Rule Change to Reduce Concussion
A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury that happens when the brain is forced to move back and forth inside the skull rapidly. This mostly happens during different types of sports that involve aggressiveness such as football. In recent years, concussions have been reported more often as it has had adverse effects on players. The increase over time in all sports may reflect an increased occurrence or higher coding sensitivity with widely disseminated guidance on concussion detection and treatment. Why are players returning to the field to play soon after they have experienced a concussion? What can be done to ease the negative effects of concussion? The rule change is one of the ways to help address concussion. Tanner, (2018), argues that moving kickoffs forward five yards to the 35-yard line will ensure that the impact of hitting one another is reduced. Additionally, the kicking team will be required to line up no further than 5 yards behind the ball, which will give them less of a running start. With the change of the rule, will the game change?
With less distance to kick the ball, hitting one another will produce less impact compared to when the distance for kicking is longer. According to CNN (2012), the players hit each other hard to cause the kind of concussion that they do. We see the impact the Jaquan got from his fellow player was so hard. The speed that the game entails is hard to control in case of a head-on collision. Additionally, with less distance, there will be fewer injuries caused by the concussion. On the other hand, the disadvantages of the rule change will be that the game will change. The fans do not care about the injuries, and they want to enjoy the game just as it was before. Changing the rule will make the game not to be enjoyable as people are used to certain rules. For this reason, there might be few people in the field to cheer the players. Additionally, it might not be easy to make the players change the rule unless in the presence of a strict athlete trainer. It is also very difficult to keep the high school students off the field, as they have the energy to play all the time. They also wish to practice to defeat the other team. I advocate for not changing the rule as the game will no longer be enjoyable. I would rather other measures be taken, other than changing the rule.
Concussions have caused many players to lose their lives, just like in Rose high school. According to CNN (2012), 40% of the players continue to play even after they have been injured. Additionally, 60% of the players go to see the doctor after a concussion and return to the field the same day. Therefore, schools must ensure that the emergency response team is present in the field to ensure that the players are safe. The coaches need to recognize a concussion and ensure that the player gets proper treatment before returning to the field. Simpson-Wood and Wood, (2018), explain that younger athletes in high Schoolschool take more time to recover from concussion compared to adults, due to this, the school administrators, parents, and coaches should be aware of the severe symptom of concussion to help in the healing process.