10 Reasons Football Should Be Banned in Schools

10 Reasons Football Should Be Banned in Schools.
10 Reasons Football Should Be Banned in Schools.

10 Reasons Football Should Be Banned in Schools

 

In 2012 Dr. Paul Butler, a board member at Dover High School, New Hampshire, stirred up controversy when he suggested that the school’s football program should be terminated. Dr. Butler was not speaking as a critic of the game; the soft-spoken yet stocky retiree used to play football at high school and college. But the growing mass of literature testifying to the game’s negative neurological effects had instilled in him a sense of responsibility as custodian for the wellbeing and education of the younger generation. Nor has Butler’s been the only

voice suggesting football’s removal from American high schools; two University of Minnesota doctors, Dr. Steven Miles and Dr. Shailendra Prasad, recently set out exactly the same position.

 

The heresy of such suggestions, and the ludicrously disproportionate media witch-hunts that always follow, reveal just how much of a tinderbox the issue is. Writing in the New York Times, Paul Brownfield didn’t exaggerate when calling Butler’s comment entry into ‘a 21st century culture war.’ Indeed the sport is, despite the lip service paid to baseball, unquestionably the nation’s favorite. But there is a real and serious problem with its practice in high schools.

 

A 2013 research paper into head impact exposure in youth football estimated that there are 1.1 million children in the US playing high school football (compared to 100,000 playing college football and 2,000 playing at a professional level). Knowing that football has far higher concussion rates than any other high school sport, this presents a clear problem. The author of this list believes that football – for all of its cultural, commercial and entertainment value – should be banned in schools. Here are 10 reasons why.

10The physical damage it causes is indisputable

Football causes serious injuries and should be banned.

9The psychological damage is substantial

Football cause psychological harm as well.

8CTE

Football and CTE and linked!

7Concussion

Football = concussions.

6Children’s brains are not fully developed

A child’s brain is especially susceptible to the dangers of football.

5Children cannot make informed decisions for themselves

Should I ruin my brain playing football? Maybe. Yep!

4It’s inextricably caught up with ideas of masculinity

Men play football. Kids shouldn’t.

3It’s disproportionately funded

There’s money in them thar footballs.

2There’s no payoff for most participants

Most players end up broke.

1It’s ultimately lethal

Football can kill.