California could ban tackle football until HS with new bill

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Will be interesting to see how far this goes.

Per 247:

In recent years, the cries for something to be done about head injuries in the game of football have gotten louder and louder. Now, the state of California is taking drastic measures in an effort to reduce the number of concussions in youth football.

According to the Los Angeles Times, California has introduced the "Safe Youth Football Act". The bill, introduced by lawmakers Kevin McCarty and Lorena Gonalez Fletcher, would bar kids from playing tackle football until they got to high school.

Gonzalez Fletcher is concerned with how traumatic head injuries will affect the young athletes later in life.

“The science is clear: head injuries sustained at a young age can harm kids for the rest of their lives,” Gonzalez Fletcher said in a statement. “Developing skills through flag football before high school is sound public policy from a health and safety standpoint.”

McCarty noted that non-contact football at a young age doesn't necessarily stifle the development of a young player.

McCarty noted that noncontact youth football has produced a number of NFL legends including Jerry Rice, Walter Payton, Lawrence Taylor, Jim Brown and Tom Brady.

Shows like "Friday Night Tykes" on Esquire, which have risen in popularity over the last couple of years, show the type of violent hits children can take at a very young age. Those who oppose this new bill may argue that not allowing players to hit until high school may cause more injuries to athletes due to not knowing how to properly tackle.

https://247sports.com/Bolt/Californ...l-high-school-if-new-bill-is-passed-114918045
 

This is the same state that wanted to charge each household up to $600/year to remove trace levels of chromium 6 from drinking water. Noble perhaps as target level would theoretically eliminate the roughly one in a million chance of cancer from the toxin. But, instead of shutting down suspect wells or installing reverse osmosis units at a fraction of the cost loony CA decided to go all-in on infrastructure changes. This has been halted by a) legal action, and b) a discovery and pivot in 2017 toward alternative removal technology at 1/10 the cost. Necessity is the mother of invention.

This is analogous in the distorted sense of risk in sport and particularly football. The age 12 cutoff was used in the Boston CTE center study (telephone survey...) because that’s the age where they were able to make the stats work for them. I think that’s fair to hold off on hitting until age 13 because it doesn’t make much of a difference either way.
 

This is the same state that wanted to charge each household up to $600/year to remove trace levels of chromium 6 from drinking water. Noble perhaps as target level would theoretically eliminate the roughly one in a million chance of cancer from the toxin. But, instead of shutting down suspect wells or installing reverse osmosis units at a fraction of the cost loony CA decided to go all-in on infrastructure changes. This has been halted by a) legal action, and b) a discovery and pivot in 2017 toward alternative removal technology at 1/10 the cost. Necessity is the mother of invention.

This is analogous in the distorted sense of risk in sport and particularly football. The age 12 cutoff was used in the Boston CTE center study (telephone survey...) because that’s the age where they were able to make the stats work for them. I think that’s fair to hold off on hitting until age 13 because it doesn’t make much of a difference either way.

I agree. Seventh grade seems to be a reasonable point to start tackle football imo. They should be old enough to understand why certain ways of tackling could do damage to a player.
 

Imo would likely hurt the quality od the play, quality of the players and safety.


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the real big issue in youth football (and all sports) is overzealous Parents who don’t know what they are talking about. This will still be an issue in flag football.
 


the real big issue in youth football (and all sports) is overzealous Parents who don’t know what they are talking about. This will still be an issue in flag football.

It all fits. California is where Disneyland started. They have overtaxed and over regulated the state to death. California used to have 12 auto assembly plants. Only one still exists in Fremont. The top marginal state income tax rate is 13.2%. And on and on it goes. Why should football be off limits to the California legislature?
 

It all fits. California is where Disneyland started. They have overtaxed and over regulated the state to death. California used to have 12 auto assembly plants. Only one still exists in Fremont. The top marginal state income tax rate is 13.2%. And on and on it goes. Why should football be off limits to the California legislature?

The state has the worst poverty out of any state in our great country.

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-jackson-california-poverty-20180114-story.html

https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2017/demo/p60-261.pdf
 





CA has a lot of interesting PC legislation passing now that they are a one-party state with super majorities in both houses by that one party. Welcome to the brave new world of one-party politics. It may go national soon.
 

CA has a lot of interesting PC legislation passing now that they are a one-party state with super majorities in both houses by that one party. Welcome to the brave new world of one-party politics. It may go national soon.

They don't call it the Peoples Republic of California for nothing.
 


It all fits. California is where Disneyland started. They have overtaxed and over regulated the state to death. California used to have 12 auto assembly plants. Only one still exists in Fremont. The top marginal state income tax rate is 13.2%. And on and on it goes. Why should football be off limits to the California legislature?

Because the # of auto assembly plants a state has is a totally relevant measure of it's economy in 2018 :rolleyes:
 




In the sense there are often gross overreactions by underinformed people.

Making an effort to limit head injuries to youth football players is a gross overreaction and something to be mocked? Interesting.
 

Making an effort to limit head injuries to youth football players is a gross overreaction and something to be mocked? Interesting.

