Sad News About John McNamee - Newcastle Evening Chronicle

[superfurryhibby]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Footballers are 3.5 times more likely to contract dementia, alzheimers or motor neurone than members of the general public so it's about more than 'luck of the draw'. Heading is already banned in U12 football and I'm pretty sure the SFA have banned heading in training the day before and the day after matches. Just because we like the game the way it is surely doesn't mean that we just adopt a 'them's the breaks' approach to a serious medical issue which could be effectively addressed by a change to the rules? If kids are growing up not heading the ball then the transition to a similar approach in the adult game would be pretty seamless.

Where would you draw the line?

Driving increases your chances of dying in a motor accident.

Smoking makes it more likely you will develop lung cancer/copd and heart disease.

Obesity is rife and places a huge strain on our NHS resources.

Football isn't a mandatory part of life, it's a sport with risk attached. No one is made to play, they choose to.

[He's here!]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Where would you draw the line?

Driving increases your chances of dying in a motor accident.

Smoking makes it more likely you will develop lung cancer/copd and heart disease.

Obesity is rife and places a huge strain on our NHS resources.

Football isn't a mandatory part of life, it's a sport with risk attached. No one is made to play, they choose to.

But playing football, or taking part in sport/physical activity is not comparable to taking up a lung-cancer inducing habit or living off fast food and drinking too much. It's one of the best things you can do to reduce a whole range of health conditions. With the knowledge we now have, I can't see what's wrong with any sport's governing body making every effort to reduce head injury risk, be that the introduction of protective headgear or, in football's case, phasing heading out of the game. Developing a devastating condition like dementia or alzheimer's as a result of taking part in sport is very different to picking up a physical injury you can make a full recovery from. Those sort of injuries should be the only risks attached to sport, not the loss of cognitive functioning.