Football and Head Trauma

I will be discussing the love of football and the pain that comes with it. In fact, the National Football league was founded in 1920 and it's been going strong ever since. Nonetheless, I hope that you all will be able to take something away from today's podcast. With that being said, let'ts jump right to it. Football is one of the worlds most popular sports according to a recent Harris Poll but it is also a sport that could have an everlasting effect on you for the rest of your life. Let's get into early childhood and football.

EARLY CHILDHOOD

I have yet to meet a child who doesn't enjoy watching Sunday football games with their family or signing up as early as possible to suit up for little league football! In other words, football is usually introduced at an early age and typically that child would normally go throughout their teen years still wanting to be apart of the game with hopes of making it to the National Football League of America (NFL).

However, playing football could lead to serious injuries and it has influenced parents to reconsider letting their kids participate in the game. According to HealthResearchFunding.org, concussions rates for children under 19 who play tackle football have doubled over the last 10 years and most of the injuries occurred during practices. Getting hit could cause a blow to the head through helmet to helmet contact and if it goes untreated, it could lead to brain damage or death.

STUDENT ATHLETE-CAM'RON MATTHEWS

This topic is very close to my heart because I lost my 16 year old cousin, Cam'Ron Jamell Matthews October 17, 2015, he died from a "blunt impact to the head." Cam was a very talented football player and it breaks my heart that God had to call him home. Cam was the sixth prep football player to die that season.

Cam'Ron was a beautiful person and I miss him dearly. He was definitely an angel as shown in the video, even after death he saved six lives, one being his grandfather. The fact that he thought enough to register to become a donor shows how courageous he was. Although the sport was dangerous,Cam still was in love with the game and had he survived, he still would've got right back out there. That was the type of person he was, he was a soldier. I remember going to a game and I saw him playing with a cast on his arm! He was a true fighter.

CONCUSSION AND CTE

Repeated blows to the head could lead to long term effects such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)a life-threatening disease of the brain commonly found in athletes with a history of brain trauma. After losing my cousin, I became interested in knowing more about people who had been effected by playing football.

In my research, I had came across the film,"Concussion," which was based around Bennet Omalu, a Nigerian-American physician and neuropathologist who found the condition during an autopsy of former Pittsburgh Steelers player Mike Webster. This film really brought CTE and the NFL to the light. I really dislike this world at times because money is more important than someone's life. His research reported several NFL players who died as well and without his book, the film probably would not have been made. I must say that I am grateful for his hard work in regards to CTE, so thank you Dr.Bennet Omalu. It is very important to educate your children and yourself on the importance of reducing the risk of a concussion.

EDUCATION

I would like to hope someday that the game of football can be a safe place for children and adults. According to USA Football, the laws are different in some states. So, how could we reduce the risk of concussion early on? Children participating in football could limit full contact during practice, educate coaches about concussion symptoms, remove the player if they suspect a possible head injury and get tested before the season. For more information on your state laws visit USAFootball.com

CLOSING

The game of football can bring love, happiness, and sadness to ones life. I have to admit that I am not sorry to say that I wish football didn't exist because I still hurt from losing my cousin and there's not a day that goes by that I don't think about him but knowing Cam, he would've still chose football and there's not a doubt in my mind that he would not have made it to the NFL. Yes, he was that amazing and I'm not just saying that because he was my cousin. With that being said, I do hope that the game could be played without anyone getting hurt, which is tough because the game is 100 percent contact to contact.

I know there's a thrill in every player to tackle and defeat, my only suggestion is to not hit so hard, make the game safer for our children because CTE develops early on and catches up with them later on in life. My heart goes out to anyone who has lost someone due to a "blunt impact to the head" or suffering with CTE. I feel as though as a whole we have not done enough to help our children in this area and hopefully we will see things change in the future. I am certain that football will never go away because people are really in love with sport also being the most popular college sport in the country. It also brings in a lot of money and the NFL wouldn't want to lose that. According to www.statist.com, 32 teams of the NFL collectively brought in 12.billion U.S dollars. Unfortunately, having money means to have power and that is just more important than saving someone's life.

Please help raise awareness. Thank you.