ILLINOIS TAKES STEPS TOWARD BANNING YOUTH TACKLE FOOTBALL

HB 4341, also called the Dave Duerson Act, passed through primary committees and will be debated on the House floor in Illinois. The bill proposes a ban on tackle football for all children under the age of twelve state wide. New York, California, and Maryland have also began drafting legislation that restricts football for youths, but Illinois is the first to get a serious bill to the state’s House floor. The Dave Duerson Act gets its name from the former Bears safety who took his own life in 2011. He left a note instructing for his brain to be studied and he was diagnosed with CTE posthumously. Duerson’s family has been a major driving force behind the bill as it has matured. Other proponents of the bill, including Boston University CTE researcher Dr. Robert Stern, argue that limiting the years of tackle football will help in the fight against CTE and other brain diseases related to the wear and tear of football. These diseases are caused by repeated trauma to the head and brain and this bill looks to postpone the onset of these traumas. A former football player and concussion recipient myself, I believe this is a good first step towards making football a safer sport. I love the game and would never want it to disappear completely, but it does need tweaking. Some kids, like myself, start playing the game at such young ages and continue to play throughout their schooling. Those who play professionally could end up playing 20 years or more of the vicious sport. This is overkill. There are plenty of other ways to play and hone your skills without the contact at young ages. There will be pushback of course, but if and when it becomes the new normal I believe the game, and its players, will be in a much better, safer place.