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Dylan Smith
Jill Campbell
English Comp 101
8 November 2015
Football Concussions
It used to be deemed as “getting your bell rung,” but now it is taken much more seriously
in the world of sports. Concussions are not to be taken lightly anymore. Sports programs all
around the world are cracking down on concussions and taking protocol more seriously before
letting athletes back onto the playing field. “Concussions and other forms of brain injury occur at
least 1.7 million times a year in North America.” (Cusimano). Sports are 2nd in brain injuries to
motor vehicle accidents. The highest number of concussions are reported in American football.
This is why the NFL, and football all over the country, has made drastic changes to their rules on
what hits are legal and illegal. Since most concussions are caused by impact to the head, neck,
and the face, players are heavily penalized for lashing out hits to these areas. In the NFL, players
can be fined for illegal hits if they are deemed too dangerous. These methods of enforcing the
safety of football are making an impact on players all over the league, and hopefully saving the
mental capabilities of all players worldwide. Concussions must be taken more seriously by
parents, coaches, and players because if they are disregarded then it could lead to very dangerous
or even fatal outcomes.
A concussion is defined as a traumatic injury to the brain. It derives from the Latin word
“concutere,” meaning to shake violently. An athlete with a concussion will experience symptoms
such as headaches, impaired vision, dizziness, loss of memory, and nausea. When a concussion
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occurs, the brain rattles inside the skull in a twisting or shaking motion that causes it to bounce
off the walls of the skull. Medical experts say, “Violent shaking caused the brain cells to become
depolarized and fire all their neurotransmitters at once in an unhealthy cascade, flooding the
brain with chemical and deadening certain receptors linked to learning and memory.” (Davis).
This is why most concussions lead to memory loss. The brain cells linked with memory are
affected and other symptoms usually arise from it.
There have been multiple studies done on concussions and how they affect the brain and
a person’s mental stability. Doctors have done intense research on the brains of diseased athletes
and the diseases they may be carrying due to the heavy impacts they endure during their careers.
Dr. Bennet Omahu, a neuropathologist, was one of the first researchers to discover abnormal
brains in athletes. Dr. Omahu dissected the brain of a former Pittsburgh Steelers football player,
