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Kyle Dyson
Corey Garn
Justin Garn
Ava Lieb
Carol Sieverts
English 2010
March 15, 2016

The Future of Football

In the 2015 Super Bowl, wide receiver Julian Edelman was hit in the 4th quarter
and was acting strangely in plays following the hit. This hit caught the attention of NFL
spotters who reported the hit to the referees and after he came off the sideline, the
referees warned the coaches and Edelman was tested by trainers for a concussion and
passed (Volin). The concussion protocol was put in place to help recognize concussions
early enough to prevent serious injury or lifelong complications from concussions. This
situation later brought up a few points of interest; are spotters a necessity in contact
sports and is the sideline concussion protocol effective? The protocol that is in place
now for NFL, college, high school and little league teams is proving to make a difference
in preventing more serious injury to players but there needs to be more extensive
testing that happens on the sideline in order to ensure that players arent passing the
tests and being put back into the game too soon to really diagnose a concussion or to
prevent further injury/brain trauma in the future of each player.
There is a lot of testing that has to do with football and concussions for the
simple fact that the game is meant to be played with physicality therefore injuries are
bound to happen. In football, you will play with pain; but you cant play with an injury.
Sometimes, its difficult to distinguish whether someone gets a stinger or whether they

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broke a bone. Everyones pain tolerance is different which makes it hard to spot a
severe injury compared to a small unsoundness. The protocol is a baseline test to give
trainers an idea if the player has a concussion or not. When being evaluated by a doctor
or athletic trainer, they will check three main areas; they will begin with a neurological
examination like checking for vision, balance, coordination and reflexes. They will then
do cognitive testing on things such as memory, concentration and ability to recall
information. Finally, if they feel that the player did poorly on the 2 previous tests, they
may conduct image testing such as take a CT scan of the brain and do a full medical
evaluation (Ryan).

The Future of the Players

Concussions have been a huge topic in football lately due to the many stories of
ex-NFL players dying suddenly due to CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) which
is a serious, degenerative brain disorder that causes the brain to not function properly
and can change the thoughts of the person past the point of repair. This disease is
caused by the brain taking repetitive blows which abnormal proteins build up and cause
havoc on the brain and is only found in people who have played contact sports (What is
CTE?). This is uncommon and not everyone who plays contact sports will get CTE at
some point in their life, but its a serious disease and they are figuring out ways to
prevent people from getting it in the first place. Players in the NFL pay the price to be
playing at the pro level, as Dr. Bennet Omalu explains, I think over 90% of american
football players suffer from this disease. Over 90% of players who play at the
professional level have some degree of this disease. I have not examined any brain of a
retired football player that came back negative (qtd in Gregory). For high school and

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college players, their dream is to move up to the next level and be able to play the game
they love. The purpose behind the protocol is to protect players from further, more
serious injury. Former running back Thomas Jones played 12 seasons in the NFL and in
an interview, he stated I would tell a young player who had a concussion to make sure
that he is okay (Jones). He goes on to say that coaches do care about you and your
safety, but they also care about winning so you have to make sure you are okay before
going back into the game. Coaches and players dont like to hear new additions to
protocol for the simple fact that concussions are part of football and no player wants to
sit on the sideline. Players will do whatever they can to stay in the game, so new
protocol can keep players out for longer periods of time. The main priority for coaches is
player safety so if coaches take the protocol seriously and care about the safety of their
players, a change in protocol would be a good thing.

Footballs Physical Nature

Football is a brutal, masculine sport played with a lot of testosterone, so when
you get hurt, a lot of guys will shake it off and get back in the game but concussions can
be serious and not worth the risk of going back too soon. This is why the concussion
protocol was put in place, to protect players from getting back to play too soon. If you
have ever played football, you know the nature of the game; it is meant to be played
physically. In the game of football, we tend to not think about what could possibly
happen to us on the field. We run out into the spotlight ready to play and if we take a hit
or two along the way, so be it. Thats what football is about, you learn to think past the
pain and just focus on the game (Garn).You have to have a certain mentality to be
successful playing football, and a lot of it has to do with wanting to be in the game every

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play. You have to be willing to sacrifice your body in order to do your job on the field and
help your team to be successful. That being said, its the coaches and the players
responsibility to be smart when it comes to getting your bell rung. Most everyone who
has played football has been hit and had their bell rung a time or two. When players get
hit, they know when something is wrong so a lot of the responsibility comes from the
player telling their coach that something is out of the ordinary. Another big part comes
from coaches, parents and trainers making sure that the players dont get put back into
the game before they are fully recovered from previous concussions. If a new protocol
was put in place, it would increase the safety of players and there could be a potential
decrease in the number of concussions or more serious concussions for that matter.
Fans of football have dealt with a lot of rule changes over the last few seasons,
including five new rule changes for the 2016-2017 season alone and others are being
discussed. Many players, coaches and fans have been saying for years that the rules
are changing the game of football too much and that these new rules are no longer
necessary but there is good reason as to why the NFL and college football teams are
implementing these new rules. A change in protocol would not directly affect the game
or slow the pace of the game by any means, it would simply implement a more strict
protocol for sideline testing of concussions (Batista). Athletic trainers and medical staff
would give more detailed tests to any player that shows symptoms of concussions and
would create a more strict return-to-play protocol, as well as ensure that the player does
not get put back into a game without being fully recovered.
As we have discussed the protocols and the guidelines to prevent concussions,
we have to remember that football players of any age are human beings like the rest of

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us not robots. These players have families they go home to every night. They want to
win just as much as the fans,coaches,etc. These players who have experienced a
concussion and have gone back into play before they should, dont just affect their lives,
it also affects the lives of loved ones and people who care for them. Safety should
always be the first and foremost goal, if that means the cost of a game or a win so be it
because the future life of that player and the consequences the player and the players
family has to deal with after the fact is not worth the win or the game. We all want our
team or friends to win and succeed and excel at the game they love. But, when
everything boils down to the finish line are we or will we be prepared to face the
consequences of an injury that could have been resolved or prevented by taking a few
extra measures to ensure safety and well being of the player? Life is short and we
should enjoy it to the fullest but, we should enjoy it with safety as our companion and
first priority. Football is Americas favorite sport why would we not want to protect the
young,and the adult athletes? Why would we not want to protect the future of football by
taking a few extra measures and a little extra time to make the longevity of that players
career last? People such as Peyton Manning have been able to play the game a long
time, and every player should have that opportunity and could if safety was their first
priority. The goal for increasing safety protocol is not to change the game of football
itself but rather to increase the safety aspect of the game to prevent serious and life
threatening brain injuries.

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Work Cited
Batista, Mike. "NFL Must Improve Concussion Protocol to Ensure Player Safety."The Sports
Daily. 7 Sept. 2015. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.

Garn, Corey. Personal Interview.

Gregory, Sean. "Concussion Expert: Over 90% of NFL Players Have Brain Disease." Time.
Time, 22 Dec. 2015. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.

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Jones, Thomas. "Balancing the Warrior Mentality with Humility in the NFL."Balancing the
Warrior Mentality with Humility in the NFL. 2015. Web. 23 Mar. 2016.

Ryan, Shawn. "Study: Concussions Have Long-Term Effects on Kids - Athletic Business."
Athletic Business. 11 Mar. 2016. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.

Volin, Ben. "Ben Volin | Sunday Football Notes: NFL Has Hit on Something with Julian
Edelman Rule and Concussion Spotters - The Boston Globe."BostonGlobe.com. 09 Aug.
2015. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.

"What Is CTE? CTE Center | Boston University." CTE Center RSS. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.