When sports players get a concussion, they immediately go to the trainer or a doctor for help. But when they get there
they are all treated the same way; if everyone’s brains are formed differently and players have various medical issues, then why are they getting the same test?

Brainline, a research organization, reports that “In organized high school sports, concussions occur more often in competitive sports, with football accounting for more than 60% of concussions. For males, the leading cause of concussions is football and for females, soccer.”

At the beginning of the season, the trainers are responsible for teaching players how to avoid injuries when tackling. Players first learn how to “chin chin,” which is where they tuck the ball inside their body and put their shoulder out to prevent serious pain, so that if an injury happens it’ll be a hand, nger, wrist and/ or arm to prevent their head from getting hit. However, players often abandon these strategies during the game due to adrenaline and interactions with the opposing team, leading to serious concussions that take players out for the remainder of the season.

As a result of current studies and research, it is illegal for football players in all leagues to hit helmet-to-helmet or “spear” with their heads. Commonly, young men in high school football like to be the hardest and be the toughest; it’s a way to show “who’s the big dog in the house” or “who is more manly,” which is a direct pathway to serious injury. High school is already such a growing and developing stage for students, and adding this pressure to young men to be the best can be too much for them to handle. Yes, tackle football is a way to release testosterone or anger for adolescent males because you can hit someone, but it’s also very dangerous and can ruin vital body functions, changing the course of one’s life. More times than not, the negavtive aspects outweigh the positive.

This issue also goes beyond high school football. For many years, the NFL committee and board has denied any connection of CTE, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, and football. It wasn’t until March 16, 2016, that Senior Vice President of Health and Safety for the NFL, Jeff Miller, acknowledged that they do recognize the connection

Concussions are not easily tested for nor were they talked about much in sports until a few years ago when a forensic pathologist, Dr. Bennet Omalu, performed a biopsy on Pittsburgh Steelers former center in the, Nation Football League, Mike Webster. Webster died at age 50 from a heart attack and prior to that, he played 15 seasons in the NFL and played throughout high school and college. Before he passed, he had seen a number of doctors from the NFL and non-NFL side. Each doctor asked if he had any previous history of brain injury or car accidents. Webster described the contact sport as a repeated mini car accident and has probably been in over 25,000 of them. Dr.Omalu made the discovery that Mike Webster died of CTE, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy caused by 15 plus years of playing football.

In conclusion, concussions are a serious injury that should be taken more seriously and treated differently. Tests should be individualized to the patient and coaches should better instruct players on the dangers of concussions.