattles the brain and causes some damage. There is a cumulative, negative effect to the brain from all these collisions.
Play football at your own risk. Members of my family are forever banned. Hockey is a much safer sport. It does have concussions, but there it doesn't have anywhere near the amount of non-concussive collisions. There isn't a line of scrimmage where people smash into each other on every play in practice.
Soccer is also much more dangerous than people know due to all the non-concussive head collisions with the ball. Practicing headers is horrible for your brain.
Some of you people don't get it. Concussion is only a part of the issue. The bigger concern are the constant collisions that occur on every play. Lineman collide hundreds of times per week due to practice and games. Every single collision rattles the brain and causes some damage. There is a cumulative, negative effect to the brain from all these collisions.
Play football at your own risk. Members of my family are forever banned. Hockey is a much safer sport. It does have concussions, but there it doesn't have anywhere near the amount of non-concussive collisions. There isn't a line of scrimmage where people smash into each other on every play in practice.
Soccer is also much more dangerous than people know due to all the non-concussive head collisions with the ball. Practicing headers is horrible for your brain.
My 3rd grader played tackle this year and loved it. He's already looking forward to next season.
You're incorrect. Check the fees of the of the Lake, South Suburban, and Suburban East conferences. Average gate receipts are $80,000 for 4 home games + 160 participants at roughly $240 per participant would exceed a typical HS football budget.
I'm not. Ultimately Ditka has made much more for himself as a media personality. That's what he has been now for decades. And it is a possibility that he could have done that without ever having played football.
Ditka said a couple years ago on television that he would have been a "President of IBM" if he hadn't been a football player/ coach.
Now that's a stretch, of course. I think football was, indeed, Ditka's calling. But like most intelligent people, Ditka realizes that the choices he made closed other doors and other paths, and that football isn't everything in life. He just happened to make choices that made it a huge part of his life.
It is also not surprising that any 75 year old man would see the game as incredibly violent. He has not played the game in 40 years. And in the time since he has seen so much.
Some of you people don't get it. Concussion is only a part of the issue. The bigger concern are the constant collisions that occur on every play. Lineman collide hundreds of times per week due to practice and games. Every single collision rattles the brain and causes some damage. There is a cumulative, negative effect to the brain from all these collisions.
Play football at your own risk. Members of my family are forever banned. Hockey is a much safer sport. It does have concussions, but there it doesn't have anywhere near the amount of non-concussive collisions. There isn't a line of scrimmage where people smash into each other on every play in practice.
Soccer is also much more dangerous than people know due to all the non-concussive head collisions with the ball. Practicing headers is horrible for your brain.
You make some great observations but there is no need to throw the baby out with the bath water.
Much to the chagrin of others I have lobbied for college football players having representation. Currently they have no say in player safety, rules and most importantly.....how many times the have to hit in practice. As some have said; "if they don't like it, don't play" is their only recourse.
The NFL and NFLPA came to agreement on the number of contact practices allowed prior to the start of the season and during the season.
Injuries in Youth football? I can tell you what the real problem is and the solution but some won't like
it.
1. Place limits on the number of times kids can carry the football to 12-15 times a game. I have seen coaches give the ball to the same player 25 times a game! That's a awful lot of hits per game/season.
2. Allow coaches to cut kids (said you wouldn't like it). Every year parents bring/force a little jimmy out for football. Little jimmy don't like football, don't like contact and has no intention on tackling or blocking (refer back to 1.) anybody. This can be a real danger to little jimmy and whoever the poor kid is with the football. Football is not the place to "toughen" your kid up. Kids develop (or not) their physicality at their own rate.
3. Should really be number one; coaches must be certified. It's absolutly horrifying to observe what some of these youth coaches are teaching or not teaching! I have seen coaches spend the entirety of each practice going over plays versus teaching the correct techniques.
You make some great observations but there is no need to throw the baby out with the bath water. Much to the chagrin of others I have lobbied for college football players having representation. Currently they have no say in player safety, rules and most importantly.....how many times the have to hit in practice. As some have said; "if they don't like it, don't play" is their only recourse. The NFL and NFLPA came to agreement on the number of contact practices allowed prior to the start of the season and during the season. Injuries in Youth football? I can tell you what the real problem is and the solution but some won't like it. 1. Place limits on the number of times kids can carry the football to 12-15 times a game. I have seen coaches give the ball to the same player 25 times a game! That's a awful lot of hits per game/season. 2. Allow coaches to cut kids (said you wouldn't like it). Every year parents bring/force a little jimmy out for football. Little jimmy don't like football, don't like contact and has no intention on tackling or blocking (refer back to 1.) anybody. This can be a real danger to little jimmy and whoever the poor kid is with the football. Football is not the place to "toughen" your kid up. Kids develop (or not) their physicality at their own rate. 3. Should really be number one; coaches must be certified. It's absolutly horrifying to observe what some of these youth coaches are teaching or not teaching! I have seen coaches spend the entirety of each practice going over plays versus teaching the correct techniques.
What is an acceptable rate of injury? Do the benefits of team sports outweigh the (small) risk of long- term side effects?
Serious injury is defined as “a personal injury which results in death; dismemberment; significant disfigurement; a fracture; loss of a fetus; permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, function or system; permanent consequential limitation of use of a body organ or member; significant limitation of use of a body function or system; or a medically determined injury or impairment of a non-permanent nature which prevents the injured person from performing substantially all of the material acts which constitute such person's usual and customary daily activities for not less than ninety days during the one hundred eighty days immediately following the occurrence of the injury or impairment.”
I agree with #1 and #3 but I dislike cutting kids at the youth level even though I understand why you believe that would help. Some kids come out for football (and other sports) to be a part of something. Kids also don't develop physically or mentally the same way. I would prefer to keep the numbers and continue to teach the fundamentals as well as the basics of the system while the gets develop. I also believe kids that are cut at the youth level (ages 7-13) are more likely to get bullied by their peers. We used to have a "club basketball" program designed for 11-13 year old kids with a cut system unless we had the numbers for 2 teams. We have found the kids that didn't make it often quit basketball altogether and were often picked on, not always but quite often. I think most coaches would agree that it's always better to have a lot of kids participating and the focus is fundamentals and fun.
Let me expand on what people don't want to hear - 12 deaths last year of high school football players due to force of impact injuries.
30,000 hospitalizations last year. 62% of injuries occur during practice. 70% of youth athletes leave sports by age 13. Main reason: adults.
I think if we adults let kids be kids, more kids would be playing sports that are safe and keep them active. Football hurts and I think many would drop out if given a fair opportunity and not having a coach whisper into their ears "You would be a quitter!" There are other sports they could play that would spare them injuries. Coaches push young bodies too hard.
+1My 3rd grader played tackle this year and loved it. He's already looking forward to next season.