Helmet-to-helmet collision

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Two helmets colliding in the 108th annual Army-Navy football game in 2007 US Navy 071201-N-6463B-543 Navy Quarter Back Troy Gross (14) gets sacked by a blitzing Army defender at the 108th annual Army vs. Navy football game at M^T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, MD.jpg
Two helmets colliding in the 108th annual Army-Navy football game in 2007

Helmet-to-helmet collisions are occurrences in gridiron football when two players' football helmets make head-to-head contact with a high degree of force. Intentionally causing a helmet-to-helmet collision is a penalty in most football leagues, including many high school leagues. [1]

Contents

Despite its long association with American football, this type of contact is now considered to be dangerous play by league authorities due to the potential of causing serious injury. Major football leagues, such as the National Football League (NFL), Canadian Football League (CFL), and NCAA, have taken a tougher stance on helmet-to-helmet collisions after the US Congress launched an investigation into the effects repeated concussions have on football players and the new discoveries of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). [2] Other possible injuries include head traumas, spinal cord injuries, and even death. Helmet manufacturers are constantly improving their designs in order to best protect their users against injuries from such collisions. [3]

The crackdown on helmet-to-helmet collisions has resulted in reappraisals of the sport. An image of two helmets smashing together—which had been a staple for 20 years—was dropped in 2006 from Monday Night Football on ESPN. The NFL also ordered Toyota Motor Company to stop using a similar helmet collision in its advertisements. [4]

Rules by league

Opposition to helmet-to-helmet collision bans

Despite the safety concerns, in 2010, some professional football players criticized bans on helmet-to-helmet collisions on the basis that gridiron football is a game that is supposed to be composed of the world's biggest and best athletes, and placing such restrictions "waters down" the game. [13]

The NHL is also fighting the narrative that concussions cause CTE. [14]

Effects

Helmet-to-helmet collisions can cause major problems on and off the field. The main effect of helmet to helmet collisions is concussions. There are about 3.8 million sports related concussions in the United States every year, but up to half of them are not reported. [15] Experiencing a concussion increases one's likelihood of getting another. [16] Head-to-head collisions and resulting concussions may occur in a variety of sports, including football, hockey and lacrosse. [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

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In basketball, a technical foul is any infraction of the rules penalized as a foul which does not involve physical contact during the course of play between opposing players on the court, or is a foul by a non-player. The most common technical foul is for unsportsmanlike conduct. Technical fouls can be assessed against players, bench personnel, the entire team, or even the crowd. These fouls, and their penalties, are more serious than a personal foul, but not necessarily as serious as a flagrant foul.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Nowinski</span> American neuroscientist and professional wrestler

Christopher John Nowinski is an American neuroscientist, author and retired professional wrestler. After extensively researching concussions in American football, Nowinski co-founded the Concussion Legacy Foundation, where he is currently CEO and co-founded Boston University's CTE Center. As a professional wrestler, he is best known for his tenure with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) under the ring name Chris Harvard and later under his real name.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flagrant foul</span> Basketball foul for excessive or violent contact

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unsportsmanlike conduct</span> Penalty or foul caused by poor behavior by an athletic participant

Unsportsmanlike conduct is a foul or offense in many sports that violates the sport's generally accepted rules of sportsmanship and participant conduct. Examples include verbal abuse, taunting of an opponent or a game official, an excessive celebration following a significant play, or feigning injury. The official rules of many sports include a general provision whereby participants or an entire team may be penalized or otherwise sanctioned for unsportsmanlike conduct.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">High school football</span> Secondary school competition in gridiron football

High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, partly due to risk of injury, particularly concussions. According to The Washington Post, between 2009 and 2019, participation in high school football declined by 9.1%. It is the basic level or step of tackle football.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penalty (gridiron football)</span> Penalty in American football

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In American football, an unfair act is a foul that can be called when a player or team commits a flagrant and obviously illegal act that has a major impact on the game, and from which, if additional penalties were not enforced, the offending team would gain an advantage.

Concussions and play-related head blows in American football have been shown to be the cause of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which has led to player deaths and other debilitating symptoms after retirement, including memory loss, depression, anxiety, headaches, stress, and sleep disturbances.

Most documented cases of chronic traumatic encephalopathy have occurred in many athletes involved in contact sports such as boxing, American football, wrestling, ice hockey, mixed martial arts, rugby and soccer. Other risk factors include being in the military, prior domestic violence, and repeated banging of the head. The exact amount of trauma required for the condition to occur is unknown. Below is a list of notable cases of CTE in sports.

References

  1. "High School Football Rules Changes Continue Focus on Risk Minimization". www.nfhs.org. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  2. Gill, Sam (October 27, 2010). "Helmet-to-helmet hypocrisy: NFL, NCAA blame football players - when the problem is football programs". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on July 11, 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
  3. Garrett, Melanie (December 2010). Under His Helmet: A Football Devotional. Tate. p. 23. ISBN   9781617391743.
  4. 1 2 Thomas, Katie (October 21, 2010). "N.F.L.'s Policy on Helmet-to-Helmet Hits Makes Highlights Distasteful". New York Times. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  5. Bucholtz, Andrew. "Concussions: the CFL's rules and the impact on defensive players". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
  6. Nowinski, Christopher (September 2006). Head games: football's concussion crisis from the NFL to youth leagues. Chris Nowinski. pp. 104–05. ISBN   9781597630139.
  7. "Replay officials given greater input on targeting penalty calls next season". 8 March 2016.
  8. "College football's rules committee to consider middle ground on targeting calls". Usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  9. "NFL Rules & Regulations for Helmet to Helmet". SportsRec. Retrieved 2021-12-02.
  10. D'Andrea, Christian (March 28, 2017). "NFL officials just OK'd a rule that brings the NCAA's 'targeting' calls to the big leagues". SBNation.com. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  11. Klemko, Robert (December 13, 2011). "Steelers LB James Harrison suspended one game". USA Today. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
  12. Austro, Ben (June 16, 2021). "Official Playing Rules of the National Football League" (PDF). NFL.
  13. Gregory, Sean (Oct 22, 2010). "Can Football Finally Tackle Its Injury Problem?". Time Magazine. Archived from the original on October 24, 2010. Retrieved December 13, 2011.
  14. "The Tragic Post-Hockey Life of an NHL 'Enforcer'". 25 April 2019.
  15. Harmon, Kimberly G.; Drezner, Jonathan; Gammons, Matthew; Guskiewicz, Kevin; Halstead, Mark; Herring, Stan; Kutcher, Jeff; Pana, Andrea; Putukian, Margot; Roberts, William (January 2013). "American Medical Society for Sports Medicine Position Statement". Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine. 23 (1): 1–18. doi: 10.1097/jsm.0b013e31827f5f93 . PMID   23269325. S2CID   52717.
  16. "HEADS UP Concussion in Youth Sports: Online Training Transcript" (PDF). CDC . Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  17. Gruson, Damien (September 2014). "Football, concussions and biomarkers: Ready for more touchdowns?". Clinical Biochemistry. 47 (13–14): 1345–1346. doi:10.1016/j.clinbiochem.2014.04.085. PMID   24915633.