When Football Is a Ticket to College

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/22/opinion/letters/football-college-brain-damage.html

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To the Editor:

Re “The Kids Who Still Need Football,” by Albert Samaha (Sunday Review, Sept. 9):

As a physician, a parent and a citizen, I was disheartened by this article. What a tragedy it is in this day and age when two bright young students and many others have to risk brain damage as a ticket to college rather than using their brains to carry them to success.

Studies have shown that the earlier that children are exposed to tackle football, the greater the risk of the brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or C.T.E.

Football is a deep part of our culture, but every school system and youth league should require every parent and student athlete to attend a session on the risks of football and the future effects of C.T.E.

I also encourage every parent and athlete to see the movie “Concussion,” the true story of Dr. Bennet Omalu, who fought against the National Football League to expose the risks of C.T.E. for the players. It is a riveting account of the dangers of football.

As a society, we must do better to help our children get an education without putting their futures at risk.

Kenneth OlshanskyGlen Allen, Va.

To the Editor:

More anti-football blathering by The Times. Reality, as always, is more complicated. The fact remains that football has been played by tens of millions of boys and men over the last hundred years or so, and the vast majority have gone on to live full, healthy and productive lives. Yet reporting is typically narrowly focused on long-term National Football League players who tragically suffer from health issues.

Many men in varied professions have played football, loved it and attribute playing the game to the success they’ve had later in life. Why don’t we ever hear these stories?

Of course, it is also true that football is dangerous, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy is real. Much is already being done, including numerous rule changes and concussion protocol programs, to make the game safer. Indeed, it is dramatically safer now than it was even five years ago, yet more can and should be done. It’s a game worth saving.

Rich BurkeAlexandria, Va.

To the Editor:

Albert Samaha’s critique of educational inequality is compelling, but his argument that football and accompanying scholarships can be a rational choice for children of color is dangerously shortsighted.

In the largest study to date, chronic traumatic encephalopathy was found in 90 percent of college football players whose brains were examined. (Yes, the sample size was small, and there was selection bias, but how many college presidents would take a job where there is an excellent chance they would suffer dementia by 50?)

Ironically, most schools with football programs also maintain tobacco-free campuses, yet football’s risks are as clear as tobacco’s — and those risks are borne disproportionately by blacks.

David R. DowHoustonThe writer teaches at Rice University and the University of Houston Law Center.