Ryan Craddock had seen his share of tragedy during two decades as a coal miner and firefighter.
Then came the toughest heartbreak of all: his own.
Craddock and his family are mourning the loss of his 13-year-old son, Cohen, who died from brain trauma last month after making a tackle during football practice at his middle school.
Cohen’s death, and the death of a 16-year-old Alabama high school player from a brain injury on the same day, have sparked renewed debate about whether the safety risks of youths playing football outweigh the benefits that the sport brings to a community.
The problem with implementing more safety measures - especially more padding or tougher gear - is that leagues, coaches and even some players start believing they can hit harder because they’re safer now … and that’s not the reality of it.
Take hockey for example. I grew up watching hockey when goalie masks were just that, a mask; there were zero plexi plates surrounding the rink and not one player wore a helmet. Yes there were fights and hard hits, but the players understood that being injured would do nothing for the player and game. So they took it easy on each other (mostly).
Same goes with mountainous highways, where back in the 60’s/70’s there were 2 lanes with a rock face on one side and a 100’-200’ drop on the other. People took care while they were driving because they recognised the danger. Now there’s concrete barriers on the slope side, 4 lanes with concret barriers between direction of travel, and people (especially young ones) speeding like there’s no tomorrow.
Better gear and more rules doesn’t always stop injuries. A change in mindset (like flag football instead of tackle) is a better way to deal with things.
I worked with a few sports medicine doctors, one who was a NFL team doctor and the other was a neurologist with the NFL’s head trauma research.
I asked them about the gear and it was basically what you said. I wondered aloud if going back to leather helmets and minimal plastic gear would help and they both agreed it would greatly reduce the damage but them power of money and culture make it impossible to make the sport safe in a realistic way
It’s a bankrupt culture that sends its youth into danger for entertainment and profit. It’s sick.
Funny enough, it was a sport conceived on making boys ready for war …
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Cars are not a good example of what you are talking about. Deaths are much much lower than they used to be.
I talked about speeding, not death rates for MV.
The argument that safety measures lead to increased recklessness is an interesting one. I don’t believe it in general, because reckless people don’t particularly care to research safety factors and margins. But in certain situations it’s surely true.