Bruce Arians: People who say they won't let their kids play football 'are fools'

[Chopper0080]

Parents who let their single-digit kids play tackle football are terrible parents. Some tackle football team has practice at the fields by my house, and whenever I walk the dog by there, I just shake my head.

There's nothing your kid is going to get in tackle football that they wouldn't get in flag football. Tackle football is a sport that is not designed for kids in the single-digits to play.

Little kids can't give informed consent about getting their brains beaten in.

LOL. I just had this conversation with my son. I said that there is plenty of time for him to play tackle football, and if he can run, learn, and think, it is never too late to learn the rest.

Also, for those who say that it is important to learn how to tackle appropriately at a young age, that is bull. Young boys struggle with nuance and details when they are young. Expecting them to understand the nuance and importance of form tackling is unrealistic. Some will and some won't. But the older they get, the faster they will be able to pick it up.

As a former coach, there is a way to make youth tackle football fun and safe, but it takes a special coach and a special group of parents to do so. I'm not willing to trust my children's safety in the hands of "tough guy" youth coach or in leagues where they allow 5th grader to compete vs 3rd graders which is what we have where I live.

 

[RON_IN_OC]

I think the bigger problem is the coaching that kids get, in general. A lot of coaches are either unprepared, or do not care about teaching proper technique. Honest question...have any rugby players been diagnosed with CTE, or is it even an issue with the sport?

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

 

[Mitch]

Good Perspectives from Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless

Both understand BA's passion for the game, but said he took his language a little too far.

 

[Southpaw]

Why? How come Arians isn't allowed to have an opinion on things? Just because it differs from yours, or what others think, he should shut up?

I love it when people speak their minds. What I hate is when somebody speaks their mind and then the PC police, or whoever, jumps in and then they retract or apologize for how they feel.

He can say whatever he wants, but some might consider him to be overloaded with self interest and be practicing job justification. NFL will not run out of gladiators for quite awhile. Why he felt the need to voice his opinion on the subject escapes me.

My son started playing his first round of tackle football as a freshman in HS. I always promoted Basketball, but the lure of football was what snatched his attention. Fortunately his playing days of T F ended with his last game of HS ball. He played both HS BB and HS FB, for 4 years but the FB bug distracted most of his attention from BB.

I played all of the sports, including H S tackle football, and at my age really feel the repercussions. We were the crazy assed kids who pre H S would paly tackle football in shorts and tee shirts. Never got hurt. I have had at least 3 concussions but oddly none from football ( that I know of ). One of those concussions ended my participation in 3 meter diving. That was my first and they came much more easily after that one.

Today I would do everything in my power to discourage anyone from tackle football.

 

[kerouac9]

If you're on the same side as an argument as Skip and Stephen A., you should probably re-consider you POV.

 

[conraddobler]

Kids can't hit hard enough to do a lot of damage at the younger ages as they get older and the hits get harder yes.

So if you send your kid out to play a sport they are brand new at and another kids been playing it for 10 years that's probably where the injury chance is going to go way up, FOR YOUR KID.

You can get hurt doing just about anything given enough chances at it.

Life isn't safe this idea that safety is the ultimate goal in life is not true if it were true we'd never drive cars or climb mountains or do really anything.

People are wusses no wonder we're going to get our asses kicked in the next war. I've never seen a more wussified set of people in my life wearing bike helmets it's a damn disgrace.

Blah blah blah I know it's safer this way or that. Try to impress a woman sometimes with your safety prowess it's real sexy they love that. Insert face palm here.

Learn to ride a bike on a gravel road with no helmet if you fail you'll be digging gravel out of your knees for weeks it helps promote faster learning and proper fear of being a jackass.

Now once you get to the high school, college and pro levels things get progressively more dangerous.

They could fix a lot of problems instantly if they wanted to by switching to a kind of Kevlar padded uniform banning all hard plastics.

A good deal of the issue stems from concussive forces present in hard plastics and why a sport that has a problem with concussive forces uses ANY hard plastics in this modern age is well beyond me.

You'd be better off playing rugby where there are no plastic helmets or pads then only your ears and nose would get torn off.

When you put a hard plastic helmet on it becomes a weapon but take it off and you might not lead with your head the same way.

 

[Covert Rain]

Kids can't hit hard enough to do a lot of damage at the younger ages as they get older and the hits get harder yes.

