Do Obama, Seau, mounting stats influence your opinion: Would you still let your son play football?
Four years ago my husband and I had our first discussion about our son playing football. We had been to the fields near our house in Gwinnett and watched the little fellows playing ball. I couldn’t believe how hard they were hitting. I walked away knowing I didn’t want my son playing.
Four years ago, it was just a feeling in my heart but as the years have passed there are more and more statistics to back up that mother’s instinct. (Luckily, our son has no interest at this point in football. He does like basketball, which I am cool with because there is far less contact.)
Earlier this week President Obama sparked some pre-Super Bowl heat with a similar comment.
“I’m a big football fan, but I have to tell you, if I had a son, I’d have to think long and hard before I let him play football,” Obama said.
“I think that those of us who love the sport are going to have to wrestle with the fact that it will probably change gradually to try to reduce some of the violence,” he added. “In some cases, that may make it a little bit less exciting, but it will be a whole lot better for the players, and those of us who are fans maybe won’t have to examine our consciences quite as much.”
“In an interview in the magazine’s Feb. 11 issue, Obama said he worries more about college players than he does about those in the NFL.
“The NFL players have a union, they’re grown men, they can make some of these decisions on their own, and most of them are well-compensated for the violence they do to their bodies,” Obama said. “You read some of these stories about college players who undergo some of these same problems with concussions and so forth and then have nothing to fall back on. That’s something that I’d like to see the NCAA think about.”
Players weighed in with reaction. From AP:
Ravens safety Ed Reed, for one, agreed with the sentiment.
“I am with Obama,” Reed said. “I have a son. I am not forcing football on my son. If he wants to play it … I can’t make decisions for him. All I can do is say, ‘Son, I played it so you don’t have to.’”
Reed, a nine-time Pro Bowl selection in his 11 NFL seasons, thinks there needs to be improvements within the league.
“We’ve got some leaks in it that need to be worked out,” Reed said. “Every medical training room should be upgraded; training rooms can be a lot better.”
And as he noted: “When you’ve got the president talking about it, you got something.”
“NFL spokesman Greg Aiello responded Sunday, “We have no higher priority than player health and safety at all levels of the game.’ ”
And we keep hearing about players such as Junior Seau and Ray Easterling who killed themselves and were found to have chronic traumatic ecephalopathy, or CTE, a degenerative brain disease often linked to repeated blows to the head.
As a blog community we have talked about whether we would let our kids play football several times throughout the years, and as recently as last May when Steve Hummer wrote a great Sunday piece looking at the issue, including some incredible stats.
“According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are more than 55,000 cases of traumatic brain injury — concussions mostly — per year throughout all of high school football. More awareness has meant more reporting of concussions, and the growing numbers have prompted the CDC to declare sports-related traumatic brain injuries an epidemic.”
“Facts sometimes fail parents who are looking for a definitive to-play-or-not-to-play solution. Any long-term damage done by playing football has not been quantified.” “In fact, the CDC’s Institute for Occupational Safety and Health just released a records-based study of more than 3,400 NFL players who were in the league for at least five years between 1959-1988 and found that they had a lower death rate than the general population. That included death by heart disease, cancer and, yes, suicide. The Institute plans to similarly study the incidence of early Alzheimer’s and other cognitive issues.”
“Dr. Steve Kroll of Georgia Sports Medicine estimates that he has seen more than 1,000 concussion cases in the past two years. Maybe 20 percent of those involve football. Other sources may surprise you.”
“One in particular is cheerleading,” he said. “They don’t have pads. They don’t have helmets. And they actually suffer quite a few concussions.”
Teen concussions up 200 percent from Aug. 201
So do 3,000 former NFL players’ families suing the NFL sway you? Do Seau and Easterling killing themselves and having brain damage sway you? Does knowing that teen concussions are up 200 percent make you think maybe I don’t want my child playing football or at the very least some changes need to be made to the sport? Does knowing the president would have to think twice before letting a son play football change your opinion?
Would you still let your son (or daughter) play football?
