About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

48 U. Mich. J. L. Reform Caveat 1 (2014-2015)

handle is hein.journals/caveat48 and id is 1 raw text is: UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGANJOURNAL of LAW REFORM CAVEAT FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME: THE CASE FOR STATE BANS ON YOUTH TACKLE FOOTBALL Adam Bulkley* INTRODUCTION This football season, millions of Americans enjoying their favorite pastime might feel pangs of a guilty conscience. Years of scientific research into the long-term neurological effects of tackle football and a recent settlement between the National Football League (NFL) and thousands of retired NFL players' have made football-related traumatic brain injuries (TBI) a topic of national conversation. Current and former NFL players and even President Obama3 have participated in the conversation, saying that they would hesitate to let their sons play the game for fear of possible brain injury. Because research has uncovered signs of permanent brain damage in players as young as eighteen-years-old, and has suggested that everyday subconcussive blows4 during football * J.D. Candidate, May 2015, University of Michigan Law School. 1. Gary Mihoces, NFL Reaches Concussion Settlement, USA TODAY (Aug. 29, 2013, 7:08 PM), http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2013/08/29/nfl-concussion-settlement- judge-anita-brody-tony-dorsett-jim-mcmahon-junior-seau/2727483/. 2. See, e.g., Brian McIntyre, Tery Bradshaw Wouldn't Let Son Play Football Now, NFL.COM, (Jun. 14, 2012, 12:40 PM), http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d829d33b9/article/terry-bradshaw-wouldnt-let- son-play-football-now; Gary Myers, NY Jets Linebacker Bart Scott Does Not Want Son to Play Football as NFL Continues to Battle with Concussion Issue, N.Y. DAILY NEWs (May 26, 2012, 2:13 PM), http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/ny-jets-linebacker-bart-scott-son- play-football-nfl-continues-battle-concussion-issue-article-1. 1085074. 3. Franklin Foer & Chris Hughes, Barack Obama Is Not Pleased: The President on his Enemies, the Media, and the Future of Football, NEW REPUBLIC (Jan. 27, 2013), http://www.newrepublic.com/article/ 112190/obama-interview-2013-sit-down-president. 4. Subconcussive blows are those that do not produce clinically-observable signs of concussion, but nonetheless result in neurocognitive and neurophysiological impairments. See Thomas M. Talavage et al., Functionally-Detected Impairment in High School Football Players without Clinically-Diagnosed Concussion, 31J. NEUROTRAUMA 327, 328 (2014). 1

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most