Violence in Football

Since it has now been proven that the physicality athletes partake in when playing football causes serious health problems later in life, should people be risking their health to play the sport in the first place? According to the article "Offensive Play" by Malcolm Gladwell, football players, especially linemen, are at very high risk of CTE, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, when they grow older. The constant damage the head takes when making and taking hits in a football game amounts to health problems at an older age. Can anything be done to the sport to make it less violent and reduce the risk of health problems? The answer to that question is no. If violence would some how be taken out of the sport, it would change the game as a whole and it would no long be America's prime time. There is no way that football could be played to the level of excitement it is now without the physicality it brings to the table. Removing the violence would completely change the game as a whole. Instead of removing the violence, the NFL could try and require safer equipment and padding. This would reduce the risk of injury, but it would increase the violence of the game. If the players knew that they could hit harder and be more aggressive without risking their health, they would throw their bodies around and probably cause even more traumatic damage than before. Improving the safety of the equipment would only increase the violence. Seeing now that there is no real way to remove the violent risks from football, should parents let their kids play in high school? Playing football in high school is really not a very big health risk. There is not near enough physicality to cause health problems later in life. There is, however, the risk of breaking a bone, or getting injured in the present tense. But, the fun the kid has and the friendships he makes should be well worth any chance of getting injured that he has. Being part of a high school football team can enhance the high school experience way more than an injury can hurt it. Once a player gets good enough to make it big time though, the family has a decision to make. Is it worth the health risks to play college or in the NFL. It really depends on the player's love for the game, but sometimes, the health risks can be so high that outsiders would seriously question the decision of the athlete.