This doesn’t strike me as good news for the sport’s future.
Just days before the Super Bowl, 48 percent of Americans say they’d encourage a child who wanted to play football to play a different sport due to concerns about concussions — up 8 points since the same question was asked four years ago, according to the latest national NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.
That includes 46 percent of parents with a child in the household (up 9 points since 2014), 53 percent of mothers (up 13 points) and 39 percent of fathers (up 6 points).
If you want a picture painted, here you go.
That’s not a subtle change over a four-year period. And there really isn’t anything going on in the present to re-direct the direction of that trend.
Schools and the NCAA are currently reacting — if you want to be generous with a description — to litigation threats, but longer term, what happens to the sport if the talent pool begins drying up because more and more parents refuse to let their kids play? Do you think anyone on the collegiate level has even begun seriously considering the possibility?
Get The Picture 
Not to be indelicate here.. but what % of kids who ultimately become the real talent (e.g. not me, I’m definition of avg size/height white boy who never had a chance, just enjoyed playing) would change their path and not play a spot that gives them the best opportunity ?
Said differently, middle class america may say it’s not worth it for little Johnny since he wasn’t gotta make it regardless, but for the talented athletes that show promise in any sport at a young age, will it change anything?
LikeLike
Are you saying that we won’t miss the middle class kids if they choose not to play? Because if you are, all I can say is Aaron Murray, Thomas Brown, David Greene, David Pollack, Matt Stafford, DJ Shockley, The Stinchcomb brothers… Need I go on?
LikeLike
Jake Fromm, Jacob Eason. Hell Stafford is probably closer to the upper crust from everything I know about his tony neighborhood in Dallas.
LikeLike
I think he’s talking about the average Pop Warner player, not the kid who dominates and is getting scholarship offers from Lane Kiffin in middle school. Some kids are late bloomers. But elite athletes tend to be elite at all ages.
LikeLike
I’m totally surprised that 48% of All Americans would tell their own kids not to play football. I mean, they made All American; they were the best. Imagine that, All Americans not wanting their children not to play the sport they excelled at.
Oh, never mind.
LikeLike
The sport is moving in the direction of boxing. The only people that will play it will be those that see it as their only way out.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Exactly.
LikeLike
The problem that I see with that statement is that boxing was not and is not dependent on school systems for the development of talent in their sport. If and when middle and high schools start to become targets for lawsuits and/or liability insurances rise to a level that makes it cost prohibitive for schools to field teams, it will be the lower-income demographic schools that will see a quicker drop than those from middle and higher income schools.
LikeLike
Nail meet hammer.
LikeLike
I figure the sport will be banned or so radically changed that it won’t be recognizable as the same sport within my lifetime , but I’m not sure what you think college administrators are supposed to do about it. Is there some plan they can make to keep revenue coming in for the sport when it ceases to exist?
LikeLike
Egahd, Biggus, these are dark thoughts on a pitiless February morn. Are you re-reading “1984” like I am? FREEDOM IS SLAVERY.
LikeLike
HA It’s possible the concussion hysteria may be addressed in a less extreme manner before it’s all said and done. I just don’t see how, unless the long term effects are shown to be far less harmful than is currently theorized/believed.
LikeLike
for a bunch of people who are communicating in a method and manner that hardly existed 20 years ago we don’t seem to understand the technology trend very well. Why is it not entirely reasonable to assume that technology can and will resolve all these concussion issues. Acceleration/deceleration sensors already exist and could easily incorporated into helmets so as to protect from concussions , alert as to concussions and even be communicated to officials to call fouls and get players out of games. Materials will get stronger ,more resilient and more cushioning will solve most of the perceived problems. The sky is not falling . Additionally, if we are not banning MMA and boxing then football is safe.
LikeLike
Anything is possible. I doubt it will happen, but it’s not like I’m Nostradamus.
LikeLike
It’s not concussions. It’s regular, repeated blows to the head. You know, like the kind that occur on every play for any lineman.
LikeLike
Right, and I probably should have phrased it differently than “concussion hysteria”.
LikeLike
My son won’t be big enough to play, though he loves it and tells me he’s going to play for Georgia when he grows up (he’s 4). I’m not sure what I’ll do if that desire is still present when he gets older. I would prefer he not play football (as much as I love it) but I don’t know if I would actively discourage him from doing so.
LikeLike
I faced the same thing. My son is average size and perhaps slightly better than average in hand-eye coordination. Not the recipe for gridiron glory. He played football for a few years at a young age and then I nudged him towards golf. Luckily, that’s the sport he’s passionate about. I don’t see PGA millions in his future, but he’ll be better than most hackers on the course on Saturday and the major risk will be from flying clubs.
LikeLike
Golf is a great game. I learned how to play, then I learned how to “play”. I used to support my craft beer habit taking money from overconfident players. The only club I ever had thrown at me was by my ex brother in law, and it was an old driver I had just sold him for a couple hundred dollars, because he had broken his very expensive one out of frustration on the previous hole. He was a decent player, big hitter, but put a little pressure on the guy and he’d snap hook everything. All this was over a $15 dollar bet. I knew he and Sis weren’t gonna make it that day.
LikeLike
I played until I was in the 8th grade. I stopped after that when I realized I was too small and after being run over in a scrimmage by a guy who eventually played in the NFL.
LikeLike
I think a couple of factors that contribute to this are…
1) The changing demographics: A lot of immigrants come from futbol countries and that’s their passion. I live in a rural county with a large hispanic population. These folks are not flooding to the Friday night lights, but there certainly are pop up soccer fields all over the county.
