Bo Jackson on CTE

[superjohn]

Bo Jackson says he would not have played football if he had known about CTE.

Bo Jackson reacts to blowback over CTE remarks

A lot of former players are saying this, but Bo is one of the highest profile. This sport is beginning a slow death spiral that will accelerate. To argue that football is driving the future college sports landscape is to ignore the most important factor in the future of sports.

Just to be clear, I think concussions will impact other sports too. I think basketball will have to change the way it calls charges so players are not encouraged to fall on their back. Soccer will have to do something about headers. But those are sports where players can get hurt. Football is a sport where players will get hurt, and now we know the damage is permanent, even if they just play through high school.

I agree with you but when there is so much money on the line I don't really see how it disappears.

 

[billybud]

Sports may change...

I sometimes worry about my son...who played competitive soccer for years, from age 7 and on competitive teams from age 11 through the college level.

Medical studies have reported changes in brain anatomy of soccer players — particularly, a thinning of the cortex — associated with slower cognition.

Already there are calls to ban "heading" in youth and high school soccer.....it would not surprise me to see "the beautiful game" undergo some changes, in the US at least.

 

[Chuck]

Sports may change...

I sometimes worry about my son...who played competitive soccer for years, from age 7 and on competitive teams from age 11 through the college level.

Medical studies have reported changes in brain anatomy of soccer players — particularly, a thinning of the cortex — associated with slower cognition.

Already there are calls to ban "heading" in youth and high school soccer.....it would not surprise me to see "the beautiful game" undergo some changes, in the US at least.

Just an fyi, US Soccer already bans heading up to U11. At U12 they can head in games, but not in practice. It did change the game because the boys (at U9) were heading the ball regularly. A headed ball results in an indirect free kick for the other team. After 1.5 years, the boys are much better at using other parts of their body on punts, but corner kicks are definitely impacted. The girls never liked to head the ball anyway, so we haven't seen much impact.

Re football, my small town of 11,000 has been a small school power in NJ over the years. This year, they could not field a team for 5th grade. I don't know parents that have told their kids they can't play football where the kid really wanted to play, but I know parents who have dissuaded their kids potential interest. There will still be plenty of kids that will play football, but I can see it losing popularity overall, and if the NFL doesn't do something it could go the way of boxing where only kids that need a way out pursue a career.

 

[billybud]

Football, in Florida, seems as strong as ever in interest.

Baseball is also strong...in many communities, the better two sport athletes choose competitive baseball over soccer (overlap in seasons). For black residents, it is basketball and football.

Soccer is still, in Florida, a middle class, uniquely white sport as is baseball. While we have made inroads into black inclusion, it has been slow. When I began playin soccer,, 40 years ago, we opened the first soccer field in town...and there were a few of us ex rugby guys playing with guys from Argentina, France, England, Nigeria, Tanzania...our team played competitively as the "Green Cards".

I love the sport, having played and coached and sitting as a board member of the North Florida association.

Heading is an integral part of the game...and by the time a kid has finished his college career, if he goes that far, he has headed countless balls. I do worry about that aspect of the sport.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Basketball can probably eliminate half its concussions by changing the way charges are called. It does not say anywhere in the rules that a player has to fall on their back to draw a charge, yet 90% of referees will not give the offensive foul call unless the defender falls down. It is a stupid practice and very dangerous to the players, not just because of concussions, but because a player on the ground in the paint can cause knees and ankle injuries too. If you remember, Desean Butler blew out his knee after landing on a flopped defender, and it effectively ended any chance he had of playing in the NBA.

I saw a study where high school girls are 3 times as likely to have a concussion as boys, and the belief is that the way charges are called plays a big role in it because girls draw more charges than boys, and girls' necks are not as strong so they often go down harder.

I really hate the way charges are called.