1 The Game of American Football and the Danger It Imposes on Athletes Taisei Ieda 1M160135-0 SILS Seminar on History Graduation Thesis Fall 2019 2 Abstract: The game of football presents significant stress and toll on the athletes. With one of the most common injuries on the field being concussions, recently, there has been an extensive discussion questioning the safety of the game. The problem with concussions is that a repetition of them is known to lead to a chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is a type of significant brain injury. There hadn't been enough attention put towards this injury due to the lack of research and advancements in the game. Many players in the past have suffered significant consequences, with some people even committing suicide, as discussed in this thesis. One of the recent players who has become a victim of this was Aaron Hernandez. Many players have relied on medicinal drugs such as 'Toradol' to overcome the pain of injuries suffered in the league. There have been some breakthroughs in making the game safer, such as the advancement of equipment, changes in rules, and the installation of the concussion protocol. However, there are still significant issues in the NFL and many that pose a threat to the safety of the players. The thesis will discuss how the events noted above have progressed over time and how the NFL is in its current state. 3 Table of Contents Page Abstract 2 Chapter 1. Introduction 6 Chapter 2. One of the Most Significant Injuries in American 10 Football: Concussions Chapter 3. Concussions and the lead to CTE 13 Chapter 4. The Denial by the NFL 15 Chapter 5. Aaron Hernandez 18 Chapter 6. How did players overcome injuries in the league? 21 Chapter 7. The Advancement of NFL Equipment 24 Chapter 8. The Change of Rules in the NFL 27 Chapter 9. NFL Concussion Protocol 31 Chapter 10. Seattle Seahawks Tackling Technique 35 Chapter 11. Current Status of the NFL 38 Chapter 12. Thursday Night Football 40 Chapter 13. Conclusion 42 Bibliography 44 4 List of Tables & Figures Table 1. Number of Concussions in the NFL from 2012 – 2019 10 “Injury Data.” NFL Play Smart, Play Safe, www.playsmartplaysafe.com/newsroom/reports/injury-data/. Figure 1. The Stages of CTE 14 Resnick, Brian. “What a Lifetime of Playing Football Can Do to the Human Brain.” Vox, Vox, 4 Feb. 2019, www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/2/2/16956440/super-bowl- 2019-concussion-symptoms-cte-football-nfl-brain-damage-youth. Figure 2. Leather Helmets used in the 1920s 24 “Extreme Team Sports.” History Of Football Helmets, 2010, www.extremeteamsports.com/Football- Pop%20Warner/HistoryOfFootballHelmets.htm. Figure 3. The Introduction of Plastic helmets in the 1930s by Riddell. 25 “Extreme Team Sports.” History Of Football Helmets, 2010, www.extremeteamsports.com/Football- Pop%20Warner/HistoryOfFootballHelmets.htm. Figure 4. List of Approved Helmets for Use by the NFL 26 “Helmet Laboratory Testing Performance Results.” NFL Play Smart, Play Safe, 14 Sept. 2016, www.playsmartplaysafe.com/resource/helmet-laboratory-testing-performance- results/. 5 Figure 5. Odell Beckham Jr. not wearing pants over the knee area. 29 Martinez, Jose. “Odell Beckham Jr. Fined $14K for Wearing Pants That Didn't Cover His Knees During Game.” Complex, Complex, 22 Oct. 2019, www.complex.com/sports/2019/10/odell-backham-jr-fined-14k-for-wearing-pants- that-didnt-cover-his-knees-during-game. Figure 6. The Five-Step Return to Participation Protocol. 34 “NFL Return-To-Participation Protocol.” NFL Play Smart, Play Safe, 20 June 2017, www.playsmartplaysafe.com/focus-on-safety/protecting-players/nfl-return-to- participation-protocol/. 6 Chapter 1. Introduction: The sport of American Football is one like no other. It combines various aspects such as physical toughness, chess-like mental strategies, and critical game situation awareness. This sport is predominately popular in the United States. American Football originated in the late 19th century in North American Colleges, where it had evolved from preexisting British games of both rugby and soccer. (History Extra, 2019) The first set of matches took place in 1869, where Princeton and Rutgers played, with Rutgers taking the victory over Princeton. The game played then is very different from the one played today. According to History Extra, it stated that both teams were not allowed to pick up the ball but instead could only score and advance the ball by kicking or swiping the ball with their hands. (History Extra, 2019) Present-day, two opposing teams, can move the ball down the field