Sports

Would You Let Your Kids Play Football?

With Hall of Fame football player Junior Seau being the most recent former football player diagnosed with a degenerative brain disease connected to football, are you less likely to let you kid play football?

It's always been known that football, like any contact sport, has certain physical risks.

But more evidence is pointing to the risks going beyond broken bones and torn ligaments.

It was reported this week that Junior Seau, the Hall Fame linebacker, who committed suicide last summer suffered from degenerative brain disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

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Seau shot himself in the chest, as did former football player Dave Duerson in 2011. Duerson shot himself in the chest because he wanted his brain examined. It was later determined he suffered from CTE.

Earlier this week, the National Institute of Health launched a study of sports-related concussions among youth, amid concerns that the injuries may have contributed to the suicides of professional football players.

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With the recent uptick it what appears to be football-related deaths, are you more hesitant to allow your kids to play football? Are the risks outweighed by the possible life lessons some can learn from playing the sport? Tell us in the comments section.


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