After Mounting Discussions On Banning American Football, This Helmet Could Serve As Answer

Gaining strength lately have been arguments that American football was too dangerous, and there was discussion -surprisingly serious discussion! - about possibly banning it outright at the high school level, and even at the collegiate level.

Now, I know that is unlikely to happen. Certainly not completely. Some towns would surely make news by banning it if the topic truly became a media blitz. However, if you believe that those in charge of college football programs right now, and that make tons of their money off of the sport (I don't have to name them, because pretty much anyone who knows anything about sports probably can name quite a few off the top of their heads) are never going to allow that.

Still, I remember listening to a discussion on the radio (NPR) maybe around a year or so ago, and there was a debate between those in favor of such a ban at the high school (and younger) level, and possibly even extending to college.

Sorry, but I do not remember the exact statistics. But let's just say this: at the beginning of the program, an overwhelming majority polled were in favor of keeping the sport in schools. By the end of it, however, the overwhelming majority were in favor of a ban.

Obviously, for that kind of a wild shift, it takes not just persuasive argument, but decisive facts and statistics - tons of them - to help sway the public opinion. And recounting examples of serious head injuries, with the former NFL players at the time still suing the NFL for head injuries and concussions still very much under the media microscope, the evidence was there, and used heavily against the former NFL football players who were arguing against any ban. The results of the polls spoke to how dominant those in favor of the ban proved to be.

I began to wonder if, indeed, we might not see the beginnings of a movement - a real movement  -to ban the sport during my lifetime.

But things change. And here is an article that illustrates that better than any arguments for or against a ban of football.

This is a new helmet that heavily relies upon science to minimize the chances of serious injury!

There is a friend of mine who detests (his word) the sport of American football. Yet, he was the one that recommended this article, and said that despite his loathing the sport, the technology behind this was truly fascinating!

So, there you go. There was bound to be a response from those in favor of keeping the sport in our schools, and apparently, they have used the best in modern day science and technology to come up with a possible solution. At least, it is much better than what has existed up to this point.

Take a look, and see if you're not impressed:



The Helmet That Could Change Football by David Cassilo, September 4, 2014:

http://www.popsci.com/article/science/helmet-could-change-football?src=SOC&dom=fb