Football has been around since the year of 1869. It has grown to be the second most popular sport throughout the world, only behind soccer. Over the years the violence has increased, but at the same time there has been more and more protective gear used in the sport. There is new padding in the helmets to protect the head/brain. There are shoulder pads, knee pads, thigh pads, ankle braces, and even chin straps and mouth guards. All of these protective devices have been innovated to protect, but some people think they don’t do enough to protect the kids from injuries. Most of these people bring of the idea of banning football so the kids can mature correctly. Do you think football should or shouldn’t be banned?

Football causes many injuries; some that could even disable a person for life. There are injuries such as sprained/strained ankles, broken bones, torn tendons/ligaments in the knee, and even torn muscles. The most concerning of the injuries are concussions. Repeated blows to the head alone causes a disease that is called CTE, or Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, which is brain deterioration. Also, concussions speed up the process of CTE and can cause many other critical injuries like brain bleeds and swelling. Should football be banned because of this?

Other than injuries, football is a great sport. In fact, the concussion rates aren’t accurate. The number of players that play countrywide is so much greater than any other sport, so it seems like there are more concussions in the sport per 1000 players. According to webmd, women's soccer has the highest concussion rate per 1000 athletes. The numbers saying football is bad compared to other sports isn’t accurate as they intend to be.

There are multiple things, or aspects of the sport that is great for the youth. It creates a sense of discipline, a foundation of teamwork, and even improves physical ability. All the while it is teaching those, it creates situations which require critical thinking, and quick thinking. All of these create a great foundation in life for the future that lies ahead.

I did a research project in my school. Mind that the people I interviewed did play football, but there are some on my team that do not like the sport. I asked them the following questions and got the responses following the question:

Do you have fun playing football?

The responses I got included 4 yeses and 1 no. The one that said no says that he did it mainly to help the team.
Have you ever been injured playing football?

4 of the interviewees said yes. They mostly consisted of sprained ankles or just minor nicks in like cuts or bruises. The other hadn’t been injured from playing football.

Have you ever had an injury that scared you to keep playing?
All 5 of the interviews stated they haven’t had a injury that has scared them. They liked playing the game, so they went back to having fun.

What are some good aspects of football?
One common response that I was teamwork. Other than that they were diverse. They ranged from discipline, to toughness, and composure.

Should football be banned?
I received 5 nos from the interviewees. All of them thought that football should be left alone, but made more cautious. Cautious meaning having better equipment, harsher punishment, and more rules. So should football be banned?

In conclusion, I don’t think football should be banned. I believe that it is a great sport, and it should be left alone. It builds important skills in life, gives joy to many, and the numbers that are used against football aren’t 100% accurate. What do you think?