Football Unveiled: Balancing Risks and Benefits in the Debate

The Legacy and Popularity of Football

Many people believe Football should be banned, but there are many reasons not to ban Football. The article “Birth of Pro Football” states that Football has been around for more than 100 years now. The sport is a combination of rugby and soccer, and each team now has about 53 players. Many people have enjoyed watching and playing the sport. It wouldn’t be that odd to go to the park and see a few people playing a small game of Football.

But even though so many people love the game, there are also many people who want to get rid of it. Football should not be banned because, for one, it’s not only a risky sport. Actually, it’s not even the riskiest sport. Also, Football hasn’t been proven to be linked to many long-term or short-term effects, and there’s just not enough evidence to ban it.

Football’s Risk in Perspective

Doctors and other people believe Football should be banned because there is too much of a risk, but it’s not a very valid reason, “Football is on the riskier side of the spectrum of sports, but still is less risky than skiing, snowboarding, skateboarding, equestrian or bicycling.” (Robert Glatter) par. 3, Why should people ban a sport even though it’s not even the most dangerous, skiing, snowboarding, and cycling leave injuries that can sometimes not be healed, all these sports can lead to devastating injuries.

The Debate Around CTE

Also, people are worried about CTE. They really shouldn’t be. Most of the info being told about CTE came from news stations, and they exaggerated it a lot. CTE hasn’t been linked to dementia, and it hasn’t been proven to cause any other side effects. One common disbelief is CTE causes suicidal thoughts. It doesn’t. There have been a lot of depressed players, but the studies show that depression rates are fairly normal in the NFL. We can’t really be worried about CTE for now since we really don’t know much about it. Scientists and doctors have only been studying the disease for about ten years, while all other neuro diseases have been studied for about 30+ years.

Repercussions of Banning Football

Even if people do ban Football, what sport would come next to fill the shoes of the beloved game? “If we eliminate football which sport is next, who is responsible for defining safe play.” If people want to ban Football just because it has some risks, then they might as well ban all sports. Every sport has some kind of risk. Soccer can lead to serious head trauma. Basketball can lead to sprains and broken bones, and even tennis has some risks. If Football is banned, then banning all other sports is fair since the reason is that the sport isn’t safe, and if Football is banned, then what would we do with all the multi-million dollar football stadiums? People shouldn’t ban it just for safety; for all the bad that comes from Football and other sports, children can learn social and leadership skills, and they can also learn discipline.

References:

1. Glatter, R. (n.d.). The Top 10 Sports Injuries. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertglatter/2012/10/29/the-top-10-sports-injuries/#255ba54f2dc0

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