By the end of 2018 youth tackle football might be banned in the state of California.
Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez-Fletcher (D-San Diego) and Assemblyman Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento) have co-authored the Safe Youth Football Act, a piece of legislation that would outlaw organized tackle football leagues for kids under the age of 14.
On Wednesday morning Assemblyman McCarty was a guest on the morning show on The Mighty 1090 to explain the rationale behind the proposed bill.
“There is more and more research coming out that talks about the real impacts of football,” said McCarty. “More and more research talking about little kids and it’s common sense; (children) eight, nine, 10 years old, those young brains aren’t fully developed. (There is) some really stunning research talking about how the cumulative impact of hits from tackle football on young kids’ brains is just not good.”
McCarty largely cites the work of Dr. Bennet Omalu, the forensic pathologist who discovered CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), the degenerative brain disease that several former NFL players have been diagnosed with. San Diego legend Junior Seau was found to have CTE after his suicide in 2012.
The Assemblyman knows there is going to be heated discussion on this topic. One of the biggest points of contention is whether or not it’s acceptable to legislate away someone’s right to allow their children to play a sport.
“There are certain times in government where safety reigns supreme, where you see facts and research showing that you need to do things to protect kids, like car seats, seat belts, laws as far as smoking and kids,” said McCarty. “Once kids reach puberty they have a different development and that’s why some of the recommendations coming across the country are zeroing in on little kids and youth football.”
Football, of course, is not the only sport where concussions occur. Several youth soccer leagues have banned headers for children under 12 to cut down on the possibility of traumatic brain injuries. McCarty says football is under the microscope because of the nature of the game.
“I think with football and why the national research has zeroed in on this is because on every play there is 100% probability there’s going to be contact. That’s just how the game is. That’s why there’s so much attention on youth football. The helmet protects the skull from injury … it doesn’t protect the brain.”
Contact known as “subconcussive hits,” which is contact between athletes that has an impact on the brain without showing symptoms, is believed by many researchers to be one of the reasons football has seen a greater incidence of CTE.
“It’s not debated anymore,” said McCarty. “There is vast research coming in month to month that shows the impact of these cumulative hits, especially in our youngest kids.”
McCarty says the point of this proposed legislation is to combat repetitive head trauma. However, flag football would be allowed, which leads to an interesting point.
In February of 2017 the Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine published a study that concluded “Youth flag football has a higher injury rate than tackle football. A significantly different rate of severe injury or concussion between tackle and flag football was not identified. Furthermore, we cannot conclude that youth flag football is a safer alternative to tackle football.”
Assemblyman McCarty was not aware of this study but did say he would attempt to track down more information on the safety of flag football vs. tackle football for youths.
Hearings on this proposal will be had in the spring of 2018. Similar legislation is being considered in Illinois, New York, and Maryland.
