After decades of research and a lack of accountability, the NFL has made changes to the way that the game is being played and the seriousness of injuries to the head. These changes could affect the way football is played for the better.
Earlier this season, Miami Dolphins Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered head injuries in back-to-back games in a four-day span against the Bengals and the Bills. Many fans believe that the NFL’s concussion protocol put Tagovailoa’s life in danger and he should never have suited up for the game in the first place.
This injury brought the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) to the conclusion that immediate action needed to be taken. The NFL and NFLPA came to the agreement that players who are taken out of the game for concussion protocol after a stumble or wobble aren’t allowed to return to the game. The NFLPA is taking these strides to protect the livelihood of not only NFL players but young collegiate-level athletes.
Will Davis, a sophomore acting major from Los Angeles, California, and member of the Bison Track and Field team, spoke on his departure from football. Davis told The Hilltop “Football was the sport that I always loved playing growing up, but honestly, I didn’t think it was my safest option to try and make a career out of it.”
Parents and athletes alike question the health risk that comes along with love for the game of football. Recent studies leave many people asking if contact sports are the best way to move forward with the future of our youth. “I’m definitely secure in the decision I made switching over to track and I would do it all over again,” Davis said.
You may love the game but it doesn’t always love you back. Football comes with a lot of pain, trials, and tribulations but the NFL is doing what it can to secure the health of its players. With the injury of Tua Tagovailoa, the NFL now takes strides it should have taken long ago in order to protect the players who build up the league. In the future, we can only hope to see better care for athletes of all sports at all levels.
Copy edited by Alana Matthew
