There is no denying that football is one of the most popular American sports. The Super Bowl game itself has been the most watched U.S television broadcast since 2008. However, though football is a very popular sport to watch;the willingness to actually play the sport might be diminishing.
Why?
Well, because a lot of parents do not want their kids to play football.
A recent poll conducted by the Public Religion Research Institution, shows that 31% of Americans would not allow their young sons to play football. Though the number might seem low, it is an increase from the previous poll taken in 2015 which 22% showed of Americans opposing the idea. Football is a very high contact sport, which appears extremely violent at times; so one can understand why a parent would not want their kid to play football. However, just seeing the physical play on the field alone isn’t why parents are trying to steer their kid away from playing football. One of the main reasons is because of CTE.
CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) is a disease that is found in people who have had a severe blow to the head. News connecting CTE to the NFL has been damaging the NFL reputation and have many people associated with the league trying to defend the NFL brand. Jerry Jones, The Dallas Cowboys owner, has questioned reports connecting CTE to the NFL. Jones made the following statement about the topic: “We as a league, we have not in any way changed our desire to do everything we can to make it safe, make it safe as to head injury. We hope and will support any data that would give us more insight into any short- and long-term consequences. We would support that." Jones has not been the only NFL associate that has praised the progress the NFL has made to make football more safe. However, football is still under “attack” and parents still have concerns about the safety of the game. Bruce Arians, the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals does not agree with the concerns of those parents. He said, “People who say they won't let their son play [football] are fools,” said Arians, who also went onto praise the life lessons and discipline the game of football teaches young children. While Arians might be right in what he is saying, parents are going to want the best for their child regardless. So the question still remains, would you let your kid play football?
