- May 5, 2024
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I'm glad that football is back.
One of the reasons why I wanted to move to Port Orange was to be able to cover high school sports on a comprehensive basis, and now that football season has started I'm going to get as much as I could ever want.
Spruce Creek and Atlantic have started their practices as with every other team in Florida, but one thing I've noticed is a new initiative to keep players safer, which is never a bad thing.
I noticed during water breaks that coaches demand their players to take their helmets off. It's an idea to keep players safe, and it's something that anyone involved with the sport needs to get on board with. I didn't play football in high school, but I know between then and now, there has been a necessary progression in the concern for student athletes and their well being above all else.
Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman John Urschel retired from the game last week. He was 26. Early retirement is an epidemic in the NFL, with running backs and wide receivers especially being forced to cut their careers short due to concussions.
It's important to note because if Port Orange wants more football on Fridays instead of less in the coming years, an emphasis on safety above all else is going to have to be paramount. Will a lot of players from this area play football beyond these four years? Probably not, but all it takes is one play to ruin someone's brain and their life.
In my opinion, football won't be around in 50 years unless there's a significant shift to it. It's almost a certainty that if one plays football in their lives, they will suffer some kind of injury. CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease associated with repeated head trauma and it has been found to be prevalent in cases of former football players.
If I were a parent of a high schooler, I wouldn't let them play football. That's just my personal choice, but it isn't without reason.
Last week, researchers at Boston University published a study – the largest to date - looking at the brains of more than 200 deceased football players. 111 of those brains belonged to former NFL players and, of those, 110 had CTE pathology.
That's 99%.
So yes, I love football as much as the next person, but it's no doubt as dangerous as it gets compared to other major sports.
And in order for it to survive beyond its competition, the sport of football is going to be fighting a constant battle to keep its players safe.
I'm glad it's at least trying.
