Published October 2024
Please note, this is a Transatlantic Topic Guide, and the term ‘football’ generally refers to what is known in the US as ‘soccer’ and ‘American football’ is used when referring to what North Americans call ‘football’ (sometimes, internationally, known as ‘gridiron football’). When debating, students should use whichever term they prefer. This Topic Guide should be the starting point of your research. You are encouraged to conduct your own independent research to supplement your argument.
INTRODUCTION
In April 2023, former Wales and British & Lions rugby wing, Dafydd James, revealed he had been diagnosed with onset dementia at the age of 47, with the possibility he also has a degenerative brain disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which can only be discovered posthumously [Ref: The Times]. The former rugby player is the latest high-profile sports star to join the growing class-action lawsuit against rugby’s governing bodies, World Rugby, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Welsh Rugby Union (WRU). He joins some 200 professional and amateur sportsmen and sportswomen who are suing the professional bodies for failing to take protective action against the risks caused by concussion [Ref: BBC Sport].
This was the first legal move of its kind in world rugby, with some comparing it to the class action against the NFL in the US, which began in 2011. The NFL Concussion case now has over 20,000 retired players accusing the league of not warning about, and hiding, brain injuries associated with the sport [Ref: NFL Concussion Settlement]. Moreover, in 2024, the Washington Post revealed that many more cases have been hidden from sight, arguing, ‘the settlement routinely fails to deliver money and medical care to former players suffering from dementia and CTE… saving the NFL hundreds of millions of dollars, if not more’ [Ref: The Washington Post / Forbes].
Many of the players who have come forward around the world have been diagnosed with early-onset dementia and probable CTE, as well as epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease or motor neurone disease. CTE is the disease first discovered post-mortem by Dr Bennet Omalu in American football player Mike Webster [Ref: The Atlantic]. The disease gained public attention following the 2012 suicide of NFL player Junior Seau, who was posthumously found to be a sufferer of the disease [Ref: NPR].
The cognitive effects of sports-related concussion (SRC) have been the subject of vigorous debate ever since Dr Bennet-Omalu’s findings [Ref: LAist]. Dr Willie Stewart, a Scotland-based consultant neurologist, revealed that ‘footballers were three-and-a-half times more likely to die of neurodegenerative disease than age-matched members of the general population’ [Ref: Guardian]. Internationally, a debate has been sparked in cricket about the removal of aggressive moves, such as the bouncer, after a 22-year-old Australian, Will Pucovski, was hit on the head during a warm-up match in 2020, leading to his ninth concussion at such a young age [Ref: Telegraph]. Similar discussions have been had in the US, particularly since a third baseman for the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, Daniel Brito, suffered a seizure and brain haemorrhage after an abnormal cluster of blood vessels burst in his brain at the age of 24 [Ref: New York Times / URMC].
In addition, there has been considerable debate about amateur and youth sport. A study from Ohio State University found that Americans are increasingly wary of allowing children to participate in tackle football due to concerns over head injuries [Ref: OSU.edu]. Conversely, researchers from the University of Exeter, UNSW Sydney, the University of Oxford and Harvard University, who conducted a large-scale study of amateur sportsmen and sportswomen, found that concussions in amateur sport are not linked to greater long-term risks of cognitive decline – and that playing sport may potentially have a ‘protective’ effect on the brain [Ref: Guardian]. Moreover, many sports players have argued that risk is an inherent part of success in sport and that ‘Risk taking is, in a sense, a skill that takes time, commitment and persistence to develop.’ [Ref: Psychology Today.]
So, are critics right to argue that the rules and culture of contact sports must change to protect athletes – whether at the professional, amateur or youth level? Or should we trust adult athletes to understand the consequences of contact sport and allow them to make a rational choice that may mean taking a risk for their love of the game? In short, should we accept the risks inherent in contact sport?
DEBATE IN CONTEXT
Reducing contact?
CTE, colloquially known as ‘punch drunk’ due to the disease’s association with boxing, is a progressive degenerative illness found in people who have had a severe blow or repeated blows to the head. In its minor forms, symptoms include dizziness and headaches; in more severe forms, it can mean erratic behaviour, memory loss and dementia [Ref: Wikipedia]. Scientific research continues to bring to light the association between CTE and contact sports such as American football [Ref: News Medical] rugby, boxing and mixed martial arts [Ref: Economist], with some evidence suggesting that women are twice as likely to get concussed as men, with the effects being more severe [Ref: BBC].
Concern about CTE and other injuries associated with contact sports have led to many campaigns to make the sports safer, with commentators in the UK, USA and beyond calling for states or authorities to take urgent action to combat brain injuries, including reducing contact-training sessions, improving concussion protocols, using safer tackling techniques, better helmets and safety pads, and even removing unsafe elements of sport not just for children but at the elite level as well [Ref: BBC Sport Ref: CDC].
