OT: High school football player dies; seventh in USA this year
Very sad story out of Chicago this morning.
17 year old Andre Smith has died after suffering "blunt force head injuries due to a football accident." He is the SEVENTH high school football player to die in America this year. In 2014, eleven high school football players died, five of whom's deaths where caused by injuries directly related to game action.
As much as we harp on brain injuries in college and the NFL, what's going on in high school football right now is much worse. These kids simply do not receive adequate care for contact football and people are dying almost every week because of it, and unfortunately the fix for this is unclear given the general lack of central control over high school football. It's just a sad state of affairs at this level, unacceptable really, and something is going to need to be done fast or the game risks major (and in that case necessary) gameplay changes.
October 26th, 2015 at 1:47 PM ^
Have there been any weeks in which people have died? People is plural.
October 26th, 2015 at 1:36 PM ^
Theres been more weeks of football than that, practices, preason, etc, plus any football played from last year that went into 2015, not to mention summer leagues, etc etc.
Even if you discount all that and pretend there really has been only 9 weeks of football, it is still incorrect to say "people" as it averages less than 1.
October 26th, 2015 at 1:55 PM ^
The seven deaths are since the beginning of the high school football season. Here are the dates:
September 6, 19, 28
October 5, 5, 17, 23
October 26th, 2015 at 1:49 PM ^
for males 16-20 was 3,883 deaths / 52 weeks = 75 /week over the 10.8 million males aged 16 -20 in 2006 (the last year in this first Google result).
After adjusting for the 1 million high school football participants quoted above, we see that a football player is about seven times more likely to die from a car crash DURING FOOTBALL SEASON than he is to die on the field.
Of course, we should strive to lower both of these rates, but appeals to raw emotion without perspective should be balanced by context and the acknowledgement of the utility that football brings to its participants.
October 26th, 2015 at 1:59 PM ^
Okay. I agree. I don't see anyone appealing to emotion here.
October 26th, 2015 at 1:22 PM ^
I believe the concussion rate in soccer is greater than that of football, presumably because of "heading" the ball. It will be interesting to see if any league or organization will prohibit this means of moving the ball to reduce the likelyhood of players suffering concussion injuries.
October 26th, 2015 at 1:25 PM ^
There are already prominent soccer figures calling for outlawing heading the ball pre-high school level. Taylor Twellman has been very vocal about it. As a former soccer player and current fan, I am not against banning it.
October 26th, 2015 at 1:29 PM ^
High School students are immune from suffering concussions by heading the ball?
October 26th, 2015 at 1:42 PM ^
You're old enough to understand and accept the risk. And simply heading the ball will not cause concussions. It is more like clashing heads with another person that does it.
I have also read that for some reason, concussions seem more prominent in youth female soccer players as opposed to youth male players.
October 26th, 2015 at 2:07 PM ^
some designed specifically for soccer to accommodate the heading play while offering protection.
I play softball and one of the low but avoidable risks is getting beaned in the head on the basepaths by an errant throw. Yet I only see an occasional batting helmet on other players.
Me, I think a batting helmet is too much, so I go with a plastic-shelled bump cap in combination with a foam cushioned cap to add protection and improve the fit of the hard shell to the shape of my head.
I've gotten a couple of jokes made at my expense, but who cares?
http://www.amazon.com/Ergodyne-Skullerz-8950-Safety-Short/dp/B00IZ9D140…
October 26th, 2015 at 1:26 PM ^
I always see this, and I never see a source.
October 26th, 2015 at 1:40 PM ^
That's probably because it isn't true. The concussion rate for football is higher than every other sport and by a decent margin.
http://ajs.sagepub.com/content/40/4/747
http://www.headcasecompany.com/concussion_info/stats_on_concussions_spo…
October 26th, 2015 at 1:27 PM ^
Not just heading the ball, there is also a lot of head-to-head contact going up for balls in the air.
If you are a parent looking for an alternative for your kids to avoid concussions . . . soccer is not it.
October 26th, 2015 at 1:31 PM ^
October 26th, 2015 at 1:35 PM ^
Interesting fact: Having a pool at your house is a greater risk to your childrens' lives than having a gun in the house.
October 26th, 2015 at 1:40 PM ^
the pool will attract many more bikini clad women over to my house than the gun will.
Advantage, pool.
October 26th, 2015 at 2:09 PM ^
Advantage: Muttley
October 26th, 2015 at 2:20 PM ^
well played
October 26th, 2015 at 1:12 PM ^
While I don't think it will ever go away, I think we're going to see some huge changes to the sport over the next 5-10 years. Eventually someone in college or the NFL will die on the field. Not that a high school football death is any less tragic, but when it's that out in the open and that highly televised is when the NCAA/NFL will have no choice but to make drastic changes. The public outcry and backlash will be too high to not do anything drastic.
