NYT: Soccer Causes Brain Trauma

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/27/sports/soccer/researchers-find-brain-trauma-disease-in-a-soccer-player.html?ref=sports

 

How long before they just outlaw all sports?

 

A long, long time. Probably never.

 

I blame kickball.

 

“The cold, hard reality is that the data don’t exist to address that question,” said Dr. Michael L. Lipton, a neuroscientist and neuroradiologist at Yeshiva University’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine, who studies the effects of heading. “We’re really in very much uncharted territory. So what should I do with my kid? That basically becomes the kind of risk-benefit assessment we have to make all the time in life.”


Overall, an interesting read, but this quote is key. It shows just how misleading Boom's thread title is. The article cites exactly ONE case where CTE was conclusively found in a soccer player.

Also, where are the interviews with soccer coaches or players? I guess they didn't fit the picture the writer wanted, though if you can't find a coach willing to express concern about the long-term impact of heading the ball, you really didn't try hard at all.

I know a long-time high school girls soccer coach who played in college. He said a doctor told him his brain "looks like a football player's." He isn't sure how many concussions he has suffered, but he believes repeated blows from heading the ball also contributed to his troubles. He battles headaches and memory loss and sat out an entire year as a coach and teacher recently due to lingering issues from his latest concussion. He compared it to a young pitcher's arm, saying that you have to put strict limits on how much you practice headers. He also trains his players to help watch for signs of concussion in their teammates.

I'm not sure I buy that comparison, but some of his ideas in dealing with concussion are sound. I especially like the idea of enlisting the athletes, and possibly the parents, in looking for signs of injury.

I really do believe this is a legitimate concern. It is probably worth at least a discussion of banning headers in the sport, at least at the youth levels. But do it with better research and without misrepresenting what information is there.

 

There is enough anecdotal evidence to ban heading at all levels of the sport.
Soccer needs to get with the times. I mean if MLB can ban collisions
at the plate.

 

Read the quote above, Boom. The expert who has been studying the subject even said the research needs to be done. That quote alone is strong ammunition for those who might oppose a ban on heading.

Where is all this anecdotal evidence you cite? There certainly wasn't enough of it in the story you linked and I say that as somebody who argues constantly for better protection of athletes from concussions.

 

It's the right thing to do. You're talking about the brain. Why take the chance?
The "header" is not that important to the game.
If soccer wants to send a message they should start with a ban at The World Cup.

 

I'd be 100 percent in favor of banning soccer.

Not because of this, though.

 

A kid from our coverage area, an all-state player who likely could have played at a Division I college, had to miss his senior season because of concussions suffered while playing soccer. He too would get headaches, suffer memory loss and was very sensitive to light.

He spoke at the state house on whether high schools were doing enough to prevent, or at least warn players of the warning signs of, concussions. A few months later, new legislation was passed.

He still can't play and continues to suffer the effects.

 

There is far more research pointing to this kind of damage from playing football. I guess you want to ban that, too. After all, it's the brain. Why take a chance?

Or, you could do it the right way and call for the proper research to be done and have that evidence to present as you call for a ban on heading, which would still allow an altered version of soccer to continue.

It's a fundamental change to the game. No way in hell is your "hey, why take chances?!" approach going to work.