The NFL..... I think I am over it, are you?

[nil desperandum]

17. Concussion discussion

Sadly nothing will protect their heads. The more advanced the helmet the more likely a concussion will occur as players believe the helmet will protect them. The young men involved are completely unaware that nothing in the helmet stops their brain from sloshing around inside their skulls which is root cause of the concussion. Unless the helmet is designed to somehow decelerate the head inside the helmet at a rate different than the instant stop of impact this issue can't be fixed. Helmets of that nature would be outrageously expensive and not likely to permeate the youth market for decades if ever.

That's the real dirty secret, that better helmets of today still don't prevent a concussion and actually increase the likelihood of concussion as more players use the head as a weapon.

Rules against head to head contact offer a very limited benefit as many of these concussions are the instant stopping of the head against a leg, chest, or the ground. Rules to prevent that contact change the game completely and are unlikely to be implemented.

<sarc> But hey all those kids know the risks right? All the grown ups involved are honorable men and women and they are not exploiting those kids to keep high school or college coaching careers. No one would ever risk a kid's permanent health by ignoring any safety risks, after all if people were like that we'd need something like OSHA or the EPA to keep folks honest and we all know that we don't actually have to use those organizations to protect people those organizations are just window dressing....</sarc>