Football is the most popular sport in the United States. Sitting down watching a football game with friends and family is a typical weekend. While football is the most well liked sport in the United States, it also happens to be the sport that causes the most injuries. According to the article by Nationwide Children’s Hospital paragraph 3, “...four out of every 1,000 high school football exposures result in an injury, while eight out of every 1,000 collegiate football exposures result in injuries.” Even though that may not seem like a large ratio, when you look at how many people play football the numbers start adding up and it is realized how many injuries are actually acquired by football players.

People from youth to adulthood play football. While football may just seem all sweet and innocent while kids are younger, they are still practicing for a long time and taking hits on eachother. When kids are young their brains are still developing so even the slightest hit can have a big effect on the kid giving them a concussion or maybe even resulting in a more serious outcome. In the article by The New York Times Upfront paragraph 17 it states, “...young players use old safety gear that’s been passed down long past its prime. And even new helmets are designed to prevent only skull fractures, not concussions.” This creates a problem for youth players because they are younger and their brains are still developing so they are at more risk of having more damage done to them and having a longer lasting effect of getting hit then adults.

Many kids sustain injuries after a year of football. In the article Nationwide Children’s Hospital paragraph 4 it states, “...and in high school they accounted for the majority of season-ending injuries and concussions.” In high school most kids play a sport for all four years, if every year a high school football player obtains one or more concussions they will add up and it will cause long term damage. In The article The New York Times Upfront paragraph 8 it informs, “Head injuries among football players are rising and the after-effects are more serious than previously thought. These long terms effects can range from obtaining memory loss, mental instability, etc.  This can really affect children and their futures. Along with this kids will not inform their coaches of these injuries because they want to get as much playing time as possible. According to The New York Times upfront in paragraph 15 it states, “Because football gladiator culture encourages playing through pain and taking a hit for the team, many teens don’t want to risk being put on the sidelines by telling their coaches when they think they might have a concussion.” This can also lead to many players concussions being way more severe then they were when they originally obtained the injury.

In football there are several hard knocks to try and prevent the other team from scoring and completing a pass. The continuous hits add up and lead to things that are very life threatening.  In the passage by The New York Times Upfront in paragraph 11 it reveals, “In April, Thomas - a junior at the University of Pennsylvania and a lineman on its football team - took his own life. The autopsy showed that his brain was in the early stages of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, more commonly known as C.T.E.” C.T.E is a trauma caused by a consistency of being hit in the head.  This disease contains having depression, impulse-control problems, memory loss, and dementia. In the article The New York Times Upfront in paragraph 12 it states, “More than 20 deceased N.F.L. players have been found to have had a C.T.E.” This shows that football is actually killing people. By being hit multiple times can lead to this disease that basically takes over your brain and your thinking and normally results in suicide if the patient does not get medical treatment or is unaware of their condition.

Although football has been ruled as an unsafe sport, there are precautions you can take to make the game a safer sport. In the article by Holder in paragraph 24 it states some of the precautions football teams have obtained, “1. Have a doctor and trainers on the field who understand the injury. 2. Use standardized concussion tests to determine if an injured player is ready to return. 3. Ease injured athletes back into play gradually. 4. Monitor injured players long term.” If football teams start to take these precuastions and abide by them there is no reason why the game should be less safe than any other sport. On the younger side of the football spectrum, Pop Warner has taken control and made the younger era aware on how to protect themselves and others. According to The article by Holder in paragraph 26, “Part of the safety program that Pop Warner oversees is a schema for competition that has athletes playing against other athletes of similar age and size. This minimizes situations where larger athletes inflict punishment blows on smaller ones. Players are also taught not to use their helmets to make a tackle.” By taking these precautions it is allowing for the younger mind to develop safer while the kids are still enjoying the game they came to play. This should lead to a more safer game and prevent future injuries that could result in deaths at an older age.

Football being the well known sport it is has lead many people to question whether or not it is actually a safe sport. While the sport is fun to watch on weekends with our friends and families it is really unsafe for the players who are playing the game. For the younger age their brains are still developing and if they continually get hit in the game it can alter how their brains develops. For the older era they are stubborn and want playing time so when a player gets hit in the head they decide not to tell their coach which can lead to C.T.E. Contrary to this football organizations have been taking steps in younger and older levels to make the game a safer one. But while these steps have been proven to make a difference it is still not a big enough difference to rule the game of football as being safe.