2) The waning toughness of “Middle America”:
As kids continue to grow up more and more indoors, where overall their lives are pretty easy; and not being mean is over-emphasized almost to a fault, the killer instincts required to line up and beat the man in front of you will naturally be diminished. Couple that with parents that grew up in a similar environment and the issue is compounded.
Now understand this is not a “These kids today aren’t…” (fill in the blank)! They’ll be good at many things, football just might not be one of them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Count me in for more “less mean people.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
As long as those immigrant soccer players stay off my lawn, we’re cool.
LikeLike
I see that here as well. One of our schools has a largely Hispanic demographic. They struggle at football and baseball, but shellac the rest of their region and are perennial state level competitors in soccer.
LikeLike
As others noted, I’d like to see the numbers broken down by race to see if there are any notable differences.
Second, all hail the future… 7-on-7!
LikeLike
7 on 7 – you might as well play the game on the playground because no one will watch it
Are they going to have count to “5 Mississippi” before they can rush the QB?
LikeLike
We’ve reached peak football.
LikeLike
We reached that in 1980. Get with it, man.
LikeLike
A recent study said it was blows to head not just concussions that caused the issue. They have focused on football but if that holds out to be true any contact sport is an issue.
LikeLike
It’s been known for a while that it’s just blows to the head. That’s one of the reasons junior soccer banned headers. The “concussion protocol” in the NFL and CFB is much like the TSA, for show and for only the most egregious examples. It’s not really addressing the issue, though.
LikeLike
Everyone need not be stressed over the extinction of football. In fifty years any sport could be virtual, just an outlet for the gambling business, or wholly controlled by RussianBots.
LikeLike
Hey, where are all these flying cars they promised us back in the ‘70’s?
LikeLike
I see a simple solution to significantly reduce the number of concussions and serious injuries being a move to a softer head-piece (similar to what you see kids wear at the elite camps for practices) that is there to cover the ears and provide some cushioning. You would see a natural move towards self-protection in tackling and no longer using the helmet as a weapon. Teams are already moving towards rugby style tackles, and this move would further push that move. Concussions will always exist, but I think this would really reduce the volume quite a bit and also reduce other injuries as well.
LikeLike
If coaches insisted on tackling with proper technique and referees enforced the rules, we wouldn’t have near the concussion problems. Players who can’t or don’t play with proper safe fundamentals shouldn’t be on the field.
LikeLike
As counter-intuitive as that sounds, I think it’s a good idea.
Of course, one of the reason helmets started initially was because Von Gammon was killed on the field and the sport was almost outlawed then. So maybe it won’t work after all.
LikeLike
I see what the data shows, but I also see what is happening locally with my own eyes. (I also have some experience with concussions, so this will be a two part post.) My youngest decided at 14 to play 8th grade football, first time ever. There were 60 kids on the team. This is 8th grade only, remember, His school feeds a 6-A high school. the other teams we faced had similar numbers. I am very involved with high school sports locally, I don’t see a shortage of kids who want to play football.
Part two, with a nod to Debby B above:
My son, now known as “Tanglefoot” tripped on the track during summer practice (conditioning; no pads no helmet) and ended up with a severe concussion. Vomiting, blurred vision, migraines, the whole deal. We had it addressed, followed the protocol and he was cleared to play in the fall. The Doctor did tell us that he would be more susceptible to it moving forward. Since he had no experience and was competing against kids that had been playing for years, he didn’t get to play much. He decided not to play again for that reason. His second love is wrestling. He’s a freshman now, and improved enough to wrestle some varsity (of which I am inordinately proud).
Mid-December he starts complaining about headaches again. I told the coach, coach said “It’s up to you, but he’s really good.” I let him continue until he missed school with a migraine and at that time went back to the neurologist who diagnosed another concussion, although not as severe. His mother and I made the decision to stop him from wrestling based on the Doctor’s recommendation. Now I have a pissed off Cowpuppy and a semi-pissed off wrestling coach. What I’m getting at is: As a parent it’s a difficult decision and a no-brainer at the same time. I like to think and based on conversations with other parents in our circle that we are in the majority. We are not shy about letting our sons compete in contact sports if they choose to. We recognize the character benefits that come with them, and the risk. When the risk becomes too great, it’s time to stop. The trick to it is understanding that we are ultimately responsible for the well being of our children, not coaches or public opinion.
LikeLike
You can’t mess around with concussions. It sounds like you and your wife made the right decision for a young man who is pissed now will thank you. To that coach/PE teacher, tell him to go pound sand if he doesn’t like your decision.
LikeLike
Ahh, he’s OK. Just had his first kid and hasn’t seen it from where I sit. The The baseball coach is happy about it. Big,hard throwing lefties don’t grow on trees, especially ones with enough range to play center. Maybe I’ll get to watch him at Foley one day.
LikeLike
Based on the participation levels at my kids’ school, there won’t be a shortage of Redcoats.
LikeLike
Somebody’s got to toot the flute, Brother.
LikeLike
I think you’ll see a lot less well-to-do kids playing. But, as one of my african american buddies said to me as we were discussing this the other day: Athletes will always be trying to find ways out of poverty.
LikeLike
I think you coming at this decision tree from the wrong direction. Only lottery players(translate that a ill educated people)view sports as a way out of poverty. I think athletes will always want to compete. If you think your the best you want to play against the best.
LikeLike