Hyperbole but I'm sure you're aware of that. It boils down to perception of risk vs actual risk and unintended cobsequences of demonizing a valuable youth activity.
 




Hyperbole but I'm sure you're aware of that. It boils down to perception of risk vs actual risk and unintended cobsequences of demonizing a valuable youth activity.

I don't get it. What is the hyperbole that I should be aware of?
 


Would think you would want to teach kids how to hit at a younger ages so when everyone is bigger and faster they know the correct techniques of hitting and taking a hit......
 

I don't get it. What is the hyperbole that I should be aware of?

Implying I don't care about head injuries. Activities have a given level of risk. The risk of CTE is incredibly low in former high school players based on the only reputable epidemiological studies we gave. Eradicating tackle football at all levels would reduce injuries but at what point is a crusade for safety counterproductive?
 

Implying I don't care about head injuries. Activities have a given level of risk. The risk of CTE is incredibly low in former high school players based on the only reputable epidemiological studies we gave. Eradicating tackle football at all levels would reduce injuries but at what point is a crusade for safety counterproductive?

Well said, but the only point is this: Will eliminating tackle football until later in school result in more head injuries, result in fewer head injuries, or result in no change at all? I suspect there are no conclusive studies as yet, but some good old common sense leads me to believe that it would result in fewer head injuries. I would consider that a good thing.

No one is trying to take away tackle football. It's about applying simple common sense safeguards.

People complained about mandatory seat belt laws, and motorcycle helmet laws, and child car seats laws, and deck railing laws, and on and on. A car experience doesn't suffer because you have to wear a seat belt. The football experience won't suffer if tackling doesn't start until 9th grade.
 

They ought to look at other high school sports not just football.

Soccer does not require protective head gear.

Maybe instead of banning tackling until high school, they should mandatorily teach coaches & refs to recognize dangers & know safe practices, and kids proper form tackling. Minimize the chances of concussions by enhancing the rules of football so that they can minimize the chances of severe concussions.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/recruiting-insider/wp/2017/03/27/girls-soccer-has-highest-concussion-rate-of-high-school-sports-study-finds/?utm_term=.84701083570e

http://www.headcasecompany.com/concussion_info/stats_on_concussions_sports
 

Well said, but the only point is this: Will eliminating tackle football until later in school result in more head injuries, result in fewer head injuries, or result in no change at all? I suspect there are no conclusive studies as yet, but some good old common sense leads me to believe that it would result in fewer head injuries. I would consider that a good thing.

No one is trying to take away tackle football. It's about applying simple common sense safeguards.

People complained about mandatory seat belt laws, and motorcycle helmet laws, and child car seats laws, and deck railing laws, and on and on. A car experience doesn't suffer because you have to wear a seat belt. The football experience won't suffer if tackling doesn't start until 9th grade.

Well fine, but why not ban it until college, or ban it completely? Does football have any redeeming societal or psychological, physical fitness value that counteract the small possibility of CTE?

To the second bolder- yes there are.

To the third, it’s a bit ironic you bring up vehicles as that is far and away more likely to cause catastrophic injury, disability, and death than football. How much vehicular use is absolutely necessary? Could we cut out the trips to the lake, store, mall, etc?

Happy to have the debate.
 

Well fine, but why not ban it until college, or ban it completely? Does football have any redeeming societal or psychological, physical fitness value that counteract the small possibility of CTE?

To the second bolder- yes there are.

To the third, it’s a bit ironic you bring up vehicles as that is far and away more likely to cause catastrophic injury, disability, and death than football. How much vehicular use is absolutely necessary? Could we cut out the trips to the lake, store, mall, etc?

Happy to have the debate.

It would be difficult to imagine modern life without vehicles. There's the hyperbole that you were searching for.

If you consider banning tackle football before high school as trying to take away tackle football, then you either have a very low opinion of high school football or an overenthusiastic giddiness for middle school football.
 

They ought to look at other high school sports not just football.

Soccer does not require protective head gear.

Maybe instead of banning tackling until high school, they should mandatorily teach coaches & refs to recognize dangers & know safe practices, and kids proper form tackling. Minimize the chances of concussions by enhancing the rules of football so that they can minimize the chances of severe concussions.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/recruiting-insider/wp/2017/03/27/girls-soccer-has-highest-concussion-rate-of-high-school-sports-study-finds/?utm_term=.84701083570e

http://www.headcasecompany.com/concussion_info/stats_on_concussions_sports

Concussions themselves though are being found to not be the sole source. OL and DL with no history of concussion, just lower intensity body hits are showing the same signs of CTE.

I know some soccer groups disallow headers until a certain age.
 

It will be interesting to see a long term study of each type of position player in football.

There are other looming health issues other than concussions when players are subjecting themselves to prolonged series of violent collisions. IMHO, any type of jarring contact can have cummulative effect on the brain, spinal column, and joints, tendons, cartilage, and ligaments.
 

It will be interesting to see a long term study of each type of position player in football.

There are other looming health issues other than concussions when players are subjecting themselves to prolonged series of violent collisions.

I think the game is going to change to be borderline unrecognizable in the long run.

In the mean time bad knees suck, but at least you can remember your kids...
 




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