Sports

Dangerous Game: Is Football too Dangerous for Kids?

Former NFL legend Brett Favre says he'd "be real leery" of letting his own son play football.

By Gideon Rubin

If you’re the parent of a local youth football player, know this: Your child is participating in a sport a former NFL great wouldn't want his son to have any part of.

NFL legend Brett Favre has joined the chorus of voices questioning the safety of a sport that’s come under increased scrutiny amid revelations of long term adverse health ramifications that include brain damage.

Find out what's happening in Foster Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Favre said in an interview with Matt Lauer on TODAY that if he had a son he’d be hesitant to let him play.

TODAY on Sunday released excerpts of an interview that will broadcast in full on Monday.

Find out what's happening in Foster Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Favre cited the risk of injury and the pressures his son would face as the son of a future Hall of Famer.

Favre was speaking hypothetically. He has two daughters and no sons.

"I would be real leery of him playing" football. "In some respects, I'm almost glad I don't have a son because of the pressures he would face. Also the physical toll that it could possibly take on him, not to mention if he never made it, he's gonna be a failure in everyone's eyes. But more the physical toll that it could take."

Favre, 44, has already acknowledged publicly that he’s experiencing “scary” memory loss issues he believes to be the result of the physical toll of playing 20 season in the NFL.

His concerns about the dangers of football are supported by a mountain of evidence that shows the sport is much more dangerous than was commonly thought.

Concerns about the dangers of football have triggered a precipitous drop in youth football enrollment. ESPN reports that Pop Warner, the nation’s largest youth football program, has seen a 9.5 percent decline in enrollment.

A high school football player in Arizona died last week from traumatic brain injury, ESPN reports.

Charles Youvella, was a senior running back at Hopi High on the Hopi Indian Reservation in north-eastern Arizona.

He died two days after suffering brain injuries during his team’s 60-6 playoff loss to Arizona Lutheran Academy on Nov. 9.

He is the second high school football player this month to die from football related injuries.

Chad Stover, a 17-year-old who played for Tipton High (Tipton, Mo.), died two weeks after suffering brain injuries during an Oct. 31 playoff game.

Are you the parent who’s concerned about the dangers of youth football? Share your thoughts in our comments section.



Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here