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Fans Care, Too: Why fans care about concussions in

the NFL
Charlie Aprahamian
EverySunday,Idothesamething.Iwakeup,eatbreakfast,shower,change
clothes,andthengotochurch.MyfamilyandIthenpickupthesamesubsatthesame
placeandgohometowatchRedskinsfootball.WeallgatheraroundtheTVwithour
lunchandwatchastheRedskinskickofftotheopposingteam.Sundayafternoon
RedskinsfootballissomethingIactuallycaremostabout.Myeyesaregluedtothe
screenwatchingeverymovemyRedskinsoffensemakes.Iconstantlycheckmyphone
foranyupdateonhowmyfantasyfootballteamisdoingtoo.Americansacrossthe
countryarejustlikemetoo,whethertheyareenthusiasticaboutacertainteam,fantasy
football,orboth.
IlovewatchingtheRedskinsonaSunday.DeseanJacksonisoneofmyfavorite
playerswhoisbothonmyfantasyteamandmyfavoriteteam.Iimmediatelyhada
terriblesicklyfeelingwhenDeseanJacksonwashitoutofnowhere.Theannouncers
alwaysramble,replaysrun,fansstandupandboobecauseDeseanJacksonwason
thegroundunabletogetup.Hehadaconcussion.Hewashitillegally.Hewasoutfor
weeks.HeruinedtheRedskinsseason.Heruinedmyfantasyteam.Heruinedmy
enthusiasmformyfantasyteamandtheRedskins.Allbecauseofanillegalhittothe
head.

Everyoneknowsthatconcussionsareahugeproblemforthesafetyofplayers
butwhothinksaboutwhatitdoestothefans?TheNFLmustaddresstheissueof
concussionsnotonlyforthesafetyofplayersbutalsobecausefanscare,too!

HeadInjuries:AgrowingproblemintheNFL
ConcussionshavebeenagrowingissueintheNFLoverpastyears.Timeand
timeagain,theNFLhastriedtopreventthe271concussionshappeningbyreleasing
newrules,technology,andmedicalaid,butstillconcussionsareanongoingproblem.
TheNFLhasalsostatedthatconcussionsintheNFLhasledtoChronictraumatic
EncephalopathyorCTE.TheNFLneedstomakechangesinregardstoitsconcussion
issuethroughnewmandatorytechnology,massiverulechangesornewpenalties,and
moreawareness/support.
StudieshaveshownthatCTEisshownthat87outof91deceasedNFLplayers
testedpositiveforCTE,astunning96%accordingto
pbs.org.
CTEisaprogressive
degenerativediseasefoundinpeoplewithrepetitiveblowstothehead.CTEcangoon
tocausedementia,depression,memoryloss,andlackofimpulsecontrol.
Recently,anarticleby
NBC
showedatopofficialmakingaconnectionbetween
headtraumaoffootballplayersintheNFLandCTE.ThiswasthefirsttimethattheNFL
haseveracknowledgedthislink.Overthepastdecade,theNFLhascontinuously
deniedthefactthatCTEhasanyformofalinktoNFLheadinjuries.Nowthatthelink
hasbeenmade,questionsregardingthesafetyofplayersarebeginningtobeasked
everywhere.

Moreandmorenowquestionsarenowarisinglike,whatifOJSimpsonhasCTE
whichisthereasonforhisobscureandradicalactions?TheNFLneedstofacethis
problemandcomeupwithactualsolutionsforthesafetyoffootballplayersandpeople
aroundthem.
HeadinjuriesintheNFLisextremelyseriousandoftentakenlightlybecauseof
theextremeprideinfootballwehaveinAmerica.However,peopleacrossthecountry
needtoreallyseewhathappensduringaconcussion
andwhatitcanleadto.Inthepicturetotheright,itis
shownthatduringaconcussionyourbraintakesa
largeimpacthitandcontinuestostrikeyourcranium
damagingthebrainfurther.Concussionscantake
severaldifferentamountsoftimetocompletelyheal.Anyconcussionafteraprevious
oneorduringacurrentconcussioncanleadtoseriousneurologicalproblemswhich
couldpossiblyneverfullyrecover.However,repetitiveblowstothehead,concussionor
not,canfrequentlyleadtoCTEwhichinsteadofslowlyrecoveringslowlygetsworse.

