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Daniel Engman

Professor Malcolm Campbell

UWRT 1104

9-26-17

Topic Proposal: Football on the Brain

Introduction/Overview

I will be examining how concussions are effecting football from the NFL down to Pop

Warner. I am interested in how concussions physically affect players but also how they affect the

dynamics of football leagues. A concussion is a traumatic brain injury that affects brain function.

They are caused by a blow to the head, violent shaking of the head, or severe blows and violent

shaking to the upper body (Mayo Clinic). Concussions occur in football when players get hit

directly in the head by another player running at full speed or when they are tackled and their

head is slammed onto the ground.

Concussions have been a part of football for over a century. In 1883 a Penn football

player, William Harvey, said the only serious injury I received was in the game with Harvard

when in a scrimmage behind the goal I was knocked insensible, but recovered in about fifteen

minutes. During the summer following, I was sick with blood gathering in the head and

threatened with congestion of the brain Now Harvey was not the first person to be diagnosed

with a concussion ever, but he is the first to show significant brain injury caused by football and

he had, what we consider today, a concussion and second impact syndrome. (NCBI)

Football is known as Americas Most Dangerous Pastime and a 2006 CDC study

estimated that 55,007 concussions occur each year in organized high-school practice alone.

Another CDC study calculated that the concussion rate during participation in football practice
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and games was 0.47 in high-school football and 0.61 at the collegiate level. The rates

approximately doubled when concussion rates were calculated for game time only.

Concussions are one of the silent epidemics that are plaguing football, but steps are

being made to make the game safer. The NFL has implemented rules to protect players and try to

take the head out of the game. Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll brought in professional

rugby players from Australia to help teach players how to effectively tackle and block without

putting the head in harms way. The Seahawks have put out a series of videos to help educate

coaches on how to teach proper tackling and blocking technique. A study conducted by the

University of New Hampshire football program found that players who practice the new

technique were get hit in the head 30% less than those who did not. This technique is one of the

more important steps that has been taken to limit concussions in all levels of football.

In addition to the health concerns, concussions pose a threat to the future to football. The

future of the sport is threatened because many parents are now researching more about

concussions than they were 10 years ago. According to Google Trends, in January 2004 there

was 15% interest in concussions. Today there is 55% interest with the peak being 100% interest

in December 2015 because the movie Concussion came out and more people were learning about

the injury. Interest in concussions rises and typically peaks in September-December because that

is football season. This rise in interest in concussions has created a nationwide fear among

parents and has resulted in a decline in youth football. Chicagoland Youth Football League,

which hosts teams from nearly 50 towns, saw almost 10,000 kids playing a decade ago, and

according to President Geoff Meyer, they were down to 7,500 (Chicago Tribune). Its not just

Pop Warner football thats affected, but high school football as well. In 2008, according to the

National Federation of State High School Associations, had the highest participation ever with
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1,112,303 boys playing 11-man football. In 2016, there was 1,057,382 boys playing 11-man

football. A 5% player decrease may not seem like a lot, but constantly losing players every year

since 2008 doesnt bode well for this sport.

For my preliminary research, I used statistics from the NCHS website as well as

searching multiple databases on the UNCC library website and found articles from the CDC,

Chicago Tribune, NCBI.

Initial Inquiry Question(s)

How do concussions affect football?
My Interest in this Topic
My interest in this topic stems from my, seemingly inborn love of football. Ive been in

love with the game of football for as long as I can remember and to see the decline of the sport I

love firsthand makes me wonder why exactly it is happening, and what all is contributing to the

decline. My interest also stems from the fact that I have played football my entire life and

throughout my time playing I have received 4 diagnosed concussions. I wanted to learn what can

happen with concussions when treated properly, improperly, over a long period of time, and over

a short period of time. This research is also helping me decide if it is actually worth it to try and

play for the UNCC team if I can or if having my previous history of concussions makes it too

dangerous for me to play.

Next Steps
What are the repercussions of getting a concussion? What is being done to help prevent

concussion?

I will be visiting the NFL, CDC, and NCAA websites to learn exactly what a concussion

is and to learn the concussion protocols. I will also be visiting the websites of Schutt, Riddell,
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and Vicis to look at new helmet technology that could help prevent concussions. I want to read

Dr. Bennet Omalus paper on concussions & CTE to learn long-term & short-term effects. In

addition to all the other research I will look for articles published in The New York Times, The

Washington Post, and Time Magazine as well as watching documentaries recommended by the

UNCC library database.