Concussions In Football

Goal: Inform and raise awareness for the severity of concussions. Pattern of Organization: Topical Audience Analysis: The topic is concussions and in my presentation there will be the sports side and the medical side, reaching interests in different audience members. Occasion: I am informing classmates who probably have played, know someone who has played, or has kids playing football that have been in these circumstances or know someone who has.

INTRODUCTION
Hook: Pictures depicting the physical nature of the sport and the potential for serious injury because of the extreme contact. Expertise: I have played football since I was 8 years old till I was finished in High School. I have experienced hitting someone hard, being hit hard, and the repercussions that come from these hits. I have seen concussions ruin someones dreams and chances of playing the game they love because of their severity. Thesis: Big hits are a part of football and bring the intensity to the game. These big hits cause major injuries specifically injuries to the head leading to concussions. With recent cases the NFL has been forced to make rule changes to try and protect these players and prevent head injuries from happening. Preview: First What are concussions? Symptoms, Short and Long Term Effects, Results. Second What is being done in the NFL to prevent these injuries?

Transition:

BODY
1.) First Major Point. (2 to 3 minutes) What are concussions? What are the symptoms, short and long term effects, and the possible outcomes? A. Anatomy Behind Concussions a. Definition of concussion b. Diagram of impact and affects on brain c. Symptoms B. CTE (Chronic traumatic encephalopathy) *en-ceph-a-lop-a-thy a. What is CTE? (This trauma triggers progressive degeneration of the brain tissue,
including the build-up of an abnormal protein called tau.)

b. What causes CTE? (Head Trama: been known for boxers to have it since the 1920s but recently a hot topic for retired football players.) c. Image of Brain tissue (Explain the difference of tissue because of buildup of the abnormal protein, tau.) Reference: http://www.bu.edu/cste/about/what-is-cte/ C. Junior Seaus case of CTE a. Who is Junior Seau? b. Committed suicide, they relate it to CTE that they found in his brain. Transition: With the recent discovery that former players are affected by CTE what is the NFL doing to prevent these types of injuries in the sport?

2.) Second Major Point What is being done by the NFL to protect the players and prevent these injuries? A. NFL Rule Changes a. Explain helmet to helmet hits and defenseless player rulings (rule book) b. Not trying to change football but rather protect the players c. Reactions from Players Reference: http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/8770032/james-harrison-pittsburghsteelers-discusses-way-hits B. Why the emphasis and changes now? a. Recent news of allegations against the NFL from former players who are impacted. References: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/05/10/goodell-says-helmetrule-doesnt-make-the-nfl-less-physical/

CONCLUSION
With the recent emphasis and focus on concussions the sport will decrease the amount of head injuries and know how to treat them better. The more that is known about concussions and CTE the more precautions can be taken to prevent them from occurring. New rules will work to protect these players but this is a physical sport and that is the risk they take by playing the game they love