So if you send your kid out to play a sport they are brand new at and another kids been playing it for 10 years that's probably where the injury chance is going to go way up, FOR YOUR KID.

You can get hurt doing just about anything given enough chances at it.

Life isn't safe this idea that safety is the ultimate goal in life is not true if it were true we'd never drive cars or climb mountains or do really anything.

People are wusses no wonder we're going to get our asses kicked in the next war. I've never seen a more wussified set of people in my life wearing bike helmets it's a damn disgrace.

Blah blah blah I know it's safer this way or that. Try to impress a woman sometimes with your safety prowess it's real sexy they love that. Insert face palm here.

Learn to ride a bike on a gravel road with no helmet if you fail you'll be digging gravel out of your knees for weeks it helps promote faster learning and proper fear of being a jackass.

Now once you get to the high school, college and pro levels things get progressively more dangerous.

They could fix a lot of problems instantly if they wanted to by switching to a kind of Kevlar padded uniform banning all hard plastics.

A good deal of the issue stems from concussive forces present in hard plastics and why a sport that has a problem with concussive forces uses ANY hard plastics in this modern age is well beyond me.

You'd be better off playing rugby where there are no plastic helmets or pads then only your ears and nose would get torn off.

When you put a hard plastic helmet on it becomes a weapon but take it off and you might not lead with your head the same way.

This post is the biggest load of crap. This is a massive over-generalization. Being "safer" does not equal "wussified". In many cases it just means smarter. I don't over caudal my kids and encourage them to try something no matter how scared it makes them at least once. I don't teach my kids to be scared of taking risks but in fact encourage that but want them to be smart about it.

 

[Shaggy]

Kids can't hit hard enough to do a lot of damage at the younger ages as they get older and the hits get harder yes.

So if you send your kid out to play a sport they are brand new at and another kids been playing it for 10 years that's probably where the injury chance is going to go way up, FOR YOUR KID.

You can get hurt doing just about anything given enough chances at it.

Life isn't safe this idea that safety is the ultimate goal in life is not true if it were true we'd never drive cars or climb mountains or do really anything.

People are wusses no wonder we're going to get our asses kicked in the next war. I've never seen a more wussified set of people in my life wearing bike helmets it's a damn disgrace.

Blah blah blah I know it's safer this way or that. Try to impress a woman sometimes with your safety prowess it's real sexy they love that. Insert face palm here.

Learn to ride a bike on a gravel road with no helmet if you fail you'll be digging gravel out of your knees for weeks it helps promote faster learning and proper fear of being a jackass.

Now once you get to the high school, college and pro levels things get progressively more dangerous.

They could fix a lot of problems instantly if they wanted to by switching to a kind of Kevlar padded uniform banning all hard plastics.

A good deal of the issue stems from concussive forces present in hard plastics and why a sport that has a problem with concussive forces uses ANY hard plastics in this modern age is well beyond me.

You'd be better off playing rugby where there are no plastic helmets or pads then only your ears and nose would get torn off.

When you put a hard plastic helmet on it becomes a weapon but take it off and you might not lead with your head the same way.

I wear a helmet on a bike not to make it safer for me, but for my kids. If I am not wearing a helmet and I ask the kids to, what do you think they will say or do if I am not wearing mine? I feel its important for them to wear theirs as they can crash alot more times then I will.

Also, my son was riding his electric scouter with no helmet. He crashed and hit his head. Had a huge bump on it and got a concussion. Do you think that would have happened if he was wearing his helmet? Not sure why you consider people wearing helmets wussies.

 

[DemsMyBoys]

Not sure why you consider people wearing helmets wussies.

As a woman I'm not sure why he seems to think women are impressed by guys who don't wear helmets and safety gear.

I've seen the effects of a guy cracking his skull open. Not sexy.

 

[Bert]

As a woman I'm not sure why he seems to think women are impressed by guys who don't wear helmets and safety gear.

I've seen the effects of a guy cracking his skull open. Not sexy.

LOL Amen.

I love BA but calling people who dont want their children to play a dangerous sport "fools" is just ridiculous.

It's this 'my way is the right way and everyone else is stupid' mentality that has taken over Americans.

We're all individuals, capable of making decisions about what is best for us and our kids. smh

I think people who go into seasons with zero capable linbackers are fools.


I will say that this is what you get when you have an outspoken coach. BA is who he is and he has opinions and we're not all going to agree with everything he says, but atleast he's real. I dont agree with him here, but I still love the grumpy old fart.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

When you put a hard plastic helmet on it becomes a weapon but take it off and you might not lead with your head the same way.

