Concern about safety in football is higher than it's ever been, as study after study shows that concussions are more common and more harmful than previously thought. So I guess it wasn't a good idea for my high school coach, a former starting lineman in the powerful Southeastern Conference, to line up against high school players and demonstrate a now illegal technique: the forearm to the helmet?
The question today is how safe football can become and remain football? Safety challenges extend from youth leagues through the NFL. Rules changes long ago banned the blows to the head that offensive linemen used to routinely receive. More recent changes have sought to prevent tacklers from using their helmet as a weapon. But as long as there is blocking and tackling, danger will remain.
Oregon schools have made significant strides in promoting concussion awareness. In 2009, the Legislature passed Max's Law, which requires that coaches in every school sport be trained annually on how to recognize concussion symptoms and assign medical treatment. The bill was dubbed Max's Law after Max Conradt, who suffered a traumatic brain injury in 2001 playing football at Waldport High School.
OSAA, the administrative body for Oregon high school sports, has adopted a concussion management policy, which restricts when a player can return to action after showing signs of a possible concussion. The organization also has provided funding through its foundation to help schools implement a concussion-testing program. Also, Oregon Health & Science University has been active in concussion research and in helping to encourage responsible practices.
To be fair, concussions are not limited to football. Soccer players can get them from headers. Lacrosse players sometimes absorb illegal blows to the head with sticks. Baseball players get hit by pitches. And in almost any sport, you can be knocked to the ground and hit your head. But football is the most-watched sport in the United States and the team sport most defined by contact. So it bears the greatest safety burden.
The sport is trying. The NFL's New Orleans Saints will be without their coach and several players for portions of the season because of league sanctions related to a bounty program that rewarded players for hurting opponents. This season, the NCAA will implement new safety-motivated kickoff rules. The Pop Warner youth football organization has adopted new rules limiting the amount of contact allowed in practices.
For all its dangers and excesses, high school football plays an important role, building character and discipline for players and providing a social outlet for many others. As someone with many positive memories from high school football, I hope the sport navigates the road to safety.