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Published Friday, November 06, 2009 in Opinion

Football helmet object of controversy

Football is one of the great spectator sports known to man and, according to participants, is a joy and thrill to play, but it is a rough sport.

Recently, there has been much discussion on the heavily re-enforced helmet inflicting serious injury when used as a battering ram against another player. Like many other old fans, I marvel at the remarkable improvement in equipment for the protection of players.

Long ago, helmets were so soft and penetrable, about the only thing they did for the player was to hold his hair in place. As a small boy, watching from the stands, I recall one running back who seemed to be "knocked out" of the game about every other week. The coach assigned two tall, hefty young men the task of walking the dazed player up and down the sidelines until his head cleared.

I remember hearing fans around me saying, "Well, there they go!"

And then add, "Even though those boys warm the bench a lot, coach ought to give them a letter. They've seen as much action as the player they carry up and down the sidelines all season." Unfortunately, despite all that's done to prevent them, serious injuries do occur on the gridiron now, but I found it interesting to learn there are more head injuries in cycling than football.

Rugby is a dangerous sport. No protective equipment is used, but has lower rates of injury. Players do not use their unprotected heads to ram someone else.

When we lived in Athens, I knew an outstanding young physician in one of the hospitals who was an avid Rugby player. I walked out with him to the parking lot late one afternoon. When he drove away, I read his bumper sticker: "Give Blood. Play Rugby."

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