The brain damage. The tortuous and scarring hazing. Being a privileged
student athlete in college. These are the MAIN reason I won’t let my son play
the sport of football. Call me overprotective but this America sport has
created a culture within our young athletes that is both dangerous to their
morals, priorities, and health. Think I’m being over dramatic?
Chronic traumatic
encephalopathy (CTE) is a
progressive degenerative disease, which can currently
only be definitively diagnosed postmortem, in individuals with a history
of multiple concussions
and other forms of head injury. Paul
Olivier, Andre Waters, and Jovan Blecher are just some of the names of former
players that have shot themselves in the head due to brain injuries. Brain
injuries caused by the excessive and undetectable disease, CTE.
One of the causes of CTE would be the
rigorous practices student athlete endure on a regular basis. Football players in the NCAA's
Division I Bowl Subdivision spend an average of 44.8 hours a week on
their sport — playing games, practicing,
and training— compared with a little less than 40 hours on academics. Student athlete practice more than
professional football players, which of course takes a toll on their grades.
Student athletes are being robbed of their
educations because educator are letting them pass with subpar work. College
educated student athletes that can’t read or write exist because the school
system is designed in such a way that profiting off the football team is more
important than said player’s. Student-athletes who can't read well, but
play in the money-making collegiate sports of football and basketball, are not
a new phenomenon. They are things called “bird classes’ that don’t really exist
and their sole purpose is to inflate the GPA of the players.
My apprehension
isn’t reserved for college football. The hazing that occurs in some high schools
is horrendous. In the last 10 years alone, there have been multiple reports on
high school hazing in the football locker rooms across the country. Sayreville,
Mepham and Hoover are just a few that have been plagued by similar
scandals.
I apologize to my fictitious future son. You will not be
lacing up boots or putting on helmets. There no pre-game chants or post-game
glory. You will, instead, not be subjected to undetectable brain injuries all
while having more time to study and be a kid. You will not suffer through any
of that or have to worry about brutal high school hazing because you will NOT
be playing football.