In January 2024, the US state of California introduced a bill that would, if passed, have banned children younger than 12 years of age taking part in a tackle-football programme from January 2026 onwards [Ref: LA Times]. The Bill was eventually vetoed by Californian governor, Gavin Newsom. Similar bills had been introduced previously in New York, Illinois, Massachusetts and Maryland, but failed to pass.
In the UK, in December 2020, an open letter signed by a group of academics called for a ban on tackling for school rugby games due to the concerns ‘about the potential impact on young, developing brains of repeated concussive blows’ [Ref: BBC Sport]. More recently, in 2024, a study published by academics at the universities of Winchester, Nottingham Trent and Bournemouth argued that high-impact sports should be considered ‘child abuse’ They claim that ‘neither children nor adults on their behalf are legally able to give informed consent for participation and that impact-sport organisations effectively groom children into sustaining and accepting brain trauma.’ [Ref: The Times]
These campaigns have led to steps being taken to make games safer [Ref: The FA; Ref: NFL]. Nevertheless, some critics are adamant that despite rule changes, improved technology and ‘smarter’ coaching, sports like American football can never really be safe. One sportswriter commented: ‘No matter how you play football, head injuries are inevitable… [and] at some point, we might have to acknowledge the only way to play smarter football is to not play it at all’. [Ref: Guardian] In the US, flag football is becoming increasingly popular as a safer substitute for tackle football, particularly among girls [Ref: The Conversation].
Taking a risk?
However, those defending contact sports, such as severely injured former rugby union player Alex Bennet, insist that the game has given more to him than it has ever taken away [Ref: Telegraph]. He states that the game has moved on massively since he started playing, with there being much more information on how to safely coach and manage players. Other sport stars, such as legendary NFL cornerback Richard Sherman, argue that professional athletes are now fully educated on the risks, and make an informed choice to continue playing the game they love [Ref: MMQB]. In this view, if you make the decision to play in any elite sport, there is a high possibility that you may get the odd broken bone, or even a serious injury, but concerns over player safety should not destroy the game as a result. Similarly, others observe that a cultural aversion to risk-taking is being enforced on sports we have known are dangerous since their inception, and both professional athletes and children should be both free to, and at times encouraged, to take risks [Ref: Semantic Scholar].
Despite concerns over safety, the issue is divisive and doesn’t necessarily fall along political lines, with both Democrats and Republicans in the US expressing concerns about government overreach [Ref: Politico], reflecting the view of many parents who don’t think the government should be able to decide which sports their children can and can’t play [Ref: The Washington Post]. Many parents believe the benefits far out-weigh the risks: ‘The discipline you learn and the sacrifice and the circumstances that surround tackle football emphasise certain traits that can’t be replicated in the same way that other sports teach’, according to Assembly member, Tom Lackey of Kern County, California.
In the UK, too, many parents and coaches are opposed to the new rules to make contact sports safer, arguing they’re simply not the same games [Ref: BBC]. Young players are quitting games such as rugby because it’s so different to ‘the game we’ve all grown up playing and watching’ and is leading young players to quit. ‘The kids didn’t take up rugby to play tag so I think they should be able to still learn how to tackle.’ At sixth form and in boarding schools, the number of young people playing rugby has fallen to the lowest level in history [Ref: The Guardian].
On both sides of the Atlantic, those defending the risks inherent in contact sports suggest the bans and alterations to contact sports’ rules are introduced into the youth game with a view to extending such criteria to adults as well. Some even argue that the changes are part of the Culture Wars. ‘Right now, it’s starting with under-12, and I think that’s the first step, and then there’ll be the next step and the next step, and before we know it, tackle football will not be a part of our culture.’ [Ref: The Washington Post]
Young people, too, have argued that such sports are good for their mental wellbeing and their studies: ‘When I’m not playing football, life can be depressing. It brings me peace’, according to 15-year-old Ceyean Brown. ‘If I didn’t play football, I don’t know if I’d care about my grades as much.’ [Ref: The Washington Post] One junior athlete has argued you have to take risks to reap the reward, ‘risk it for the biscuit’ [Ref: Psychology Today]. Her words echo those of arguably the greatest boxer of all time, Muhammad Ali [Ref: Wikipedia], who said: ‘He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.’
