New York Considers Banning Youth Tackle Football

Lawmakers met in New York City this week to discuss legislation that would prevent youth under the age of 12 from playing tackle football in the state of New York. This discussion began in 2017 when Bronx Assemblyman Michael Benedetto introduced legislation that would prohibit children under the age of 13 from playing tackle football. However, that original bill failed to gain traction.

"All of these hits, they don't necessarily cause concussions and usually do not. But all of these hits causes mass accumulation of blows to the head that damage the development of the brain," Benedetto said at the time of his original legislation.

According to USA Today, this discussion is taking place once again after Boston University School of Medicine released a study that says the longer a person plays tackle football, the more likely they are to experience the neurodegenerative disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). This study revealed that 223 out of 266 former football players had CTE, and the possibility of developing the disease increased by 30 percent each year that the individual played football.

However, youth football advocates believe that this proposed legislation is not taking into account the changes that are being made to create a safer environment for football players. Scott Halenbeck, CEO of USA Football, even highlighted the mandatory certification programs for coaches that teach proper tackling techniques. Additionally, there have been a number of rule changes to prevent certain types of tackling, such as leading with the helmet.

Finally, youth football advocates are pointing out that there is no proposed legislation to regulate the other sports that also carry the risk of concussions. Specifically, both gymnastics and soccer have this risk, but they are not the subject of any proposed changes.

"While a lot of attention has been focused on concussions in football, there's not been a corresponding level of concerns for head injuries in other sports," Robert Zayas, executive director of the state's High School Athletic Association, said during the hearing on Tuesday.

Currently, no decisions have been made about the proposed bill, but the lawmakers will meet again in January to discuss the legislation. Holding the hearing on Tuesday provided them with more information to consider while deciding the future of youth tackle football.

With the future uncertain for youth football, the advocates of the sport have taken the matter into their own hands. One individual even created a petition on Change.org that has the goal of stopping this ban on tackle football. The goal is to get 7,500 signatures.

(Photo Credit: Martin Leitch/Icon Sportswire/Getty)