New Study: Most Americans Believe Tackle Football Should Be Eliminated Before Age 14
By Ken Reed
According to a poll conducted by researchers at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, nearly 75% of men and 84% of women say they are opposed to kids playing tackle football before age 14. The poll also found that a majority of Americans — sports fans and non-fans alike — feel the NFL has failed to adequately address the problem of sports-related concussions. In addition, 94% of those surveyed said they would classify concussions and head injuries as a public health issue. Finally, 85% believe science has shown that concussions cause the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
“I was pretty surprised at a lot of the findings,” said Joshua Dyck, co-director of UMass Lowell’s Center for Public Opinion and the study’s lead investigator. “People are changing the way they talk about concussions, and this is a first-cut effort for us to try to understand how the public has responded.”
This study reveals that a large majority of Americans are now aware of the potential dangers of brain injuries sustained in football and other collision sports. However, awareness is a long ways from behavior change. The degree of understanding on the part of parents and coaches regarding the exact risks associated with blows to the head in football and other sports needs to increase. Also, most people still think the problem is just concussions. However, research has revealed that repetitive sub-concussive blows to the head/brain can also lead to short-term and long-term brain damage.
While some youth football organizations have shown a drop in youth participation, others haven’t. At this point, it appears that most Americans are aware of the dangers of playing collision sports, however, that awareness hasn’t translated into significant changes when it comes to youth sports participation statistics.
— Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans
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Episode #29 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: The Honorable Tom McMillen Visits League of Fans’ Sports Forum – McMillen is a former All-American basketball player, Olympian, Rhodes Scholar and U.S. Congressman. We discuss the state of college athletics today.
Episode #28 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: A Chat With Mano Watsa, a Leading Basketball and Life Educator – Watsa is President of PGC Basketball, the largest education basketball camp in the world. We discuss problems in youth sports today.
Episode #27 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Kids’ Sports: How We Can Take Back the Game and Restore Quality Family Time In the Process – Linda Flanagan is author of “Take Back the Game: How Money and Mania Are Ruining Kids’ Sports and Why It Matters.” We discuss how commercialized and professionalized youth sports are hurting kids and their families.
Episode #26 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: How Can We Fix Youth Sports? – John O’Sullivan is Founder and CEO of Changing the Game Project and author of “Changing the Game: The Parents Guide to Raising Happy, High Performing Athletes and Giving Youth Sports Back to Our Kids.”
Episode #25 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Physical Education Should Be a Critical Component of K-12 School Design – Michael Horn is co-founder of the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation.
Media
"How We Can Save Sports" author Ken Reed appears on Fox & Friends to explain how there's "too much adult in youth sports."
Ken Reed appears on Mornings with Gail from KFKA Radio in Colorado to discuss bad parenting in youth athletics.
“Should College Athletes Be Paid?” Ken Reed on The Morning Show from Wisconsin Public Radio
Ken Reed appears on KGNU Community Radio in Colorado (at 02:30) to discuss equality in sports and Title IX.
Ken Reed appears on the Ralph Nader Radio Hour (at 38:35) to discuss his book The Sports Reformers: Working to Make the World of Sports a Better Place, and to talk about some current sports issues.
- Reed Appears on Ralph Nader Radio Hour League of Fans’ sports policy director, Ken Reed, Ralph Nader and the New York Times’ Tyler Kepner discussed a variety of sports issues on Nader’s radio show as well as Reed’s updated book, How We Can Save Sports: A Game Plan. Reed's book was released in paperback in February, and has a new introduction and several updated sections.
League of Fans is a sports reform project founded by Ralph Nader to fight for the higher principles of justice, fair play, equal opportunity and civil rights in sports; and to encourage safety and civic responsibility in sports industry and culture.
Vanderbilt Sport & Society - On The Ball with Andrew Maraniss with guest Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director for League of Fans and author of How We Can Save Sports: A Game Plan
Sports & Torts – Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans – at the American Museum of Tort Law
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