Tackle football and the National Football League (NFL) are heralded by most Americans as a staple of our country’s culture. It’s no wonder the Super Bowl breaks records for television viewership every year, for the game and the halftime show alike.
Americans also know that football comes with head injuries, concussion, and even fatal illness like chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). It’s a fact many of us have come to accept, sending our kids ourselves into play each season, knowing the risks.
That has seemingly changed in recent years with the slow rise of protective equipment like the Guardian Cap and the Q-Collar. While uptake of this equipment is low so far, the NFL and others are praising its ability to protect athletes and make the game safer. The NFL also celebrated a decrease in concussions in 2024.
But the bottom line is that no piece of equipment can prevent head injury in football. We should try to better respond to injury for both youth and professional athletes alike instead.
TIE contributor Katherine O’Malley wrote about this in Harvard Public Health Magazine last week ahead of the big game.
You can read the full piece here.