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128 comments Add your comment
Mother of 2
February 3rd, 2013
8:32 am
I was lucky, both of my boys chose other sports and activities. While I am not a fan of football, my husband watches it on TV, so my boys weren’t sheltered from the sport. I suppose that if they wanted to play I would have let them. We encouraged both to explore different sports and find what was right for them. Neither was a great athlete, so sports scholarships were never in their future. Also, I never thought that participating in any sport would “toughen” my kids.
liberalefty
February 3rd, 2013
10:30 am
@decaturguy
dude wimps like u can’t handle black men thats why u feel a need to lash out at OBAMA because your frightened of black men and your fear is manifested in your hatred of the president. …a typical rightwinger
liberalefty
February 3rd, 2013
10:50 am
@gardendiva 12:18
You’re right, since you’re not a medical expert then youre opinion means nothing and we shouldnt pay any attention to it. Thanks for understanding.
liberalefty
February 3rd, 2013
10:57 am
@dougmo2 7:18
Obama is very relevent thats why hes the president and youre here whining about what he said. And would u have even commented on this blog if u couldnt get in a dig at the confident black president…lol…by the way , why isnt anybody asking what ROMNEY thinks?..because nobody cares….lol
mdawg
February 3rd, 2013
2:08 pm
confident black president
half black
Allen Keyes not a bleeding heart liberal, conservative, and his mama and daddy
were both black.
JayKay
February 3rd, 2013
2:36 pm
When in doubt, do the opposite of whatever 0 is spouting.
Tanner G
February 3rd, 2013
3:24 pm
if we do anything worth while in this life – we will risk serious injury and death on a daily basis. to spend ourselves in a worthy pursuit – whatever the payoff might be is an indicator of a life well lived. without risk – there is no reward – period!
Decatur Guy
February 3rd, 2013
3:53 pm
“dude wimps like u can’t handle black men thats why u feel a need to lash out at OBAMA because your frightened of black men and your fear is manifested in your hatred of the president. …a typical rightwinger”
Speak english, retard. I fear black people about as much as I fear going to the grocery store. I have many black friends who would laugh at the stupidity of your idiotic comments. You have the IQ of a carrot, the grammar skills of a high school dropout and the intellect of pond scum.
Decatur Guy
February 3rd, 2013
3:54 pm
“You’re right, since you’re not a medical expert then youre opinion means nothing and we shouldnt pay any attention to it. ”
Remedial english is calling your name, troglodyte. Also, aren’t you late for your black panther party?
FU
February 3rd, 2013
3:55 pm
“Obama is very relevent”
Spell check is relevant, moron. Obama is only relevant to people who need welfare. You for instance.
FU
February 3rd, 2013
3:56 pm
“confident black president”
Obama is not black. He is mixed. He is half white and half black. You’d know this if you had any intelligence.
mgdawg
February 3rd, 2013
4:19 pm
I am a certified athletic trainer, so let me shed some light on this for you. First of all, the main reason concussions have gone up recently is because people are doing a better job at noticing the signs and symptoms and reporting them, this is a good thing. Second, peewee football isn’t anything to worry about, the kids simply can’t generate enough force. Third, players need to keep quiet unless they are helping out the cause. Yes, training rooms need to be upgraded, especially at the high school level. Do you know who could help with that, millionaire football players. Fourth, I wouldn’t let my kid step onto a high school football field without an athletic trainer. Many schools have them, but many still do not. Clayton county schools do not have athletic trainers, yet they have a plenty of coaches. Give up a couple of coaches pay, talk with local dr. offices or hospitals about helping, and get an athletic trainer.
Hockeymama
February 3rd, 2013
5:08 pm
Please, I almost wish my son had wanted to play football. Instead we spent the past 15 years playing hockey. He still plays today. Had our share of injuries along the way, though no concussions (there were quite a few that did though). Would I let him play again – YEP. Oh and he is currently a 4.0 student at college, so obviously it did not hurt him too much.
truth sayer
February 3rd, 2013
5:34 pm
Here are the facts…follow up with them if you like.
When looking at sports with the highest injury rates for kids, football is not in the top 3 or 4…which include:
gymnastics, cheerleading, basketball and soccer (all perceived to be much safer)
More concussions are reported from children having bicycle accidents every year than from football.
The suicide rate of professional football/major college football players is lower than the rate of the society as a whole.
Football gets a bad rap. Do your research and don’t be so quick to believe the media hype machine that defines our country. It is a great sport and one of the last that teaches toughness and hard work, qualities that are more difficult to find in this great nation.
George
February 3rd, 2013
6:12 pm
Well this is Georgia ssidawg and I am not suprise at these comments WOW georgia never lets me down thhe home of Racism AJC you are doing a great job or the best that you can
ken
February 3rd, 2013
6:31 pm
Emergency rooms get a lot of business on high school football nights !!!!!!!
globeflyer
February 3rd, 2013
6:59 pm
I don’t care what the President thinks about what his boy might, or might not, play. I want to know who he would look like! Teaching kid the proper way to tackle and using the shoulder pads would go a long way….
