this post was submitted on 02 Sep 2024
156 points (98.8% liked)

News

23634 readers
2643 users here now

Welcome to the News community!

Rules:

1. Be civil


Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban. Do not respond to rule-breaking content; report it and move on.


2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.


Obvious right or left wing sources will be removed at the mods discretion. We have an actively updated blocklist, which you can see here: https://lemmy.world/post/2246130 if you feel like any website is missing, contact the mods. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted seperately but not to the post body.


3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.


Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.


4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source.


Posts which titles don’t match the source won’t be removed, but the autoMod will notify you, and if your title misrepresents the original article, the post will be deleted. If the site changed their headline, the bot might still contact you, just ignore it, we won’t delete your post.


5. Only recent news is allowed.


Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.


6. All posts must be news articles.


No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials or celebrity gossip is allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis.


7. No duplicate posts.


If a source you used was already posted by someone else, the autoMod will leave a message. Please remove your post if the autoMod is correct. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.


8. Misinformation is prohibited.


Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.


9. No link shorteners.


The auto mod will contact you if a link shortener is detected, please delete your post if they are right.


10. Don't copy entire article in your post body


For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Ryan Craddock had seen his share of tragedy during two decades as a coal miner and firefighter.

Then came the toughest heartbreak of all: his own.

Craddock and his family are mourning the loss of his 13-year-old son, Cohen, who died from brain trauma last month after making a tackle during football practice at his middle school.

Cohen’s death, and the death of a 16-year-old Alabama high school player from a brain injury on the same day, have sparked renewed debate about whether the safety risks of youths playing football outweigh the benefits that the sport brings to a community.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] girlfreddy@lemmy.ca 17 points 3 months ago (3 children)

“I don’t think we need to do away with football,” Craddock said. “A lot of people enjoy football, including myself. I just think we need to maybe put more safety measures out there to protect our kids.”

The problem with implementing more safety measures - especially more padding or tougher gear - is that leagues, coaches and even some players start believing they can hit harder because they're safer now ... and that's not the reality of it.

Take hockey for example. I grew up watching hockey when goalie masks were just that, a mask; there were zero plexi plates surrounding the rink and not one player wore a helmet. Yes there were fights and hard hits, but the players understood that being injured would do nothing for the player and game. So they took it easy on each other (mostly).

Same goes with mountainous highways, where back in the 60's/70's there were 2 lanes with a rock face on one side and a 100'-200' drop on the other. People took care while they were driving because they recognised the danger. Now there's concrete barriers on the slope side, 4 lanes with concret barriers between direction of travel, and people (especially young ones) speeding like there's no tomorrow.

Better gear and more rules doesn't always stop injuries. A change in mindset (like flag football instead of tackle) is a better way to deal with things.

[–] gibmiser@lemmy.world 21 points 3 months ago (1 children)

source

Cars are not a good example of what you are talking about. Deaths are much much lower than they used to be.

[–] girlfreddy@lemmy.ca 4 points 3 months ago

I talked about speeding, not death rates for MV.

[–] thisbenzingring@lemmy.sdf.org 9 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

I worked with a few sports medicine doctors, one who was a NFL team doctor and the other was a neurologist with the NFL's head trauma research.

I asked them about the gear and it was basically what you said. I wondered aloud if going back to leather helmets and minimal plastic gear would help and they both agreed it would greatly reduce the damage but the power of money and culture make it impossible to make the sport safe in a realistic way

[–] CeruleanRuin@lemmings.world 5 points 3 months ago (1 children)

It's a bankrupt culture that sends its youth into danger for entertainment and profit. It's sick.

[–] thisbenzingring@lemmy.sdf.org 3 points 3 months ago

Funny enough, it was a sport conceived on making boys ready for war ...

[–] orcrist@lemm.ee 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

The argument that safety measures lead to increased recklessness is an interesting one. I don't believe it in general, because reckless people don't particularly care to research safety factors and margins. But in certain situations it's surely true.

[–] girlfreddy@lemmy.ca 1 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

I don't believe it in general

Here's my proof that does exist. Please provide yours that shows it doesn't.

Hockey helmets, face masks, and injurious behavior

  • The introduction of mandatory head and facial protection has been effective in virtually eliminating ocular, facial, and dental injuries in youth hockey, but it has also been problematically linked with an increase in catastrophic spinal injuries. Players adopt a false sense of security when donning the equipment, leading them to take excessive and unwarranted risks because of the protection they are supposedly afforded. The addition of these protective devices has also altered how officials perceive game situations, leading them to be more lenient in administering penalties. The net result has been an increase in illegal and injurious behaviors, such as checking from behind.

Gladiator Gear: The unintended consequences of protective equipment in gridiron football compared to rugby union

  • There is a direct risk compensation effect with protective equipment, where players – under the perception of decreased risk – will engage in riskier behaviour for a perceived higher reward. As Participant 2 stated, “I think having the increase in protective equipment, [the players] are more likely to sacrifice safety for some contact speed and physical level.”

What is the role of protective equipment in sport-related concussion prevention?: A review and synthesis of the literature

  • In their study, Menger and colleagues (2016) found that athletes who thought their headgear prevented SRC (sports related concussions) were around 4 times more likely to exhibit aggressive playing behaviours than athletes who wore headgear but didn't believe the headgear prevented SRC. These findings are concerning because they suggest that athletes may be putting themselves and others at an increased risk of injury when they don't understand the role of their equipment.