Share this Twitter Myspace Digg Del.icio.us Reddit Slashdot Furl Yahoo Technorati Newsvine Facebook Export PDF Print E-mail

Health issues surrounding former NFL players are in the news right now because of player visibility in the media.The real issue surrounding the future of football lies in the origin of the brain injuries themselves. Catastrophic injury is not that common, however brain injury doesn't have to be catastrophic to cause all of the problems that we're hearing about later in life. Because these injuries are not always noticeable when they occur, and because the effects are cumulative over time, the future of football could very well be in jeopardy. Young people are more susceptible to brain injuries than adults because the brain and the protective tissues around it are not fully formed. Thus, even mild injuries to youth players can start the long-term process of degeneration. As Mr. Weiner has noted this is an issue that will likely be settled by the insurance companies.