Risks associated with playing youth football
The article by Bachynski and Goldberg focuses on the risks associated with playing football on youth. The thesis statement of the paper elaborates on the expected long-term cognitive effect of football in at least one-third of retired football players. The authors begin their argument by mentioning how early children begin playing football at ages as young as seven years old (Bachynski and Goldberg, 2014). The main point put across by Bachynski and Goldberg is the idea that contestant collisions children experience playing this sport can result in significant hard in the future. Even though these children are young, Bachynski and Goldberg believe that the effects remain substantial. The essay is well organized and systematic considering how the authors mention their main idea and then down some of the ways that children remain at risk of brain injuries from participating in this sport. Bachynski and Goldberg also speak of the safety measures put in place to reduce risks but they still believe the children are exposed to concussions that can be damaging to the brain in the long run. Some other ways of mitigating risks include the “Heads Up Football” program developed by the NFL (Bachynski and Goldberg, 2014). The authors also dispute this approach stating that there is no evidence of this risk being a significant method of reducing concussions or long-term brain damage. The authors believe that all the steps taken in mitigating risks of brain injury are not enough to protect youth from the harmful nature of this sport. They regard the risks of playing football at such an early age as an ethical matter that needs addressing.
