In a bold new public service announcement, a compelling message urges parents to reconsider enrolling their children in tackle football until they reach the age of 14. This PSA, released by the Concussion Legacy Foundation, draws a striking parallel between the long-term dangers of youth football and the well-known risks associated with smoking.
For years, tackle football has faced scrutiny due to the alarming rate of concussions and related injuries on the field. The increasing awareness of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a severe brain condition linked to repeated head trauma, has led many parents to rethink their decisions about youth football.
The short but impactful video features a group of children playing football. After a tackle, the coach hands out cigarettes to the players, who light up and exhale smoke as a child’s voice narrates, “Tackle football is like smoking. The younger I start, the longer I am exposed to danger. You wouldn’t let me smoke. When should I start tackling?” In a striking image, a mother lights her son’s cigarette, underscoring the PSA’s alarming message.
This campaign, dubbed “Tackle Can Wait,” was initiated by the daughters of former NFL players who both suffered from CTE posthumously. Sarah Thompson, daughter of NFL player Mike Thompson, and Emily Johnson, whose father was a college football athlete, are advocating for parents to delay their children’s entry into tackle football until they are at least 14 to mitigate the risk of developing CTE.
Recent research published in the Annals of Neurology indicates that it’s not just the number of concussions that increases the likelihood of CTE, but rather the total years spent playing football. The findings suggest that the risk of CTE doubles for every 2.6 years of participation. Therefore, a child who begins playing tackle football at age five faces a significantly higher risk of developing CTE by high school compared to those who start at 14.
Why draw a comparison to smoking? Chris Nowinski, the CEO of the Concussion Legacy Foundation and a co-author of the study, believes that imposing age restrictions on tackle football, similar to those on tobacco, could potentially halve the risk of CTE. He highlights that children under 12 take much longer to recover from brain injuries and are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of tackle football.
While signing your child up for a contact sport isn’t the same as handing them a pack of cigarettes, this provocative PSA certainly challenges how we view the future of youth tackle football. With our evolving understanding of the potential brain injuries associated with the sport, it may be time to rethink our approach, especially for younger players.
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In summary, the new PSA from the Concussion Legacy Foundation provokes thought about the risks of youth tackle football by drawing a stark comparison to smoking. It advocates for parents to delay their children’s participation in tackle football until they are older, thereby reducing the risks associated with CTE.
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