Should High School Football Be Banned?

Evidence continues to mount that football is one of the the most dangerous youth sports widely played in America. Because football players suffer more concussions than any other high school athletes, former players, family members, and health professionals are increasingly concerned about the cognitive and mental health impacts of repeated head injuries. A recent research round-up by Journalist’s Resource looks at studies testing whether football can lead to both short- and long-term forms of disability. The results are mixed: Some of the cited research suggests a link between the popular high school sport and head or brain-related disability, while other research fails to find such evidence. 

To raise greater awareness about the health impacts of concussions, Cole Durbin, a student in Faculty Director Sue J. Goldie’s popular Spring 2017 course, “Global Health Challenges: Complexities of Evidence-Based Policy,” created a public service announcement video about traumatic brain injuries. This video was his “problem-inspired product” portion of his final project in Dr. Goldie’s course.