You won't, trust me on that.

 

[Darkside]

LOL. I just had this conversation with my son. I said that there is plenty of time for him to play tackle football, and if he can run, learn, and think, it is never too late to learn the rest.

Also, for those who say that it is important to learn how to tackle appropriately at a young age, that is bull. Young boys struggle with nuance and details when they are young. Expecting them to understand the nuance and importance of form tackling is unrealistic. Some will and some won't. But the older they get, the faster they will be able to pick it up.

As a former coach, there is a way to make youth tackle football fun and safe, but it takes a special coach and a special group of parents to do so. I'm not willing to trust my children's safety in the hands of "tough guy" youth coach or in leagues where they allow 5th grader to compete vs 3rd graders which is what we have where I live.

Nobody that I know in this thread has said it teaches anyone how to tackle appropriately at that age. The argument is that it teaches them how to get hit, give hits, fall properly, and whether they even like the game. There's no nuance involved at that level. But saying they'll pick it up when they're older is a joke--there's no professional anything, whether it be chess, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Tennis, that happens out of the blue when they're older, just because they're "gifted". That doesn't happen. Players have to get a feel for the speed of the game, a feel for how big and fast everyone else is, and whether or not they're willing to do that (that includes parents like you). If they wait, they're going to get killed, absolutely destroyed come high school ball. And in College the advancement in level of developement is astronomical. The Pro's is another huge leap in developement and advancement.

The original argument was that this was detrimental to kids, that it hurt them, and it doesn't at all. There's no proof that it hurts little kids. They rarely even get hit and when they do it's like I said: they don't wear helmets and pads because they'll get hit, but in case they get hit. It doesn't hurt them at all.

I've yet to see any evidence whatsoever that these kids playing hurts them in any way, other than some posts by sissies and over-reactors wanting to put our kids in bubble wrap.

These are the same people telling their kids how great they are, asking them what they want for dinner instead of just feeding the little bastards. The UN just released a report recording math scores: The US was last in math scoring among developed countries, but #1 in believing how good they were at math. Our kids think they're awesome, but they suck. In the 50's they asked college students whether they would "be somebody". Back then it was 1%, in 1950. This year it was over 86%. Kids are delusional, and parents make them that way.

Your kid isn't special, he's just a little dick like you are. The difference is your kid feels entitled and screwed over when he's not. A little football may be good for him, because on a football field you have to think differently. You have to think about team, about others.

(Edit: When I say "you" I don't mean you or your kid Chopper, I just mean generally, to the general population, which I suppose includes you, haha, but it wasn't directed at you)

 

[MrYeahBut]

I started playing at about 10 years old. We always played tackle from the very start. Of course this was 50+ years ago and things were a lot different then, obviously. The main thing I learned as a kid was how to hit somebody and get him on the ground. If you went down, you got up and hit him again.

I don't remember anyone getting injured significantly... Sprained ankles, cuts and scrapes, nose bleed, that sort of thing, plenty of that stuff. I got my big toe nail ripped out by a cleat, which hurt like hell, but the trainer just put some peroxide and tape on it and that was it. No, I wasn't tougher that anyone else, that's the way it was for everyone.

I was taught how to be tough and fearless, but not reckless... work hard and play for your school and team. There was just something about putting pads on and hitting someone that I loved. Even though I was just an average player, I made the team and played my share because I wasn't afraid. I credit the attitude I learned at a young age. Just freaking play!! if you get hurt or don't like it, then don't !

I have to agree with Darkside on something. My granddaughter is a pretty good golfer, she's won several tournaments and awards. She's good and beats kids her own age, but she's not great or special. I've spent way too much time telling her how great she can be instead of instilling her with the mental toughness it takes to compete in an individual sport. She wants to win, but goes at it half ass sometimes and gets whiney and bratty when she loses. Freaking spoiled and wants everything given to her (whose fault is that grandpa?) . I finally had to tell her that she either works at it or be a brat... Take your pick. Put on the pads and hit somebody, so to speak, or go home. A little of this can't hurt kids.

.

 

[GatorAZ]

Honestly I don't even think BA knows what he was thinking there. If you listened to the actual audio it sounds like he's making it up as he goes.