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October 26th, 2015 at 1:13 PM ^
While I don't think it will ever go away, I think we're going to see some huge changes to the sport over the next 5-10 years. Eventually someone in college or the NFL will die on the field. Not that a high school football death is any less tragic, but when it's that out in the open and that highly televised is when the NCAA/NFL will have no choice but to make drastic changes. The public outcry and backlash will be too high to not do anything drastic.
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October 26th, 2015 at 1:22 PM ^
October 26th, 2015 at 1:22 PM ^
October 26th, 2015 at 1:25 PM ^
Making matters worse, nearly 70% of high school athletes with concussions played despite their symptoms, and 40% reported that their coaches didn't know of the injury, according to a 2014 study in the American Journal of Sports Medicine.
The article talks a bit about schools shying away from the cost of a training staff, but there also has to be attention paid to the immediate care of such injuries too, not to mention some communication which attempts to de-stigmatize saying that one is hurt. It seems to me that the chance to save a life potentially makes the extra expense for adequate training and support staff worth it, and really, you could say that about several sports - even if there's standby support, it seems like it would be worth it and potentially make a difference.
These stories are truly tragic. RIP,young man.
October 26th, 2015 at 2:12 PM ^
once those have been identified.
Absorb one above the cutoff, or accumulate a certain total, and you'd be done for the day.
Kinda like the energy/health indicator in video games.
October 26th, 2015 at 1:25 PM ^
Deaths make headlines, but the real issue is the more minor injuries that may be much more likely to occur. We put ourselves at very remote risk of death all the time, as above posters noted. What we don't do is put ourselves at moderate risk of severe brain injury all the time. How severe and how likely brain injury is when playing football is the real issue with regard to the game's longterm viability.
October 26th, 2015 at 1:26 PM ^
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October 26th, 2015 at 1:56 PM ^
In order to know whether this is something to draw conclusions from, can we find out...
How many kids die in bicycle accidents?
How many kids die in traffic accidents?
How many kids die accidently doing dumb stuff?
Every death is tragic. Every one. But, lets focus our efforts on the right areas.... did you know that more people die each year TAKING SELFIES than playing football?
(http://mashable.com/2015/09/21/selfie-deaths/#UIB51wwpkkqO)
That won't stop the helicopter parents though....
October 26th, 2015 at 1:31 PM ^
Football is a very different game today that it was 125 years ago. And most of that is due to changes for safety reasons.
The game has always been evolving and will necessarily continue to evolve to survive.
The game will likely look quite a bit different 125 years from now, but it will still retain some form of downs and distance to move the ball into a goal area.
October 26th, 2015 at 1:33 PM ^
October 26th, 2015 at 1:45 PM ^
1) No one was watching kids crash on ATVs as a form of entertainment - at least not enough to erect grandstands and sell concessions
2) Anyway, 'Necks, right?!
October 26th, 2015 at 1:56 PM ^
According to the posters here more kids die each year at pools than in football, etc.
Rather than build stands and concessions for swim meets, people even go as far as to pay thousands of dollars to have such DEATH TRAPS installed in their own yard. How disgusting is that?
October 26th, 2015 at 1:58 PM ^
October 26th, 2015 at 2:11 PM ^
Sorry, 2 minutes with that Mom was all I could handle, but it sure reinforced my point #2, huh?!
October 26th, 2015 at 1:42 PM ^
October 26th, 2015 at 1:56 PM ^
Yeah, this has been in the Chicago papers the last couple days. Sad story. I don't know all the background, but I do think that there is a lot of inconsistency among teams in how things are treated. Specifically, there are schools that don't pull players soon enough. (That's why the outrage at what happend with Morris last year . . . should have stayed out of the game, obv.).
My son just finished playing Freshman football. His high school is one in the western burbs that is perenially in the top 10 HS teams, sliding between the two top divisions in Illinois. Football is big, with Varsity, JV, and two Freshmen teams. Because football is so big, they have very careful concussion and injury protocols. On my son's team just this season, he was taken to the ER as a precautionary measure early in the season (no concussion). The starting QB was pulled twice for a possible concussion (none the first time, inconclusive the second, so he didn't return to the field, last game of the season). My point is, while a fatality could happen here, on my son's team, it is pretty unlikely with all the injury protocols they follow. I can't speak conclusively for the school where the fatality just happened. However, I think it is probable that he didn't receive the level of care and precautionary measures that he should have.
