California lawmakers proposing pre-high school ban on tackle football.
 

Apparently it's not the first time it's been proposed, with previous attempts in New York and other current bills in Illinois and New York. I wasn't aware of that.

This could make peewee football unwatchable. There'll be huge drops in attendance.

http://www.sacbee.com/sports/nfl/article199531854.html

Youth tackle football targeted for ban in California as head trauma concerns grow
The Associated Press

February 10, 2018 04:46 PM

Updated February 11, 2018 10:30 AM

Two California lawmakers want to outlaw tackle football leagues until teenagers reach high school, saying delaying the start of high-contact elements of football would protect young people from long-term brain damage.

Children can learn the skills they need to succeed at the sport from non-contact flag football, Democratic Assembly members Kevin McCarty of Sacramento and Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher of San Diego said in announcing their legislation on Thursday.

Their bill follows similar legislation under consideration in Illinois and New York. Legislation has been introduced several times since 2013 in New York but has not gained traction.

In Illinois, the Dave Duerson Act to Prevent CTE is named for the Chicago Bears defensive back who was diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy after he killed himself at 50.

Duerson shot himself in the chest so his brain could be studied for signs of the disease that has been linked to concussions or repeated head trauma.

“The science is clear: head injuries sustained at a young age can harm kids for the rest of their lives,” Gonzalez Fletcher said in a statement.

California has strengthened concussion protocols for youth sports but that’s not enough, the lawmakers said.

CTE is a degenerative disease known to cause memory loss, violent moods and other cognitive difficulties. It can only be diagnosed after death.

After years of denials, the NFL has acknowledged a link between head blows and brain disease and agreed in 2015 to a $1 billion settlement with former players.

Many NFL players, including Drew Brees, have supported non-tackle football for all kids before high school.

Flag Football would still allow coaches to teach fundamentals and concepts, without the threat of brain injury.

I think this is the future of football.

Yeah, it's inevitable. And then about 10 years after that, the ban will move up to include high school players. And then after that...well, sell your season tickets.

I think it’ll definitely evolve but I can’t foresee a total ban on tackling in the NFL.

But just for grins, let’s say that happens.

What actually changes? These guys today are phenomenally athletic. The plays DB’s are making in the passing game, without interfering, is INSANE.

People will still hit the turf. Guys will still make crazy plays.

The only difference will be that we’ll actually know what’s a tackle, when forward progress has been stopped and so on.

If you want to see some sad shit, watch Friday Night Tykes on Netflix.


JFC, you’ll want to stab the coaches when you see them.

I won't get to watch hits like this any more. And that's sad.

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Where does it stop. There are people that want to take headers out of soccer and want machine pitch up until high school for baseball...

As a soccer coach....I think the no header rule is stupid. We currently can’t do it until 14U but it should be allowed after 10-12.

I'm not sure how that hit wouldn't happen in Flag Football but it would definitely be a penalty, as it is today.

Doesn't seem like a big deal to me. I played pee wee football and some of my friends for sure got their bell rung a few times as did I. If it protects the youngsters till high school im for it and maybe they will be able to hit better without paralyzing and concussing yourself or someone else

Waiting until HS for tackle football is probably the best way to go. Then again, once they reach the HS level, teaching proper tackling technique becomes priority #1.

I still dont understand why they outfit players with equipment they can use as weapons. Should just adopt rugby's model.

Where are we gonna put the logos ?

California has been leading the nation in being a pussy for years

Also, just replace the players with battle robots

Then an ACL tear only takes a few minutes to swap out

Because then, it’s rugby and not American football.

The more they try to pussify the game, the more it will stay the same

Just wish some of you could've watched my 'flag' football league games in the Army, you can only remove the instinct to crush someone so much... huge hits are gonna happen frequently no matter what

Its a game of aggression, we wanna make you hurt for daring to try and beat us... its a mindset thats built in to the sport, and thats what makes it so damn appealing

I played tackle football in Junior High and I'm just fine.

Wait a minute......what were we talking about? :(

IM really not against this.

If people are scared for juniors well being, put them in basketball or soccer

We dont care, football requires football players

I have to disagree, for many, many reasons.

I started playing football in 5th grade, back in the 70’s, after watching every football on TV for 10 years.

I quickly realized, I knew nothing.

I didn’t know about gaps 1, 3, 5 or 7 nor 2, 4, 6 or 8.

I didn’t know about wind sprints or running laps or push ups or sit ups.

I watched it on TV, I wanted to play. What’s all this?

Bottom line: It provides structure for kids. Add to that, 95% of these NFL players have known each other since age 12 at the various “NFL, not NFL” camps they all attend.

These guys have been friends and peers for most of their lives.

They don’t want to kill their livelihood.

