To Play or Not to Play

I was watching Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN while I was getting ready for work this morning and they were talking about the ongoing debate about the safety of football.  In a recent interview with The New Republic magazine President Obama said, "I'm a big football fan, but I have to tell you if I had a son, I'd have to think long and hard before I let him play football."  This has prompted more debate about the safety of football in general and youth football in particular.  Are parents neglectful or even abusive for allowing their young sons (and sometimes daughters) to play football?  One of my recent posts was critical of parents for allowing their young children to participate in MMA, so I can certainly understand why people are concerned.  The difference I guess is that I am more comfortable with football.  Before you ask, I do feel slightly hypocritical right now as well, football, MMA, figure skating, cheerleading, baseball, track, all sports have the  potential danger of injury.  I guess before I criticized MMA I should have rethought my own sports parenting choices.

Moose has been playing football since he was 6 years old.  He was so little when he started that his team didn't have game pants small enough for him, they had to duct tape his game pants on so they would stay up.  He wasn't the only one in that position, there were several duct taped football players on that team.  He has played every year since then.  He played in middle school, high school, and now college.  Has he been hurt?  Yes he has, but never very seriously until the collegiate level.  As a young player he had some bumps and bruises; nothing significant.  His senior year of high school he missed a couple of weeks with a dislocated kneecap.  It killed him to sit out, and it was preseason games at that point.  The worst injury he has sustained playing football was a torn rotator cuff at the beginning of his sophomore year.  It happened at the beginning of the season, before games had started, and took him out for the year. 

Peter Pan played high school football too.  He had a broken arm, broken collar bone and a concussion that I know of.  So he most definitely knew the risks of playing football.  He shared those with me.  We have held our breath through 15 seasons of football, knowing the potential risks, knowing our son loves what he is doing.  Most of all I know that if Moose were offered the opportunity to play professionally he would jump at it, knowing the risks, accepting them.  I think most football players and their parents would agree.  Is it a dangerous sport?  It can be.  Have there been some really devastating injuries to players?  Absolutely!

Here is the real truth.  If you play sports, any sport, injuries aren't an "if" but a "when".  All sports have injuries.  Moose has been hurt as seriously playing basketball as he has been playing football, including his only concussion.  He also broke some bones in his back and hand playing basketball and I am sure his high school trainer will attest that she saw him more during basketball than football.  Belle has had at least 3 stress fractures (foot, back and tibia) from skating and running.  She has also had a concussion from skating- and no she wasn't doing pairs at the time.  We allowed her to pursue that seemingly dangerous pursuit and she had a couple of bumps and bruises, but nothing serious.  She has had some terrible falls while skating all by herself, and usually while doing some sort of footwork not jumping.  Cheerleading, soccer, basketball, baseball, tennis, golf just to mention a few.  They all have injuries associated with them.  Parents still choose them.  So if the question is to play or not to play football because your child might get hurt, then maybe no sport is right for your child.