There is a growing belief out there that CTE is not caused by concussions that players may suffer during their professional years, or even their college years, but that CTE is caused by a lifetime of taking hits. Some researchers believe that kids bodies and brains are not built to sustain the punishment of tackle football, even if it's done in a safe way. Chris Nowinski, Harvard grad, former WWE star, and current Executive Director of the Concussion Legacy Foundation (who will be on our show @ 7:45am) says that making tackle football safer at the youth level is like putting a filter on a cigarette. Sure, it helps, but it doesn't completely solve the dangers of smoking.
I think even the most avid football believers out there can agree, getting tackled or tackling at age of 10-11-12, is not the safest action for our kids to practice. But, I think where the debate comes in is this - Whose decision is it to stop their kid from playing tackle football? Should it be a parental decision? Or one local/federal government has to make for us? Like smoking, where you can't legally smoke until you're 18. Are you okay with tackle football being treated in a similar fashion?
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