Not quite sure where you're going here, or what you disagree with

You surely learned your a, b, c gaps, and the other basics as you went along, right?... my message was clear, if parents wanna hold their kids out of football, go for it I'm no one to judge a parents intuition

But there will always be those kids who seek out the challenge of football no matter what their parents try to do... and those are the kids we want

You specifically stated that football is a “game of aggression”.

I was trying to point out, obviously unsuccessfully, that it’s a cerebral game more so than based in anger and aggression.

DaneMcloud...totally agree. Few sports require such clarity of thinking in the moment, and few highlight the lack of clear thinking than football.

Having run a pop warner program for 5 years, been a Pop Warner regional board member in one of the most successful regions in the country and having had two kids go through pop warner until high school, I don't see the benefit of this rule. You really don't see high velocity impacts until about the midget level (just pre-high school). Below that there is rarely a high velocity hit, and instead you see a lot of players just learning how to play the game and bumping into each other. The greater danger by far is the high school freshman who never played football going up against some fast, technically skilled player. Until they learn how to use their pads they are really vulnerable. Bunch of legislators who have no experience in the game time to regulate it...bad combo.

So your sides point is true, but my side isnt?

Football is not a game based on aggression?

Pre high school?

That seems like a stretch...

Pre junior high, absolutely, kids shouldn't be in full armor until they're at least hitting puberty

I'm all for it, kids aren't developed adequately enough to handle full contact prior to junior high

I see both sides of this argument. I began playing (as a kid) in Pop Warner. We started out in pads and were hitting from then on. Played on the Varsity team in High School as a Freshman. Got a full ride scholarship to University of Louisville and blew my knee out in my first year. Never played again.
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Now, I watch my Grandson playing pop warner and, while I don't see a LOT of hard hits, kids do get hurt from time to time. Always scares the living shit out of me...
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The flip side? Kids LEARN how to hit in pop warner. And, it takes some "conditioning" to learn that technique and to get it right. My fear, is that if we don't allow tackling until High School, we will most likely see more injuries - simply due to not learning until later in life.
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Football - to anyone who has ever played it - is a violent game and often, it stays with you throughout your life. My knee STILL hurts all these years later - 3 operations and two knee replacements later. Is it "worth it"? Sometimes I wonder.....

As long as players know the risks going into it, I don't see what the problem is with a sometimes violent sport.

I do not believe that being a good football player requires anger.

Play calling can be aggressive, such as blitzing on 1st down or going for it on 4th down in your own territory, etc.

But anger? I don't think that anger is part of the equation and most NFL coaches and players that I've met and have known throughout life were generally super mellow and easy going people off the field.

At no point in this thread, have I mentioned the word 'anger'

But anyone who doesnt play the game aggressively, is probably going to get hurt

Flag football through grade 8, tackle football starts in the 9th grade. Nothing wrong with kids learning the game before they have to worry about getting pummeled. That also reduces the problem of that one kid who already has a beard in 7th grade.

My apologies. I've misinterpreted your posts on this subject.

Copy that, its all good :thumb:

The issue is many don't have a say in it. Some parents just make their kids go play football. I don't project that on kids. Now, I do not agree that people claim football for those 18+ is morally wrong, because they have a choice and are of age to make decisions.

One of the problems is that it isn't the tackling that is the problem. Wrapping your arms around a guy, bringing him to the ground - that's not what gives concussions.

It's the hits across the middle.

But, if you play essentially flag football until junior varsity, a TON of problems go away.

1. The sheer number of hits on the developing brain dramatically reduces. A lot of the research shows it's the amount of hits the brain takes over time vs. the couple big ones in the NFL.

2. It trains players to see the game as execution and not aggression. You don't learn from a young age that you go lay the wood on a guy. You learn to take good angles and read the play.

3. It allows parents to keep their kids in youth football. We are seeing attrition of good, young athletes who pick a different sport. This way, you can let your kid play until they're 16/17 years old, and by that time, if they have significant talent, it will have manifested, and they will already be getting recruited by universities and colleges. Then, you can make an informed decision about continuing to play tackle football.

I think JV is the way I would go, personally.

I for one am shocked that the usual clown car of Trump tards are calling California pussies for making common sense laws.

I loved playing football but concussions are real and my kids will not be playing it. It's a dying sport whether you like it or not.

Can we have a national referendum( non-binding) on whether CA should secede?

California is welcome to do as it pleases, but a ban is unneccesary

8th graders and below arent packing the mass, speed, or strength to dole out enough concussions with the frequency needed to cause lasting damage... concussions do happen, my bell got rung a few times playing junior league ball, same with my son

But kids that age are resilient, they can bonk their heads playing soccer or riding a bike too... its part of growing up