Barb
February 3rd, 2013
7:24 pm
Not to many of you really read the article, did you. If a doctor saw a 1000 concussions and only 20 percent were football, don’t you think you should wonder where the other 80 percent are coming from. Life is full of bumps and bruises. Unless you keep your kids in a padded room 24 hours a day there is no way you can protect them. Why do you think people like to play football, hockey, and even basketball? It’s the contact of the sport. Don’t let the elite try to change any sport from the power it is to a wimps game. Don’t you think the people of the military aren’t doing the same thing. Unless you have robots doing all of this there are going to be people hitting one another. Some people like to hit hard and some do not. These people know what they are doing and they continue to do their best. Along with that, modern medicine is also coming up with uniforms to protect them better. Also, the statistics for the health of sports players should tell you something. Their health is much better in general than the general public. Don’t ignore all these things before you ruin sports for millions of people. Yes, I’m a mother of boys that are or have been in football and military. I stand behind them one hundred percent.
AlanW
February 3rd, 2013
8:48 pm
Why is Obama voicing his opinion on the dangers of football when our troops are at the highest number of suicides? Doesn’t he have a job to do? Everyone who has a relative or friend in the service should be really concerned about Obama’s priorities. There are way more health concerns in war than in football. What a joke. Ever heard of post traumatic stress disorder?
This like Bush tying up congress with steroids in baseball. When are going to have a real leader for president?
apparent
February 3rd, 2013
9:30 pm
Our son played football in high school and took some severe hits, one a major concussion, A couple years later he developed Epilepsy. Was football the cause? Not sure, but hard blows to the head are certainly one cause of Epilepsy. If I had a chance to do it over again, I would not allow my son to play football. It’s not worth the price. There are other good sports to participate in.
Cloudodust
February 3rd, 2013
9:54 pm
The president offers opinions on subject matter that isn’t related to doing the business for which he was elected and some bird brains give him a standing O..? Jeez. Football is a great teacher that women (and some men) don’t get. Why is beacause they never played the game and reaped the benefits of a real like team effort and the individual repercussions of such. While it IS just a game, it’s a game that propels young boys into real life situations. Yeah, if my kid wanted to play, I’d say, Yes. Consider the number of snaps with 22 players on the field and nothing happpend for a complete game multipled times the number of games played. Same percentage as driving as a youngster and dying in an automobile accident of which, I have first hand knowledge of…Let ‘em play…
Jessica
February 3rd, 2013
10:16 pm
If my son wants to play football I will allow him to.
Ellen
February 3rd, 2013
10:29 pm
No affluent parent will allow their child to be a punching bag. Period. They have other avenues for success in life. Junior Seau was not aware of the damage being done to his brain. That information wasn’t available to players of his time. Also, players were expected to keep playing–concussions and all–if they wanted to keep their jobs. Now the information is available that football can cause irreparable brain damage. Not to mention other less deadly maladies like early onset arthritis. No I would not allow my child to play routinely dangerous sports like football, boxing, or cheerleading. Their bodies and minds need to last a lifetime. And I respect that. And for all you Obama haters, please grow up! This is not the time nor place to spew your political crazy. There is a political blogger at the AJC–which is a more appropriate place to be as nutty as you want to be.
liberalefty
February 4th, 2013
8:17 am
@fu
who cares youre mad that the president is black…what does rommmmney thinks?nobody cares hes a loser
liberalefty
February 4th, 2013
8:21 am
@decaturgay
dude i know youre afraid of black men…why are wimpy internet racists like u afraid of confident virile black men like OBAMA…
liberalefty
February 4th, 2013
8:29 am
@fu
i know OBAMAS mom is white yet i’ve yet to hear racists like u call him a derogatory white name….i only hear derogatory black names like “ape, baboon, etc….i dont hear “redneck”, “honky” or “cracker”…i know insecure white men like u cant stand the thought of a black family in the white house and that makes me so happy…
liberalefty
February 4th, 2013
8:38 am
i love these white guys who are so tough over the internet as they brag about how tough they are and how wimpy the president is. . As a black man let me say this, we know the average black man is tougher than the average white guy. So racists like DECATURGAY remind me of guys like TED NUGENT who claims to be a great patriot but during vietnam was just a coked out draft dodger. White guys talk tough, but black guys know better…their fear of confident black men is manifested in their hatred of OBAMA…God left them “short” and they have issues…lol
liberalefty
February 4th, 2013
8:40 am
@jessica 10:16
and nobody really cares…duh