by Luke Saliga
In October, Dover school board member Paul Butler suggested that they end the high school football program in Dover, New Hampshire. Butler, a retired doctor and former football player, argued that the sport was simply too dangerous based on the research on concussions. But Butler is wrong. Football should stay in high schools because the positives of football far outweigh the negatives.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I know the full risk of playing football. I hear the news on Sports-center about former NFL players killing themselves due to brain trauma. I have been playing myself for eight years, and I have picked up a couple of concussions over the years.
I do respect people like Butler who feel that kids are in danger of hurting their brains long term and that the only way to stop concussions in football is to just get rid of it. Kids should not be able to play until fourth grade. I have seen footage of kids that start playing at age 5; the helmet makes them look like a bunch of life-size bobble heads. There’s no need for kids that age to be playing.
Also it is not like high schools, colleges, and the NFL are not working to protect their players. People act like these organizations do not care, but that is wrong. Millions and millions of dollars have been put into preventing more concussions in football. There are over 75 organizations nationwide trying to prevent concussions in football at all levels. Some make new equipment, and some just teach kids about the dangers.
With all of the new equipment football has become safer than ever at my high school. There used to be at least 13-15 concussions each year. This year there have only been 8 concussions, and coaches are teaching players ways to hit without using their head.
Paul Butler says that because 82% percent of all football players get concussions in their careers that the sport is too dangerous. People like Paul Butler think that kids do not understand the risk that they are taking by playing football. People think kids are too naive or young to understand the risks of football, but we do. We know that when a teammate gets carried off the field in a stretcher that that could be one of us, but we play anyway because we are passionate about this sport.
I know football will never leave America because the positives of football like teamwork and discipline far outweigh the negatives. I mean there’s no better feeling in the world than playing on Friday night in front of a packed house. It’s an American tradition, and people like Paul Butler who don’t understand this want to take it all away.
