American football is a popular kind of sport in the United States, but it does not mean that it is free from any disadvantages. A severe issue refers to the fact that professional players are often subject to health problems, which deteriorates the quality of their lives. These adverse consequences explain the presence of critics and experts who claim that football should be banned to protect public health.
The idea above is not new, and multiple scientific studies address it. Thus, the given annotated bibliography will cover four sources that present useful data regarding the issue under consideration. These sources include one book, one newspaper article, one scholarly journal article, and one magazine article. The given studies offer credible and reliable evidence regarding the negative effect of American football on professional players’ health and well-being.
The authors include employees of the University of South Florida and the University of South Carolina. Chapter 1 of the book discusses the relation between American football and brain injuries from a historical perspective. According to the researchers, this sport was dangerous for its first players, resulting in many head and neck injuries. Furthermore, Bell et al. offer statistical evidence and credible citations to demonstrate that football fatalities were typical in the 20th century (6). The authors inform readers that the National Football League (NFL) has implemented multiple rule changes to make this sport less dangerous, but they will hardly cope with this task.
Bry is a regular contributor to The Guardian, who has written many articles on different topics, and the dangerous nature of football is among them. The author begins by describing how brain injuries develop to highlight that no protective equipment can help players escape severe harm and tries to persuade that football should be abolished. Bry offers opposing arguments, stating that individuals voluntarily involve in this activity, which denotes that they accept possible risks. However, the scientist shows that the gambling industry and fans have turned football in a famous entertainment, which subjects its participants to potential danger. Bry concludes that eliminating the helmets would make this sport safer, but it will not happen.
A cohort of experienced and professional researchers has written this scholarly article. It represents analyzed data of 202 deceased football players from a brain donation program. The authors aim to identify whether there is a connection between playing American football and the development of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The obtained results allowed the authors to conclude that CTE pathology is related to participation in American football. Furthermore, Mez et al. offer more than 30 scientific references to inform the intended audience about other harmful effects of this sport on athletes. The presence of statistical data and reliable sources eliminate the necessity to consider opposing arguments.
The author of this current magazine article shows that American football is dangerous because it results in many health issues. In addition to CTE, this kind of sport leads to depression, cognitive impairment, and other damage types. Simultaneously, Wetsman presents an opposing point of view, stating that there is insufficient scientific evidence to claim that American football should be banned. Even though the scientist does not offer a univocal claim to justify the abolishment of this kind of sport, the provided evidence is sufficient to prevent kids and youngsters from playing it. This thought demonstrates that this objective information is intended for the general audience to inform them of possible dangers.
Works Cited
Bell, Travis. R., et al. CTE, Media, and the NFL: Framing a Public Health Crisis as a Football Epidemic. Rowman & Littlefield, 2019.
Bry, Dave. “American Football Is Too Dangerous, and It Should Be Abolished.” The Guardian, 2016, Web.
Mez, Jesse, et al. “Clinicopathological Evaluation of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in Players of American Football.” JAMA, vol. 318, no. 4, 2017, pp. 360-370.
Wetsman, Nicole. “We Have no Idea How Dangerous Football Really Is.” Popular Science, 2020, Web.