IMO, it is taking longer than I though it would to get rid of football.

[jmowreader]

24. A few problems with your assessment

The biggest is Americans like everything about football, except the CTE. People like to play it, to watch it, to have it in their schools, and to sponsor it. You may as well say you thought apple pie and American Motherhood would be gone in five years.

Next problem: PLEASE tell me you don't think CTE is restricted to football. Any contact sport - soccer, basketball, hockey, boxing - produces it. I'd like to see some brain scans of tennis players; tennis is definitely a non contact sport, but all the hard running and sudden stops must cause the brain to impact the inside of its case. Football gets all the CTE press, but it's not the only CTE-generating sport.

We can cut down on the CTE without getting rid of football. One of the reasons I like Kam Chancellor (defenseman for the Seattle Seahawks) is the way he tackles - he uses his head by never hitting anyone with it. He hits with his shoulder, with his chest, with crossed arms, just about anything except his head. Kam will retire from football with very little CTE. (His victims will not be so lucky.)

The future of football is making head hits at the high school level too painful to do. Put another ref in the stands with high powered binoculars, and give him complete autonomy to judge head contact.

Team penalties:
First deliberate head hit: game ends and team forfeits
Second hit: additional one game suspension
Third hit: season ends

Individual penaltie, cumulative over four-year career:
First deliberate hit: one game suspension
Second hit: one full season suspension...if a school plays 10 games and Johnny commits spearing in week 7, he can't play until week 8 of next season
Third hit: loss of eligibility to play football in college