Countering the argument that women are more at risk from contact sports, amateur Australian football player Jayden Brady argues: ‘Everything you do comes with a risk, you can hurt yourself doing anything.’ Football, she says, ‘keeps my mind happy, making new friends and doing something that I really enjoy’. Sports Psychology professor, Clare Minahan, agrees that girls shouldn’t be turned off contact sports because of the risk of injury, and that the statistics may not mean girls and women are more at risk: ‘It could be a lot to do with the fact that girls haven’t traditionally grown up playing these sports, not necessarily that they’re contact sports.’ [Ref: ABC]
Indeed, research produced by the National Sports and Society Survey (NSASS) in the USA suggests that factors such as gender, race and ethnicity, belief in traditional values, socioeconomic status, family history and community background are linked to how Americans view youth football, with black Americans and those with no more than a high-school education being less negative about tackle football for kids as white people, the college educated and higher-income adults. ‘For less-advantaged people, football is seen as one of the only ways they can get ahead in society’, according to researcher Mariah Warner [Ref: OSU.edu]. In the UK, one commentator has argued that football has been colonised by woke middle-class elites, citing former England manager Gareth Southgate’s ‘dull, safety-first, risk-averse approach to a contest’ as an example [Ref: Spiked].
Winning at all costs?
However, some commentators argue that the relentless drive to win at all costs leads players to believe they have no choice but to play through injuries, doing whatever is needed to succeed – ideas often instilled from a young age [Ref: The Conversation]. For them, not only do the rules of sport need to be changed, but also the culture within it.
Former W-league football player Natasha Prior states that she felt pressure to return to playing after several serious injuries, often given just a two-week grace period [Ref: ESPN]. Steve Thompson describes rugby professionals as ‘bits of meat on a conveyor belt’, exploited then tossed aside when deemed surplus [Ref: Guardian]. To protect sportsmen and sportswomen from the considerable risk of head injuries we must, it is suggested, change the aim of sports from winning to enjoyment at both the amateur and professional levels [Ref: Huffington Post]. Contact sports participants, it is argued, need adequate information about concussions, models of safe play must be enforced and, most importantly, athletes need to be encouraged not to play on in the face of injury and to put their safety first [Ref: The New York Times].
But critics of this approach counter that the very desire to ‘fight on’ is why contact sports are so valuable. Some state that this uncompromising, winning mentality is what instils sport with its absorbing dynamism, creating ‘operatic spectacles between individuals and teams as they strive and struggle for glory’ [Ref: Independent]. Father and son professional boxers Chris Eubank and Chris Eubank Jr argue that the ‘warrior’ mentality to stay in the ring regardless of the punishment from an opponent is at the heart of boxing’s code; the ‘honour and integrity’ behind this mindset elevates contact sports to a higher plane and is an inherent part of its value: ‘You do not play boxing.’ [Ref: Guardian]
Furthermore, advocates of contact sports maintain that the benefits still vastly outweigh the risks, teaching participants important ideas about fitness, teamwork, how to manage physical contact and how to overcome fear, as well as offering increased confidence and a feeling of camaraderie [Ref: Telegraph]. In short, contact sports teach things more valuable than player safety. But those opposed to this outlook continue to argue that athletes cannot be trusted to make decisions on their own safety, as they will continually sacrifice themselves in pursuit of victory [Ref: Independent].
Updating the sport?
Some contact sports have massively improved their safeguards over the past few years. Recently, the Premier League has proposed allowing a permanent concussion substitution during matches [Ref: Sky Sports]. Former players, including Gareth Southgate, comment on the advancement in medical treatment for such injuries since they were playing, although Southgate still believes that ‘football remains in the dark about the long-term risks of heading the ball and concussions sustained on the pitch’ [Ref: Guardian].
However, other sports like boxing seem to keep quiet on the matter. Sydney boxer Davey Browne died after getting a blow to the face that caused a subdural hematoma in the twelfth round of a fight. However, an inquest has shown that he was badly concussed by the eleventh round, but told he was fit to continue by the ringside doctor [Ref: Guardian]. The desire to ‘shake an injury off’ probably led to a death that could have been prevented. As one commentator puts it, ‘while concussion is now shaking up professional football leagues and other contact sports around the world, combat sport continues to duck and weave away from it’ [Ref: Guardian].
So, what is the solution? Do we tear out the ‘soul of the game’ in the name of safety? Do these sports pose such a considerable danger that the only option is not to play at all? Or do we allow those athletes who choose to embark on these careers to take risks, and if we ‘don’t like it, stop watching’? Should we put safety first, or is there something more valuable to be learnt at the heart of contact sports?
ESSENTIAL READING
It is crucial for debaters to have read the articles in this section, which provide essential information and arguments for and against the debate motion. Debaters will be expected to have additional evidence and examples derived from independent research, but they can expect to be criticised if they lack a basic familiarity with the issues raised in the essential reading.
FOR
California lawmakers pushed a tackle football ban. Families pushed back.
Albert Samaha Washington Post 20 January 202
Concussion risks are outweighed by benefits of amateur sport, study finds.
