Making Football Safer

If you read the Sports Section as faithfully as I do, you will have noticed a photograph in last Saturday's Daily Times from the football scrimmage between William Blount and Cleveland.

What you may remember is a William Blount player moving in for the tackle using perfect form with his head up.  And you will see the Cleveland player drop his head just at the moment of contact, colliding helmet to helmet with his head down and neck flexed.

Folks, that is the exact formula for catastrophic cervical injury.  The angle for the collision for the ball carrier is the perfect position for producing quadriplegia.

I don't want to disparage the young man or the game of football.  But dropping your head like this at the moment of contact is just simply dangerous.   And against the rules.

The helmet cannot be used as a weapon in the game of football.  That's the rule and violation will likely result in a penalty.  Most often, it's called against a defensive player.  This is clearly a case where the offensive player should be flagged. 

If you stop to think about it, many of the rules in football were created to prevent injuries.  Think about clipping.  And grabbing the facemask. 

Roughing the passer?  Obvious.  Just as the quarterback releases the ball, they are most vulnerable.  So rules were made to protect them.  Same with kickers.

Ricky Upton is an assistant football coach at Maryville High School and Player Safety Coach for the Heads Up Football program. 

Head Up Football is a program developed by USA Football to advance player safety in the game of football.  The Player Safety Coaches are responsible for ensuring their organizations' compliance with core Heads Up Football protocols including coaching certification and conducting safety clinics for coaches, parents, and players. 

I talked to Coach Upton about his work and shared this photograph with him.  "Coaches everywhere teach against this sort of thing.  But kids are kids and they see the big stars and the pro's do this sort of thing and the next thing you know, they're using their heads as a battering ram."

That's why it's important for everybody to buy into the things that make the game of football safer for everyone.  There's no doubt that we've got to make the game safer.  We've learned that concussions aren't something to be taken lightly. 

Don't get me wrong--football is still a great game.  It's the game I played.  It's the game my son played.  I love it dearly and believe that it helps young people to grow up to be good teammates in life (and a thousand other things).

But we've got to make it safer.  The future of the game depends on that.   We have to teach strategies and enforce rules that protect all athletes. 

So remember, Heads Up!ealth and safety protocols, including coaching certification and conducting safety clinics for coaches, parents and players