[NU Sports] Football Rule changes for 2012

[Jonathan Hodges]

This will clearly be the defining question for the sport of football in the
near future with brain injuries, both acute and chronic, now in the
spotlight and undergoing further study.  We'll see how it affects rec
league/middle/high school football in terms of participation and rules and
then college football and the NFL in terms of lawsuits, etc.  The problem
is that we know that horrible injuries and permanent damage are possible
but the sport is extremely entertaining, popular, and profitable.  That is
fine for professionals, but the fact is that players must start playing the
game early and who will allow their children to play the game?

I don't know the answer and I'm not saying that any of these tweaks will
fix anything (I doubt they will).  But the game is evolving because it has
to.  Maybe we'll eventually see the elimination of contact football for
minors.

This isn't the first time it's undergone a major change: just look at the
early 1900s when the sport was almost banned due to violence before
introducing the forward pass.  It will be interesting to see what happens.

Jonathan

--
Jonathan Hodges
Contributor, HailToPurple
Web: http://www.hailtopurple.com/jhodges/
Twitter: @hailtopurple
Email: j-hodges at alumni.northwestern.edu



On Fri, Feb 24, 2012 at 5:56 PM, Dennis W. Brandt <tbng at comcast.net> wrote:

> We train football players to have prodigious strength, to maximize speed
> and quickness, to hit with the force of a truck, and then pass rules to
> subdue that power.  Anyone see a contradiction there?
>
> Some rule changes have made sense, such as disallowing - even
> disqualifying (and fining) - any player who deliberately uses his helment
> as a weapon and keeping players with concussion symptoms out of the game.
>  But don't expect to eliminate significantly helmet-to-helmet contact,
> broken ribs, or knees being snapped into uselessness.  With powerful,
> athletic guys flying around at awesome speed, it is impossible unless you
> want the NCAA to switch to flag football (although broken body parts are
> still possible even then).  And don't tell me you don't jump up and cheer
> when one of the boys in purple knocks an opponent into semiconsciousness
> with a clean hit.
>
> At what point to you destroy the game of football?  When do games become
> consumed with referees tossing yellow hankies and moving the ball back
> fifteen yards?  Maybe JoePa was right and players should go back to wearing
> leather helmets.  Then no one will lead with his head.
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