Is football ethical? According to a recent article by the New York Times, it may not be. The article says many football fans can no longer ignore the alarming data that continues to pour in, linking the high-contact sport to a severe form of brain damage.
”But as much as I love to watch the game, truly, absolutely love it, football doesn’t always make it easy to love,” conflicted football fan Jane Coastin confessed. “Because for all the strategy and gymnastics, you’re watching men get brutally hit multiple times over in the span of hours.”
Sobering Statistics
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a condition caused by recurrent head injuries like those sustained in football. CTE is only diagnosed with an autopsy, and symptoms — such as memory loss, mood disorders, and behavioral changes — may not even surface until decades after a patient experiences head trauma. Meaning your favorite players could be running around the football field with a degenerative brain condition and not even know it.
In a 2017 publication in the Journal of the American Medical Association, neuropathologist Dr. Ann McKee shared her findings after examining over 200 brains of late football players. Of the 202 brains, 111 had previously played in the National Football League. McKee discovered that 110 of the former NFL players were confirmed to have CTE. Among those, 44 were linemen, 20 were running backs, 17 were defensive backs, 13 were linebackers, seven were quarterbacks, and five were wide receivers. Even punters, tight ends, and place-kickers made the list with at least one case each.
Granted, the study carried a significant bias, because many of the brains were donated by the players’ loved ones who suspected CTE. However, 110 CTE-ridden brains still showed an undeniable link between the condition and the all-American sport.
Trouble on Home Turf
In 2010, Oregon became the second state to create a concussion law in order to protect its athletes. These laws require specific protocols that dictate when an athlete can return to their sport and academics.
One of these legislations, deemed “Max’s Law,” was created in honor of Max Conradt, an Oregon high school football quarterback who collapsed during a football game in Waldport due to a brain hemorrhage in 2001. Conradt had suffered a concussion during the previous game and, despite having headaches and light sensitivity all week, returned to the field without medical clearance. Conradt now suffers from irreversible brain damage and lives in a long-term care facility.
Max’s law specifically protects school athletes, requiring annual concussion training for coaches, mandatory removal of students with a suspected concussion, and official clearance by a medical professional before returning to a sport.
While Oregon’s concussion laws are a step in the right direction, they do not solve football’s concussion problem entirely. A 2019 article by the Portland Tribune suggests that Oregon’s lower-income schools still fail to adequately protect their young athletes when it comes to head injuries — particularly football players. The article looks at “return to play” records from nearly 120 Oregon sports-participating high schools during a two-year study.
“In the two-year period, we counted 556 football concussion evaluations at schools with athletic trainers and 34 at schools without,” the article stated. Philomath High School was one of those lower-income schools, reporting only two concussions in the academic school years between 2015 and 2017, compared to six at Roosevelt, a school of the same size.
Research has shown that schools with athletic trainers are reporting higher rates of concussions for multiple reasons, including more documentation with patient interactions and training that helps identify concussions more efficiently.
Like Oregon’s high schools, our universities have also seen the impact of football-related concussions. In September of 2013, Beaver fans held their breath as running back Storm Woods lay still on the field during a Saturday night game. Woods thankfully came to, but was placed in an ambulance and pulled from the game due to a concussion.
In a 2018 piece by USA Today, both Oregon State University and the University of Oregon were among 47 programs linked to confirmed cases of CTE. However, despite The Advocate’s multiple attempts to reach OSU for comment on the matter, a response was never given.
OSU Football Legend Playing with Fire
Brandon Cooks was an OSU football wide receiver from 2011 to 2013, scoring three touchdowns in his debut freshman season. During his junior year, he scored 16 touchdowns, 1,730 receiving yards, and 128 receptions, earning him the Fred Biletnikoff Award — the second in Beaver history. Cooks was drafted into the NFL by the New Orleans Saints in 2014 and currently plays for the Houston Texans.
However, despite the glitz and glory of his unforgettable rise to fame, Cooks has had his share of trauma on the field. In fact, since he has been in the NFL, Cooks has suffered from at least five separate concussions, and a close call last season that could have ended his career. He is barely 28 with five-plus concussions under his belt. Cooks does not seem to be concerned.
“I’m not worried at all,” said Cooks in an interview with the Houston Chronicle at the beginning of last year’s season. “If there was any hesitation or worry, I wouldn’t be here right now. I feel great.”
Although the average number of concussions that leads to CTE is 17, concussions can still carry long-term effects — and even one severe concussion can be fatal. Although a record of concussions during his time at OSU is not public, one can only assume Cooks likely did not play three seasons head–injury-free when he has been averaging nearly one per season in the NFL. That being said, Cooks could very well be much closer to CTE than he thinks.
Old Habits Die Hard
College football in Oregon is a massive moneymaker, with UO consistently bringing in the highest revenue in the PAC-12. In the 2018-2019 season alone, UO produced $72.1 million in revenue.
OSU brought in $35.8 million that season.
Due to its profitability it can be assumed that football is around for the long-term, so how can we solve the ongoing concussion problem? According to Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, there is no problem in the first place.
In 2016, Jones denied a current link between football and CTE.
“In no way should we be basically making assumptions with no more data than we’ve got about the consequences of a head injury,” he said.
However, then senior vice president for health and safety policy for the NFL, Jeff Miller, claimed the opposite. That same year, UO’s then-head coach Mark Helfrich claimed we simply needed a different approach.
“They aren’t going to outlaw driving cars,” Helfrich said. “They’re going to look for ways to make it safer. That’s what we need to do in football.”
Today’s Safety Protocols
Granted, football safety has come light years from where it was in the ’70s and ’80s.
“[It] was taught you led with your nose,” said Ron Aiken, former Oregon defensive line coach. “Guys wanted to stay on the field so much that they didn’t talk about what happened as far as a head-to-head collision. They just accepted it and went on to the next play.”
In addition to retraining players on how to protect themselves, new helmets that are position-specific have been designed to better protect players regardless of where they are on the field. Seattle-based helmet manufacturer VICIS had six NFL starters wearing their new helmets in an attempt to decrease the number of concussions sustained.
Education, improved equipment, and concussion protocols have in fact made football a safer sport overall. However, with head injuries persisting across college football and the NFL, one must wonder if those changes are enough.
OSU’s silence on the matter certainly does not inspire much hope.
By: Rebekah Harcrow
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