by either throwing the ball or running the ball to score in an area known as the 'end zone.' Eleven players are allowed to be on the field at one time for each team. When on offense, teams get four chances or 'downs' to move the ball 10 yards forward. One yard is equivalent to that of 36 inches. Once the 10 yards have been reached, the team will receive another set of 4 downs to gain another 10 yards. If the 10 yards cannot be reached within the 4 downs, the ball will be handed over to the other team, and the team that was on offense will now switch to defense, vice versa. (Rules of Sports, 2019) 7 The most competitive level of American Football is played in the US, known as the National Football League or NFL, for short. The NFL consists of a total of 32 teams divided into two conferences, the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). Teams play a 16-game regular season, and the teams with the most winning records ultimately advance to what is known as the 'playoffs.’ The games in the playoffs are initiated in a tournament style for a chance to play in the championship game, known as the ‘Super Bowl.’ (Wikipedia, 2020) The NFL is considered to be one of the four major professional sport leagues in the United States, and the highest level of professionalism that can be reached in this sport. Now, we arrive at the question, why is American Football so popular in the United States? When purely looking at the NFL, one reason is unlike any other professional sport; there is more of an equal chance of your favorite team winning the Super Bowl. This is due to the many elements that the game of football presents, and not one aspect can be valued over another. Football is mainly divided into three components of offense, defense, and special teams. It is imperative to have a well-balanced force for all three elements to win. For example, even if your organization has an outstanding offensive team, it might have a terrible defense and special team unit. That team would most likely have a hard time winning when their offense begins to struggle. This is why in the game of football, there are a lot of 'upsets' where the presumed winner ultimately loses to the underdog. (Fitzpatrick, 2017) When looking at the sport itself and examining why people dedicate so much time and effort to become an NFL player, one apparent reason can be the enormous amount of 8 money that can be obtained from playing the sport. There are many current and former NFL players who grew up poor. For many athletes, becoming an NFL star was a way to escape the rough surroundings and the life of poverty. Now, if you excel at the sport, your full college tuition can be paid for as well as your food and dormitory expenses. In other words, your life would be set, not only for yourself but for your family and your children’s families to come. (Zak, 2017) As for myself, I first came across the sport when I was in 1st grade. At the time, I had just moved to the United States due to my father’s job. Not knowing the language of English at all, I had very few ways of communicating with not only my teacher but my classmates. But, I noticed how everyone was playing one particular sport during recess. That happened to be American Football. Of course, we weren't playing tackle football, but it looked fun, so on the day, I decided to join. Immediately I got hooked and began to watch football on Sundays with my family. For myself, the adrenaline you would get just by watching the sport was what got me so interested. One play could change the whole momentum of the game, and it was a sport like no other. Some people get attracted to the flashy players on the offensive side and their abilities to make defenders look silly and score touchdowns. But, for me, it was the opposing side. The violent hits that defensive players would make and the stadium roaring loud was what got me hooked. During my time, players like Sean Taylor and Ed Reed were some of the players that I admired with their ability to knock out players running across the field. Little did I know at the time, the amount of blow the players were taking to their body and head and how that would impact their body in the long term. 9 Minus all of the excitement and popularity the sport poses, American Football is a hazardous sport. The amount of toll it inflicts on your body is like no other, and you have to experience the game itself to know the exceptional care directly you must take to make it your career. Injuries are common in football; there is not one player that isn't hurt playing on a week-to-week basis in the NFL.