The Importance Of Concussions In The National Football League

Year by year head injuries are rising in the National Football League. With head injuries growing the tension around the concussion issue is growing. With growing tension more pressure is put on the NFL in means of player safety. The NFL should do more to protect players against concussions because players are constantly taking hits, helmets are not concussion proof, and players are returning to action too soon after suffering a concussion. To start off concussions are defined as a type of traumatic brain injury caused by a bump or blow, or jolt to the head or by a hit to the body that causes the head and brain to rapidly move back and forth. Year by year concussions are increasing in the NFL and it is being overlooked. Players taking repetitive hits has been proved to be directly related to brain injuries. Leaving the question on the table. Is the NFL doing enough to prevent concussions? NFL players are constantly constantly taking devastating hits play after play which is affecting their head. Spoken by a professor of biomedical engineering “Repeated blows to players heads change the way the brain functions for the worse” (Purdue). The importance of this is that even medical doctors also believe taking multiple hits is affecting players. The brain is the most important part of the body. When you put the brain at risk your whole body is at risk. Allowing players to constantly take hits is affecting their life and overall their future. Something the NFL will never understand is that helmets are not concussion proof and will not prevent brain damage. The NFL expects “a mere 1.5 inches of foam and candy shell” (Wilson). To slow a player's head enough to stop their brain from rolling around in their skull. The idea of a concussion proof helmet is slim. It’s like a car driving straight into a building. Even with airbags you will probably still feel lucky to be alive. Helmets need to be improved as much as possible to protect the player from head trauma. Players are in danger until this is solved. Bottom line …show more content…
The NFL fines are nothing to players. It is “Not the biggest deal considered the fines will be less than a percent of each player's 2016 cap hit” (Weaver). The fines vary in price but still remain a small amount to players. These fines should be increased because players will overlook the fines if they are inexpensive. On top of that NFL fines should be extra if they are perceived as intentional rather than accidental The NFL also claims the concussion issue is exaggerated and deserves less attention. Through fact, it is not exaggerated, “Diagnosed concussions rose by nearly 32 percent in the NFL this season” (Seifert). The point is that the concussion issue is growing in numbers year by year while the NFL stands and watches. Players are suffering and it cannot be overlooked. If a problem is growing how can it be exaggerated? The NFL needs to address concussions before it gets out of hand.
Overall the NFL should pay more attention to the concussion issue to pretect players from traumatic brain damage. The NFL should do more to protect players from constantly taking hits, endorse safer helmets, and change the return time for players. The National Football League should strongly consider paying more attention to the concussion issue in order to protect the players health and