This is from the AFCA 2011 Proceedings, p. 204

 

These types of injuries have decreased.

From page 202 of the above mentioned AFCA document:

 

Head & spine fatalities :

 

1955-1974: 342

1984-2004: 83

From page 202 of the above mentioned AFCA document:

 

Head & spine fatalities :

 

1955-1974: 342

1984-2004: 83

 

The difference is this all become publicized. People love to hear about bad stuff happening. Then they believe everything they see and read. These days you hear about everyone of these instances instead of not hearing about it because it was only in the local paper. As i type this right now someone can search it that lives in Alaska thats never heard of podunk Kentucky. Not one heat related death here in Kentucky has just been because of the heat. There have been other contributing factors. Compare the deaths and head injuries to ATVs and motorcycles and its not even close. While no one sets off the alarms for their dear ole Kawasaki or that Camaro that mommy and daddy bought little Johnny that brings me to the next point. Everyone is looking to sue someone. Schools and states have money, insurance companies have money. This is why this is all a big deal. Someone wants a buck. Just like the NFL. This never was an issue til they figured out you can get money from it. Anybody that has a brain knows that football, basketball, baseball will all take a toll on their body. As will motocross, working in the hayfield, 4 wheeling, etc. it's weighing the lessons and the friendships you get from football that you have to weigh this against. I guess you can develop friends at a chess match but its not the same. There will always be injuries, some will be major, some will not. Football has changed and coaches aren't out there killing these kids ( or at least ours doesn't ) but it is a violent sport. You will never be able to remove all the risk. I think the rewards are much higher than the risk.

The sound bite age.

From page 202 of the above mentioned AFCA document:

 

Head & spine fatalities :

 

1955-1974: 342

1984-2004: 83

 

 

1. Is football safer than it has ever been?

 

2. Is there an agenda or reason that football is portrayed as being more dangerous than in the past?

 

I think the answer to #1 is yes. I don't have an answer to # 2, although my son and coaches will tell you I am big into conspiracies and paranoia is one of my strengths. :sssh:

1. Is football safer than it has ever been?

 

2. Is there an agenda or reason that football is portrayed as being more dangerous than in the past?

 

I think the answer to #1 is yes. I don't have an answer to # 2, although my son and coaches will tell you I am big into conspiracies and paranoia is one of my strengths. :sssh:

You're not paranoid if they're really after you.

1. Is football safer than it has ever been?

 

2. Is there an agenda or reason that football is portrayed as being more dangerous than in the past?

 

I think the answer to #1 is yes. I don't have an answer to # 2, although my son and coaches will tell you I am big into conspiracies and paranoia is one of my strengths. :sssh:

You may be right that football is safer now than in the past, but the point could be that the research into TBI and CTE (research that was not being done previously) is showing that football is and always has been a dangerous activity from a neurological standpoint, and that a person may sustain cumulative neurological damage over time without ever having sustained a single "serious" head or neck injury at any one point, and thus not being included in the data cited above.

You may be right that football is safer now than in the past, but the point could be that the research into TBI and CTE (research that was not being done previously) is showing that football is and always has been a dangerous activity from a neurological standpoint, and that a person may sustain cumulative neurological damage over time without ever having sustained a single "serious" head or neck injury at any one point, and thus not being included in the data cited above.

 

I don't have the research - agreed. That is why I started with the point earlier about the old guys that played the game that are fine today and their practices were much tougher, their equipment not near as good. I do believe the NFL is different.

 

Were you surprised that the data showed a big drop in fatalities? If there are fewer fatalities, can we assume the neurological damage is less as well?

 

I don't know the answer to either question. I just want to see what you think.

I know very little about to what extent football can lead to developing TBI and CTE. I was surprised to see the stats you cited, and was encouraged to see that the game appears quite safer today than in the past.

 

I love the game of football. I never played organized football myself. I have a lot of respect for the game... it requires greater strategy than chess, and it teaches young people valuable lessons about striving toward goals, teamwork, delayed gratification, winning with honor and losing with dignity, etc. I very much hope that what findings do come out from the research do not show the game to be more harmful than helpful/positive.

From page 202 of the above mentioned AFCA document:

 

Head & spine fatalities :

 

1955-1974: 342

1984-2004: 83

 

So that speaks to fatalities. Long-term health issues stemming from football are increasing and more prevalent than many people think.

 

According to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, between 4 percent and 20 percent of college and high school football players sustain at least one brain injury during the course of a single season.

 

Football Head Injuries Increasing Because of Bigger, Faster Players - ABC News

 

That's a lot of head injuries.

 

If there are fewer fatalities, can we assume the neurological damage is less as well?

 

.

 

No.

Damage from this sort of mild, "subclinical" head traumas add up over time. Shots to the head that don't necessarily cause obvious symptoms lead coaches and trainers to assume -- mistakenly – that a player is fine to get back in the game. And sometimes athletes keep quiet about this type of injury because they want to keep playing.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported today that hospitals have recorded a 62 percent increase over the last decade in children under the age of 19 suffering serious head injuries while playing sports and engaging in other physical activities.

 

Young men, more likely to play sports involving intense physical contact, accounted for seven in 10 cases. And football was most often the sport that sent them to the emergency room.

 

Football Causing More Reported Child Brain Injuries - ABC News

So that speaks to fatalities. Long-term health issues stemming from football are increasing and more prevalent than many people think.

 

According to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, between 4 percent and 20 percent of college and high school football players sustain at least one brain injury during the course of a single season.

 

Football Head Injuries Increasing Because of Bigger, Faster Players - ABC News

 

That's a lot of head injuries.

 

One reason the numbers are increasing is because what is categorized today as an injury or concussion was not deemed an injury in prior eras.

 

We sat out a player one week with a "concussion" even though the doc later told me, I guess " we will have to call it heat exhaustion." After the doc watched the video of the play/hit- he saw that it never happened. My best guess is the player was tired and wanted a break.

 

But, it was reported as a concussion and we held him out a week.

 

The best motive and right reason to be so conservative is player safety. Fear of litigation can also play a part.

 

From my experience, those factors play a big role in the increase in the number of injuries.

I'm waiting for Steven Dubner and his Freakonomics approach to this topic. As they (and any good scientist would) say, "Correlation is not causation."