The Preventable Risks and Benefits of Contact Sports Essay Example

Since 1869, American football has been a popular sport known to anyone in the United States, although it has been known to have concussions. Most people believed it to be relatively safe. No one thought of the risk that it could bring. Recently, there has been a lot of new research suggesting that contact sports are posing a long-lasting threat to the health of its players. It has led to a lot of hesitation surrounding whether playing contact sports, like football, or even regular sports, like girl’s soccer, is worth it. Despite the risks that could come, famous football players are not worried about the hazards. Tom Brady said in interviews that they are not worried about getting a concussion. “I'm not oblivious to them. I mean, I understand the risks that, you know, come with the physical nature of our game” (Brady). While it is dangerous, contact sports are worth the risk because the pros that come with it outweigh the common danger of getting a concussion. There are many guidelines, safety precautions, and more that could decrease the chance of getting a concussion. There are also many benefits of the sport, in school, and the work industry. 

Some people believe that contact sports such as football and girls' soccer are dangerous, and they refuse to play any contact sports because of the risk of concussion and CTE. They argue, for example, Paragraph 12 of “What a Lifetime of Playing Football Can Do to the Human Brain”, stating: “There are approximately 0.41 concussions per NFL game of American football: 67.7 percent of concussions involve impact by another player’s helmet.” Football is not the only sport that has interference with concussions, as girl’s soccer, which is not considered a contact sport, often hosts year-round playing, with the high school seasons, and in the off-season. It as well as football contains a high risk of getting a concussion. Removing tackling or delaying it would also be a problem, as it could lead to a higher risk of damage later in life when it is finally introduced. Although that could be the case, should you get a concussion or be at risk of CTE from repeated violent contact with the ground, or other players, there are professionals trained for these types of encounters. These professionals include doctors, referees, and other medically trained professionals for types of situations, on standby. 

Football leagues in both high school and professional leagues, like the NFL, are striving for safer futures. As stated in paragraph 12 of the paper, “Heads Up Football Program Flourishing”, “The ultimate objective is to educate everyone who needs to know more about the trauma in the sport, and that when trauma happens, that the right action takes place.” Guidelines include education on CTE and concussions, (As stated previously in this essay) heat prevention and hydration, tackling with head prevention (From soccer), coaching and certification, and many more. There is always the last resort of removing tackling from football. It would drastically change the curriculum of football is traditionally played, but greatly reduce the risk of being injured.

There are also many benefits outside of contact sports. A paper called “The Social and Academic Benefits of Team Sports” has many examples of these benefits. In paragraph 3, “A University of Kansas study looking at the performance of students in grades 9 to 12 showed that more than 97% of student-athletes graduated high school, 1-% higher than those students who had never participated in sports. Athletes were also proven to have better GPA outcomes than non-athletes.” (1) Furthermore, you also have advantages in job industries, not only school and the sport itself. Some employers look for former athletes. They have persistence and work with other people better than those that haven’t engaged in playing contact sports.

The beneficial social and academic skills and the guidelines and prevention of concussions that you can incorporate into the sport outweigh the dangers of having a possibility of being injured. Examples of social and academic benefits include having a higher chance of being hired by an employer, as well as athletes’ GPAs and grade scores have also been higher. Prevention of the interferences can also be prevented or be prepared for. Professionals are trained for situations that happen in the game, like concussions. There are also a lot of guidelines recently being put in place to prevent concussions. The endangerments get superseded by all the gains rewarded in favor of only playing the sports, and there is a possibility that the hazards can be completely avoided in a few years.

Work Cited

Associated Press. “Heads Up Football Program Flourishing.” USA Today, 2014. Commonlit, Commonlit.org. Accessed 14 Mar. 2022.

Maslen, Paige. “The Social and Academic Benefits of Team Sports.” Edutopia, 2015. CommonLit, Commonlit.org. Accessed 14 Mar. 2022.

Resnick, Brian. “What a Lifetime of Playing Football Can Do to the Human Brain, Six things to know about the NFL, concussions, and brain damage.” Vox Media, LLC, 2019. Commonlit, Commonlit.org. Accessed 14 Mar. 2022.