Sean Ingle Guardian 4 September 2024
You Have to “Risk It for the Biscuit” for Sports Success
Jim Taylor Ph.D. Psychology Today 20 February 2019
Rugby is a game of contact, why should those who wish to play with the present laws not be allowed to do so?
Brian Moore Telegraph 21 December 2020
AGAINST
The Price of Glory
Tyler Martin, Roan Haney, Jason Hu & Nathan Lee
Viking Sports Magazine 29 February 2024
Call to ban rugby tackles in UK schools after 16-year-old dies playing American Football
Mikey Smith Mirror 31 August 2024
Psychology of the Injured athlete
Kevin Gorey US Council for Athletes’ Health 16 November 2022
Steve Thompson: ‘I can’t remember winning the World Cup’
Andy Bull Guardian 8 December 2020
IN DEPTH
Tackling in children’s rugby must be banned to curb dementia risks
Eric Anderson, Adam John White & Keith Parry
The Conversation 11 December 2020
Youth tackle football will be considered unthinkable 50 years from now
Chris Nowinski Vox 3 April 2019
The Legal Implications of Sports Injuries: From Recreational to Professional
Alan Ripka and Associates 23 May 2024
Sport and dementia: ‘Something needs to happen now’
Jamie Doward Guardian 13 December 2020
‘Winning at all costs’: The pursuit of success and the dangers that come with it
Samuel Lovett Independent 30 July 2019
The changing face of America’s favourite sport
David Sheinin and Emily Giambalvo Washington Post 18 December 2023
Can rugby union continue as normal knowing it is causing brain injuries?
Michael Aylwin Guardian 9 December 2020
Playing rugby union may help to reduce health risks
Emma O’Neill The Times 29 October 2020
Why women are more at risk from concussion
David Robson BBC Sport 31 January 2020
Stopping kids heading the ball misses the goal
David Shaw BMJ 28 January 2020
Should we worry about footballers heading the ball?
Tom Chivers UnHerd 23 October 2019
IN THE NEWS
Atletico’s Le Normand suffers ‘traumatic brain injury’
Sam Drury BBC 1 October 2024
How the NFL is working to prevent concussions and protect players
Lindsey Theis Scripps News 9 February 2024
Should U18 rugby be banned? No. But tell that to parents of a concussed child
Sean Ingle The Guardian 5 February 2024
Heartbreak for prodigy: Australia’s Will Pucovski forced to retire from cricket at 26 after a series of head injuries and concussions The Indian Express 30 August 2024
The NFL Must Prioritize Players’ Safety and Humanity | Chicago Policy Review
Molly Smith Chicago Policy Review 19 January 2023
What we know – and what we don’t – about the risks of rugby for adolescents
Dr Mike Forsythe Guardian 12 February 2024
I Won’t Be Watching the Super Bowl Because I Think Football Is Too Dangerous to Exist
Fortessa Latifi Teen Vogue 10 February 2023
The NFL is a brutal sport. That’s partly why fans love it
Leah Asmelah CNN Sports 6 September 2023
AUDIO AND VIDEO
‘Rugby head injury assessment protocol is dangerous’
BBC Radio Five Live
Dr Bennet Omalu and the autopsy that shook the NFL
The LAist 23 December 2015
FURTHER READING
It is not essential for debaters to read the following articles to do well, but they provide important context and further arguments.
Exploring the Psychological Impacts of Participating in Sports
Seattle Anxiety Specialists Psychiatry, Psychology and Psychotherapy 15 September 2023
A bouncer ban would ruin the game of cricket
John Snow Daily Mail 23 January 2021
Americans love football, but differ on whether kids should play
Jeff Grabmeir Ohio State News 30 March 2022
Football’s links with dementia are growing clearer, but not playing carries its own risks
Tom Chivers iNews 19 June 2022
Limiting contact in practice may be one of the best ways to reduce head injuries in youth football, study finds
Jen Christensen CNN Health 14 October 2022
How to Recognize and Treat Concussions in Kids
Katie Chen Stanford Medicine 7 November 2022
Players with early-onset dementia to issue proceedings against rugby authorities
Sky Sports 25 July 2022
Case against rugby union governing bodies on dementia destined for courts
Guardian 25 July 2022
FA to trial removal of heading in U12 football
The FA 18 July 2022
Deliberate Heading Trial
International Football Association Board DOA: 15 November 2022
Schools level tackle ban call by English university academics hasn’t gone down well online
Josh Raisey Rugby Pass 18 December 2020
The frightening reality of women’s concussions – a personal story
Brittany Mitchell ESPN 3 December 2020
Cricket’s lawmakers MCC decide against banning bouncer after 18-month review into the sport’s rules
Richard Gibson Daily Mail 4 March 2022
Tackling Bans In Junior Rugby Proposed After Researchers Conclude It Could Lead To Brain Damage Jayden Collins SPORTbible 29 July 2022