The other thing. For all of you wondering about your own kids and whether they should play, that's your personal decision, made with your own child, and your own partner. Having said that, if you really believe that football is too dangerous for your own child, you need to think about your fandom. We can all agree that there is great potential for harm in football. But as others have said, there is a significant degree of danger with many activities. Something is wrong if you wouldn't play, or you wouldn't allow your own child to play, but you continue to be a big fan of football. When you do that, you get closer to the crowds in Hunger Games, cheering lustily for this individual or that, but very far from the field. Oh, and you disagree significantly with Jim Harbaugh on this whole topic.
October 26th, 2015 at 2:05 PM ^
Well I'm defintely gonna need to update my wardrobe then, because I'm going to continue to voraciously watch football (veraciously perhaps, in keeping with the blog?)
At the same time I'm going to continue tsk-tsking the sport for not taking better care of the people playing it.
October 26th, 2015 at 2:12 PM ^
me a hypocrite or an asshole. I can enjoy watching football and the protection of the American Military without allowing my son to participate in either.
I don't think I would outright prevent him from playing once he gets to high school, but I will strongly discourage it. If that makes me an elitist, so be it.
Also, I've never watched the Hunger Games. Mainly because I'm not a teenage girl.
October 26th, 2015 at 10:58 PM ^
I'm not so sure there's something wrong with people who wouldn't do an activity themselves or allow their children but who enjoy being spectators. How many circus acts would exist? My youngest daughter participated in gymnastics as a pre-schooler. I really would not have wanted her to be a competitive gymnast in her teens or later. There are just too many injuries. As long as the participants (and parents if under 18) are aware of the risks, it's legal, sanctioned, and governed by rules, coaches and officials trying to minimize injuries, I don't see a problem. I wouldn't want to see my kids pole vaulting, racing motocross, cliff diving or any number of other activities that seem too dangerous to me, but I have no problem watching and enjoying others competing in events like these.
October 26th, 2015 at 2:08 PM ^
Can we stop comparing football deaths to deaths that occur while doing things that are non voluntary.
I have to go to work to support my family, its just a little too far to walk. If I should die in a car crash on the way to work, it is completely different than signing up to play football and dying as a result.
I am not commenting on football or its inherent dangers, I just hate when people compare apples to oranges. Lets see the comparison to other activities that are done for "fun". I am sure there are equally high mortality rates for other elective activities. What are they and how can we make them ALL safer before sending our children off to participate in them.
October 26th, 2015 at 2:19 PM ^
Perhaps its because you perceive the benefits of your current lifestyle/living arrangements to be greater than the risk of auto accidents?
October 26th, 2015 at 2:33 PM ^
How is driving a car a non-voluntary action?
October 26th, 2015 at 2:45 PM ^
October 26th, 2015 at 4:29 PM ^
Steak is fun. You can choke.
Swimming is fun. You can drown.
Drinking is fun. Ban beer.
Fireworks are fun. Ban those bitches.
Let's agree as a collective to never climb another mountain. Never go outside to build a snowman (get lost and you'll freeze to death), never start another bonfire, never visit a biome that has animals that can kill a human if provoked.
Sex should be for procreation only, lest you risk a heart attack. Speaking of procreation, as soon as that is done, boobs should be preemptively removed to prevent the risk of cancer. So should testicles. It's WAY safer to have those taken out surgically as opposed to risk getting cancer.
Women should stop shaving their legs as they risk a MRSA infection if they accidentally cut themselves. Men should take testosterone blockers to prevent them from trying to fight each other. It's the only sensible approach.
Can we please do this? Please?
October 27th, 2015 at 10:58 AM ^
Football: 0.63/100,000
Hang Gliding 179/100,000
Motorcycle Racing 100/100,000
Boxing 45.5/100,000
Mountain Hiking 6.4/100,000
Scuba Diving 2.9/100,000
Sky Diving 0.99/100,000
Bicycling 0.71/100,000
Skiing/Snowboarding: 0.55/100,000
October 26th, 2015 at 2:10 PM ^
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October 26th, 2015 at 2:13 PM ^
soccer produces more concussions a year than football. Not sure if it's true or not. And the problem I have with high school football in Texas is the age of some of these kids- too many 19- year-olds playing varsity football. Look at the profiles of recruits and you'll see a lot of them are 18 and 19 before their senior year.
October 26th, 2015 at 3:19 PM ^
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October 26th, 2015 at 3:02 PM ^
NEED THE SAME STUDY as michigan is doing on helmets. what is good for one should be carried down to hs. the hell to what it costs. life cannot put a price on.