Bob Collins
The power of Big Football will probably stop it in its tracks, but a bill in Massachusetts would ban tackle football until after the seventh grade, the New York Times reports.
Five other states have tried a similar bill. Five other states have failed even though the evidence is mounting that football scrambles your kids’ brain.
Because: football. And: America.
The pressure apparently is already mounting; two bill co-sponsors have already request their names be taken off the bill.
“Should we ban youth soccer too? Or youth hockey?,” asked Representative David Nangle, a Democrat who opposes the bill. “When do we stop legislating into areas that we shouldn’t be?”
When it’s not a threat to the health of children? Just spitballing here, David.
U.S.A. Football, which governs youth football, said it’s a decision best left to parents.
“People don’t understand that even a minor blow to the head has risks,” said said Michael Kaplen, a lawyer who teaches a course on traumatic brain injury. “It may take years for these problems to become unmasked.”
“If this bill does nothing else, I am hopeful that it starts a dialogue that will lead to the implementation of best practices and standards across the board to protect kids from long-term brain injuries,” said the bill’s sponsor.
