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Lesson Overview
Featured Article: “A Small Town Gave Up Tackle Football. It Came Storming Back.”
Brain trauma sustained in football (and other contact sports) is now linked to long-term cognitive impairment, including memory loss, confusion, depression and dementia. Today’s featured article, the second part in a New York Times series looking at the state of the game, explores how one community in Marshall, Texas, struggles with whether to allow 13-year-olds to play tackle football — reflecting a broader debate over the sport and who is left playing it.
In this lesson, you will explore your own opinions about the dangers of football and examine how one town in America is trying to make sense of the ongoing national debate around the sport and its safety. In the Going Further section, you will have several options for activities — from researching the science of head trauma to making the case for or against continuing tackle football programs at a future Marshall school board meeting.
Warm Up
For each of the following statements, state whether you strongly agree, agree, disagree or strongly disagree. Then, discuss with your classmates or explore in writing why you think the way you do. (Note to teacher: If you’re doing this in a classroom context, you might do it as a Four Corners activity.)
Participating in sports builds valuable skills for young people.
The risk of long-term brain damage for professional football players is very high.
The risk of long-term brain damage for youth football is very low.
If I were a parent, I would not let my 13-year old play tackle football.
Concerns about long-term brain damage would factor into my own decision to play tackle football.
Questions for Writing and Discussion
Read the article, then answer the following questions:
1. Why did James Harris, a retired doctor, bring a pickle jar filled with bright red Jell-O to a Marshall school board meeting? What point was he trying to demonstrate? How persuasive do you find his demonstration?
2. Why does Jake Griedl, the school district’s new athletic director, believe that youth football is safer today than it was five years ago when the board first banned tackle football for seventh graders? What other reasons factored into the school board’s unanimous decision to restore the program?
3. The author states that football is a “powerful cultural force” in Marshall. What evidence from the article supports this claim? Which virtues of football are extolled by Marshall residents, according to the article?
4. What factors are influencing youth football participation rates in Marshall? How do they reflect larger demographic trends across America? Why does Charles Jernigan, a pastor at a local church, believe that football is a “way out” for many children and families in Marshall?
5. What did you learn from the article? What was most memorable, provocative or surprising? Return to the warm-up activity: Did reading change your views on any of your earlier statements? If yes, why? Choose one statement and write about why you hold that view or why your view has changed.
6. What role does football play in your life, family or community? What do you think accounts for the sport’s appeal? Do you know anyone who plays football and has sustained a concussion or serious injury? Overall, do you believe the sport has had a positive, negative or neutral influence on your life and community? Why?
Going Further
Choose one or more of the following activities to go deeper into the issues explored by the article:
1) Analyze a graph.
The related article, “Inside Football’s Campaign to Save the Game,” presents several rich and thought-provoking graphs on the current state of youth football in America.
Look at the graph below — or one of the other graphs in the article — and answer the following questions:
What do you notice?
What do you wonder? What are you curious about that comes from what you notice in the graph?
What story does the graph tell about the current state of youth football? Write a catchy headline that captures its main idea. If your headline makes a claim, tell us what you noticed that supports your claim.
Based on the information in the graph and from the article, what do you think will be the state of football in five, 10 or 20 years? Will youth participation rates continue to decline? Do you think football will remain America’s most popular sport?
2) Research brain trauma and sports.
The brain trauma sustained in football and other contact sports is now linked to long-term cognitive impairment, including memory loss, confusion, depression and dementia. Although media coverage of concussions has focused on tackle football, these health issues are evident in many other sports like hockey, soccer, basketball, NASCAR, skiing, snowboarding and BMX freestyle, among others.
Sports-related concussions and head injuries have many layers of complexity, so you might want to focus on one area or question to research. Some possible questions to explore:
What is the impact of a single concussion? What is the long-term impact of brain trauma? What is the degenerative brain disease C.T.E.? What is the impact of concussions on youths? How do concussions affect athletes’ short- and long-term physical and mental health? What is the role of equipment in brain trauma? Can equipment reduce concussions or does it give players a false sense of security, therefore making the problem worse?
Some additional sources:
The Hall of Fame Speech You Didn’t Hear
A Football Player’s Descent Into Pain and Paranoia
Anatomy of a Traditional Football Helmet
Playing Tackle Football Before 12 Is Tied to Brain Problems Later
Concussions Can Occur in All Youth Sports
3) Write an opening statement to the Marshall School Board.
Imagine that you are testifying next year in order to help the Marshall school board decide whether to renew the tackle football program for seventh graders.
Determine your personal stance on the issue, and then make a case for or against allowing seventh graders to play tackle football. Whatever side you choose, consider how you can persuade people who passionately believe the opposite perspective.
For example, if you are in favor of continuing tackle football programs, how would you respond to parents like Joanie Billeaud, a pediatric nurse practitioner, who said “I see concussions in every sport. But football is designed to hit your head.” If you are against, how would you respond to Mr. Jernigan’s argument that football is a “way out” for many families?
Now write your opening statement to the school board. If you’re inspired, think of creative ways to persuade the board, such as bringing a pickle jar filled with bright red Jell-O like Mr. Harris did.
