Boys Will Be Boys

Trey Smith

I often scratch my head in regards to the parents of school-age children in our neighbor. Most of them have adopted the time-honored saying of "Boys will be boys." And so, when they are not in school, the young urchins go running about the neighborhood shooting each other with parent-approved "soft projectile" BB guns.

Not only do we have a bunch of miniature Rambos, but football is the sport of choice around here. Every other day or so, I see the two 8 year olds bedecked in shoulder pads coming home from practice.

I'm not a parent, but if I were, I don't think I would allow my children to play organized [American] football. Yes, I played football as a youth, but that was before health care professionals and researchers began to notice that the violence of football was not conducive to human health. That was long before people started to notice that football players regularly suffer concussions as a normal part of playing the game.

According to a recent story at CBS Sports,

A study of former NFL players finds they were unusually prone to dying from degenerative brain disease, the latest indication that repeated blows to the head may cause serious trouble later on.

The death rate from Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Lou Gehrig's disease combined was about three times what one would predict from the general population, researchers reported.

Prior research had suggested football players were unusually prone to those diseases, said lead researcher Everett Lehman of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which is part of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Most professional football players begin their sporting careers early. They start out playing peewee football, then graduate to their high school and college teams. The sport gets in their blood and they set their minds to advance in the game as far as their talent will allow.

While there is little question that the violence inherent in pro football is out of control, it may be just as bad when young kids play it. While youth don't hit each other as hard as NFL players, their bodies aren't as strong and tough either. What parent willingly would allow their progeny to face one concussion after another? Would you allow the other kids in the neighborhood to tie up your young son and repeatedly punch him in the head for fun?

Of course not! And yet, so many boys (and a few girls too) are allowed to lace up their shoes most days in the late summer and fall to participate in a sanctioned sport that encourages violence as a part of its most basic make-up.

Seems a bit crazy to me!