This Neuroscientist Says Kids Shouldn't Play Tackle Football Until Turning 14
He's also a former WWE wrestler.
A neuroscientist and CTE advocate (oh, and former WWE superstar), Christopher Nowinski, dedicates his social media presence to try and educate kids and parents about the dangers of concussions, particularly when it comes to playing youth football. He says that most youth football coaches don’t know the first thing about coaching football at all.
He also says that the average youth football coach knows little to nothing about concussions or chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a brain disease likely caused by repeated head injuries.
In a now-viral video, Nowinski stitches a clip of young football players being taught to “not be soft.”
How are they doing this, you ask? Well, by throwing giant tackle props at them right in their head, of course!
After the football clips, Nowinski comes onto the screen to give a little food for thought to parents who might have their kids in youth tackle football or are contemplating signing their kids to join a league.
“Would you be surprised to learn that the average youth football coach has never received training on how to coach football? Or how to diagnose a concussion?” he asks before he drops a huge bomb that several youth football coaches don’t even believe in CTE!
He concludes, “If you want to keep your child’s brain safer, choose flag football under 14.”
In a similar video, Nowinski points out that while the National Football League has recognized CTE as a very real thing, not a single youth football organization in the country will admit it.
“...because they want your kid to sign up as early as possible. Don't let them damage your child's brain while it is going through important windows of development,” he wrote in the caption.
Nowinski founded The Concussion Legacy Foundation alongside Robert Cantu, M.D, while seeking treatment for the Post-Concussion Syndrome (PCS), which he developed from a concussion suffered during his career as a professional wrestler with WWE.
According to the foundation’s website, “Dr. Cantu changed everything Nowinski knew about concussions. As both a college and professional athlete, Nowinski had never learned the signs and symptoms of a concussion. He did not know how to recognize or report them during his football career at Harvard University. He didn’t know the value of resting after a concussion, nor was he warned of the long-term effects from injury, or repetitive head impacts. Nowinski decided to bring the information Dr. Cantu taught him into the public eye and set a goal to change how concussions were understood and handled in sports.”
Nowinski advocates for kids to participate in flag football if they or their parents are really wanting their kid to get into football because the effects of CTE can be catastrophic. In people who were confirmed to have CTE at autopsy, symptoms have included cognitive, behavioral, mood and movement changes.
According to Mayo Clinic, experts also believe that CTE symptoms appear in two forms. In early life, between the late 20s and early 30s, the first form of CTE may cause mental health and behavioral issues. Symptoms of this form include depression, anxiety, impulsive behavior and aggression. The second form of CTE is thought to cause symptoms later in life, around age 60. These symptoms include trouble with memory and thinking that is likely to progress to dementia.
