Survey finds that 90 percent of dads who suffered football-related concussions want their children to play tackle football

A survey of 300 dads who played tackle football at the high school level or higher, was commissioned by the non-profit arm of i9 Sports, the nation’s first and fastest growing youth sports franchise.

The i9 Sports Association was established in 2006 as a non-profit organization. They have several local chapters nationally and their mission is to promote youth athletic participation, provide financial assistance to boys and girls who cannot otherwise afford to participate in athletic activities and educate the public on the health and wellness benefits of athletic participation.

They play flag football because they don’t want their children playing tackle football at a young age. Brad Culpepper, Eddie Mason, Morten Andersen and other former and current players have their children playing in the i9 Sports Leagues.

Here’s what the survey found:

• 53 percent of football dads say children who play tackle sometimes think getting a concussion “is cool”, or “a status symbol” that means you are “tough and play hard.” 

• More than one in three football dads (36 percent) say their son’s competitive youth sports coach (any sport) is more interested in a win over safe play.

• Almost one in five football dads (19 percent) say despite concussion awareness, there have been no noticeable changes to the policies and procedures of youth sports.

• 43 percent of football dads believe there is too much hype over concussions.

• 90 percent of men who played tackle football at the high school level or higher who suffered or suspected they suffered a concussion want their sons to play tackle football.

Obviously, some dads – including NFL fathers – need to do a little more research on the issue of concussions.

Brian Sanders, president of i9 Sports, which has more than 550,000 members at 275 locations across the country said “It’s scary to us that dads who suffered concussions encourage their young sons to play tackle football at a young age. Studies show a concussion can be more dangerous for young athletes because their brains are still developing. Still, these young athletes perceive concussions as a ‘cool status symbol.’ Concussion safety is a top priority at i9 Sports which is why we recommend flag football until high school.”

The young kids that play in the i9 League were also surveyed.  Here's a link to the actual survey they gave them: “Play it Safe” Survey    

The results of the survey should shock the NFL and all other sports leagues - both amateur and professional - because forty-two percent of children surveyed said they would rather play video games than play sports! 

And why is that?  According to the survey:

• Seventy-four percent of those who chose video games said gaming is more fun than playing sports.

• Twenty-eight percent said sports can be too competitive.

• Twenty percent said their coach didn't let them play as much as they want to so they’d rather play a video game.

• Seventeen percent said they felt too much pressure to win.

• One in five children witnessed a physical fight between players, 59 percent have seen a verbal fight between players and 36 percent have seen a verbal fight between parents.

• Sixty-one percent said they or their teammates have been called a “not so nice” name while playing sports.

It would be interesting to find out how many NFL players started playing tackle football before high school. I played two years in pee wee football and two years in middle school. 

Altogether, I played 12 years of football before I set one foot on an NFL field and I wouldn't be surprised if the vast majority of guys that made it into the NFL had the same experience. That doesn’t even take into consideration the other sports we played - like soccer, basketball, baseball and wrestling that also jostled our brains. Using the term “jostled” is putting it nicely.

Even if we had been successful in getting our concussion litigation cases to trial, the whole issue of when we began to sustain concussive and sub-concussive blows to our heads would have been raised by the NFL lawyers. They would have pointed out that researchers have found that a person's brain is even more susceptible to injury at younger ages.

A study of 40 former NFL players between the ages of 40 and 65 found that those who began playing tackle football before the age of 12 faced a higher risk of altered brain development than those who waited until they were older.  

How would all this information have played to a jury? Even if they agreed that the NFL was negligent, it’s highly likely that the jurors would have found the NFL only partially liable for damages. 

This is just one more reason why 19,000 former players agreed to the Settlement and only 200 opted out and 94 appealed.

The Third Circuit Court has upheld the the Concussion Settlement  and I hope the players that appealed the Settlement decide that it’s time to move on and allow the guys that have serious impairments the opportunity to collect their awards. It’s a tragedy that some players – like Kevin Turner – never got a chance to collect the money that may have helped his medical condition. His legacy will live on through his Foundation. Someday, in the not too distant future, many of us may be in the same boat. It would be comforting to know that a life preserver is handy if we start to sink.

If any of the 94 players that have appealed the Settlement decide to take it to the next level – the entire Third Circuit Court, and then the Supreme Court, no one will collect anything for another year.

This needs to end soon!

The same thing can be said about tackle football for very young kids.