Whyitaffectsfans
ThisisahugeproblemfortheNFLandadangertopeoplessafety.However,it
doesn'tonlyaffectpeoplethataredirectlyassociatedwiththeriskofconcussionsand
CTEbutitalsoaffectsfanslikeme.FanisshortforfanaticandifthereisanythingIam
fanaticaboutitsRedskinsFootball.Asafan,Iobviouslydeeplycareaboutthe
RedskinsandtheNFL.TheNFLhasbeenincreasinglycriticizedlatelyabouttheissue

ofconcussions.PartofthereasonisbecauseforsolongtheNFLdeniedthelink
betweenCTEandconcussionswhiletakinglittleactiontoaddresstheproblem.The
NFLhasaresponsibilitytocareabouttheplayersintheleagueandyettheyoftenare
moreconcernedabouttheirownprofitandreputation.
Thisaffectsmeasafanbecauseofcourseimnotgoingtobeasenthusiastic
aboutasportthatiscorrupt,dangerous,andhated.Howmanypeopledoyouthink
turnedawayfromtheNFLaftertheOJSimpsoncaseyetinrealityOJsimpsonvery
likelycouldhaveaseverecaseofCTE.Thisaffectsfansalsobecausepeoplecare
abouttheirfavoriteplayersandteams.Lastyear,throughoutpractice,preseason,and
games271playersintheNFLreceivedsomeformofaconcussionaccordingto
cbs.com.
Thishurtsteamsandfansofthoseplayers.Itissooftenforgottenthatthe
impactofconcussionsimpactmorethanthesafetyoftheplayers...fanscaretoo!!!The
fansoftheNFLarethebackboneoftheLeagueandiswhytheNFLtotalrevenue
throughout2013was12billiondollarsaccordingto
thinkprogress.org.
Withoutthefans
theNFLisworthlessandifthereisnochangeinthesafetyregulationstoinsurea
decreaseinheadinjuriestheNFLwillonlysuffer.

WhatcantheNFLdotopreventconcussions?
TheNFLdrasticallyneedstoaddresstheissueofconcussionsandCTE.The
NFLknowsthatbighitsissomethingthatisapartofthegameandalwayswillbe
howeveritisverypossibletopreventconcussionswithouttakingawaythefunofthe
game.

OnewaytheNFLcouldhelpprotectplayersisbyenforcingastrictnotoleration
forillegalhitspolicy.Thiswouldmeanthatillegalhitsliketargeting,ahitona
defenselessreceiver,latehit,orahitfrombehindwouldresultinaheavypenalty.
Dependingonhowillegalthehitwasthepenaltycouldvary.TheNFLcouldimplement
a1manoffpenalty(likeinhockeyandlacrosse),heavierfines,orevenagame
suspension.ThiswouldhelptheNFLplayersplaymoresafelyandcleanwhilestill
allowingthemtoputonbighitsiftheyarelegal.
AnotherwaytheNFLcouldhelpwithconcussionprotectionisbymakingallNFL
playerswherethesameRiddellSpeedflexhelmetthathelpspreventconcussions.This
newtechnologynotonlycouldhelppreventconcussionsbutalsorepetitiveblowstothe
headthatleadtoCTEcouldbeeasilyreducedsothattheimpactisntasheavy.This
newtechnologywillgreatlyhelpanyplayerthatwearsittopreventaconcussionor
futurebraininjuryaccordingto
sbnation.com.
AthirdwaytheNFLcouldhelppreventheadinjuriesisanincreasedamountof
CTscanstotestforconcussions.Thiswayplayerswouldntplaywithoutknowingthey
haveaconcussion.Thiswouldpreventseriouslongtermbraininjuryandallowfor
fasterhealingandmedicalcare.
Finally,theNFLcouldhelppreventCTEbykeepingretiredNFLplayersactive.
SinceCTEisaslowdegenerativediseasethemindslowlygetsworse.Withanactive
adultgettingoutandinaprogrammanysymptomsofCTEcanbereducedlike
depressionanddementia.Thiswouldalsoallowformoremedicalcheckupsandscans
forsignsofCTE.


Conclusion
FansarethemostimportantpartintheNFLandwithoutfanstheNFLwould
ceasetoexist.HeadinjuriesintheNFLaffectthefansmorethanmostpeoplethink.
TheNFLhastocomeupwithwaytopreventheadinjurieswhetheritisbigger
penalties,moreprograms,moremedicaltechnology,orenforcingnewsafety
technology.
WatchingfootballonaSundayonlytoseeDeseanJacksongetinjurediswhat
losesmypassionforfootball.Otheracrossthecountryourlosingpassionforthesport
becauseoftherecklessnessthattheyplayershaveintheNFL.IftheNFLfailstocome
upwithasolutiontoconcussions,itcouldlosethebackboneoffootballthefans.

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