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Is American Football becoming too dangerous?
One tragic week in October highlighted just how much the game of American football still has to do to repair its reputation. Three teenagers across the US died within a span of seven days from head injuries while playing the sport.
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In North Carolina, 17-year-old Isaiah Langston collapsed during warm-ups before Rolesville High School’s game. An autopsy later revealed Langston died from a hit to the back of the head, which caused a stroke by a clot in one of the major arteries leading to the brain.
In Alabama, 17-year-old Demario Harris Jr died three days after collapsing on the field during Charles Henderson High’s game. Harris apparently suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm after making a tackle.
In New York, 16-year-old Tom Cutinella collapsed on the field following a hit by an opponent. He died despite being rushed into a hospital for an emergency brain surgery.
Last year saw eight deaths directly due to football and all of the fatalities came at the high school level, according to the Annual Survey of Football Injury Research report.
The eight deaths were the highest mark since 2001, which had nine fatalities, including eight at the high school level.
There have already been eight deaths in 2014, including the three aforementioned teenagers, and the concerning trend shines a light on the dangers of football across the board, but particularly on the youth level.
Youth football isn’t on national television and a single game won’t draw a viewing audience of millions, but for all the deserved attention the issue of head injuries receives in the NFL, it’s at the very base of the sport’s landscape where the problem requires the most awareness.
Kids, compared to adults, are still developing their brains until their mid-20s, which means any hit to the head could be more damaging.
“Head injuries are the most severe injuries. Maybe not the most common, but they have the worst possible consequences and they can stay with the patient even after they recover,” said Dr Karim Hamouda, a neurosurgeon in the UAE specialising in head injuries.
The dangers of football aren’t exclusive to the US either. The dark cloud over the sport is far-reaching and hasn’t gone unnoticed in the UAE.
“It’s had a huge impact on the game,” said Patrick Campos, director of youth football operations in the Emirates American Football League (EAFL).
“There’s a campaign afoot on one side to raise awareness and on the other side, frankly, to demonise the sport.” In only its third year, the EAFL is still working to grow the sport in the region.
And even though the league began and continues to grow at a time when awareness of football’s dangers – specifically head injuries and concussions – is at an all-time high, the EAFL has seen little resistance from parents or new players.
“Outside of the States, the reputation is a bit different. For concussion injuries, if you’re talking about Europe, they’re all centered around soccer and rugby,” said Simon Bramford, coach of the EAFL’s Dubai Varsity Stallions.
“So to be honest, American football doesn’t get the press and is seen as an alternative sport and something of a US import. I think within the US it’s been well-documented, but because there are studies outside of the US that don’t apply to American football because it’s not a niche sport in most cultures, people are just seeking an alternative sport to what they are used to.
The EAFL uses the standard sideline concussion protocol to assess players after potential head injuries. Every coach in the league is required to pass a ‘Level 1 Certification’ which is less about coaching and more about medical issues, in particular concussions and how to recognise and evaluate them. The increased focus on head injuries is slowly changing the ‘be tough’ culture in the game.
“Back when we were playing ball, you would say ‘he just got his bell rung, get him back in there,’” said Campos.
“Now, we always err on the side of caution when it’s a head injury. If it’s a close call, we just don’t put them back in there.
“And that 10 years ago wouldn’t have been the case. We would have said, ‘you see my finger? Great. Get back on the field’.”
While coaches and officials can be responsible in how they handle kids, the onus is also on the players to reach out for help, even if it means sitting on the sideline.
“Kids are competitive. They want to get out there and play,” said Campos.
“We try to instil there’s no badge of honour for being stupid. We have to keep an eye on it because kids aren’t going to come up to you and say ‘I’m concussed. Take me out.’ You have to be monitoring it.”
As with any serious issue, the best method is prevention and head injuries are no different. That’s why the NFL partnered with USA Football to bring an educational programme called ‘Heads Up Football’ to youth leagues.
The programme teaches players a safer way to tackle by instilling a technique where their head is kept up and to the side, rather than leading with the head when engaging a player.
The change does decrease the risk of head injuries, but it’s also difficult to replicate consistently during a game when instincts often override technique.
“Heads Up is an interesting concept and certainly useful, but the problem is it is very mechanical and not natural. So you go through it with the kids, but in the game they revert back,” said Campos.
“As they get older and the game is a little bit faster and more fluid, you need a technique that is a little bit more natural. So the focus now is on more natural techniques that take the head out of the tackle. Rugby has been doing this for years and there’s a lot to learn from rugby in that sense.
“If you drill it through repetition, they end up playing safe naturally and not aware of the fact they’ve altered and that’s where you want to be. If you basically create the muscle memory where they’re hitting the right way, they feel like they’re doing the same thing but they’re actually not.”
An alternative is available for kids to experience most of what football has to offer without any of the physical toll.
Flag football has steadily grown as an option for kids to get their feet wet before advancing to the tackling, full-fledged version of the sport.
“It’s going to be a taster and once people get a taste they’ll want to play real football, but I definitely think from an educational standpoint, it’s a great introduction,” said Bramford.
“That was certainly me. I started playing full-contact when I was eight and got my gum shield halfway down my throat and never wanted to play again. I gave it a year of playing flag and was perfectly fine again.”
For many parents, however, flag football is as close as they want their kids to the game. Hamouda, who has three children that play basketball, tennis and swim, wouldn’t deny his kids the chance to play football, but wouldn’t encourage it either.
He said: “I would try to steer them to other activities. Football is aggressive and they don’t need that. They can play more peacefully without exposing themselves to the risks. It’s not that football should be avoided, but if there are other sports also attractive to the kids, I think it’s better to advise them to do something else.”
Campos, on the other hand, is happy to coach his son on the Dubai Junior Varsity Barracudas and feels football brings far more positives than negatives into his child’s life.
“I’ll tell you from a parent’s perspective, he’s a much better kid at home after he’s come off the practice field or a hard game than after sitting on his butt,” said Campos.
The head-injury backlash that has struck the sport is impossible to overlook, but as long as the NFL flourishes and there are those who want to play the game, football will never disappear.
“In the end, people like contact sports and like to watch contact sports,” said Campos. “You’re not going to create a society in which people don’t enjoy contact sports.”