 

[Dude]

As much as I hate Seattle they have a tackling stile that takes the head out as much as you can. My sons youth team took two weeks to teach this to all ages before they went to live tackling. They worked on it all season. People that say kids are not being coached up are in the wrong programs. People that say kids playing young don't have an advantage need to pull their kids out of all youth sports whats the point. As I have said as my son gets older the kids that have not played are falling more behind. This is not the old days. Kids specialize maybe to early but they better get some work in unless they are just a freak of nature. If your kids goes out there for the first time and gets worked over that might be it. Today in the right programs they learn tons of good technique at a young age.

I was taught head across the front. This is much better. It works as well and safer.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

Back in the day, you had 230-250 pound men running 4.5 forties tackling people with great force while playing on carpeted concrete(astroturf) with limited helmet technology. You know what, there are going to be concussions. The vast majority of the players are okay. But, as with most things today, the vocal minority has media backing and it's a bigger issue than it should be.

Anything with physical contact yields a risk for concussion. That's no surprise to anyone but ESPN and their OTL show is constantly throwing the concussion scare out there and getting people into a panic thinking it's a common occurrence for concussions to lead to death, or diminished faculties.

Sure, there's a risk but for every Dave Duerson or Junior Seau, there's hundreds of Troy Aikmen's, Steve Young's, and Roger Staubach's.

 

[Covert Rain]

Back in the day, you had 230-250 pound men running 4.5 forties tackling people with great force while playing on carpeted concrete(astroturf) with limited helmet technology. You know what, there are going to be concussions. The vast majority of the players are okay. But, as with most things today, the vocal minority has media backing and it's a bigger issue than it should be.

Anything with physical contact yields a risk for concussion. That's no surprise to anyone but ESPN and their OTL show is constantly throwing the concussion scare out there and getting people into a panic thinking it's a common occurrence for concussions to lead to death, or diminished faculties.

Sure, there's a risk but for every Dave Duerson or Junior Seau, there's hundreds of Troy Aikmen's, Steve Young's, and Roger Staubach's.

What is your definition of OK? Back in the day people didn't know what to look for. Back in the day people turned a blind eye to retired players having issues. Also, just because most players are not reporting severe symptoms of CTE doesn't mean they are OK.

Now that we know what to look for the new findings are alarming.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/a...-nfl-players-test-positive-for-brain-disease/

At the end of the day I thinks it's important for the information and risk of contact sports to be out there so that would be athletes are clear on the risks and long term health implications that reach far beyond bad knees for the rest of their lives. If they continue down that path so be it. As a parent of kids it's even more important because kids until they reach a certain age don't even think about that stuff.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

What is your definition of OK? Back in the day people didn't know what to look for. Back in the day people turned a blind eye to retired players having issues. Also, just because most players are not reporting severe symptoms of CTE doesn't mean they are OK.

Now that we know what to look for the new findings are alarming.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/a...-nfl-players-test-positive-for-brain-disease/

At the end of the day I thinks it's important for the information and risk of contact sports to be out there so that would be athletes are clear on the risks and long term health implications that reach far beyond bad knees for the rest of their lives. If they continue down that path so be it. As a parent of kids it's even more important because kids until they reach a certain age don't even think about that stuff.

Like I said, there are concussion risks out there. But even this sensationalistic article says their findings are skewed. They tested 91 players that had concussion issues and are now dead and 87 tested positive, that's their headline while totally ignoring the fact that 91 is a microscopic sample size.

My point is, ESPN and the like, find an issue and sensationalize it to death. Yes, football players get concussions but the VAST majority aren't dying, committing suicide, or living horrendous lives because of it. But because Duerson, Webster, and Seau did, they want to make it seem like it's a widespread rampant issue and that's just not the case.

 

[Covert Rain]

Like I said, there are concussion risks out there. But even this sensationalistic article says their findings are skewed. They tested 91 players that had concussion issues and are now dead and 87 tested positive, that's their headline while totally ignoring the fact that 91 is a microscopic sample size.

My point is, ESPN and the like, find an issue and sensationalize it to death. Yes, football players get concussions but the VAST majority aren't dying, committing suicide, or living horrendous lives because of it. But because Duerson, Webster, and Seau did, they want to make it seem like it's a widespread rampant issue and that's just not the case.

First 87 out of 91 is alarming regardless of how small the sample size. It's a micro-sampling only because you can't test every single player that has died and until recently they didn't know what to look for even if you could. They did include others (the brain tissue in 131 out of 165 individuals who, before their deaths, played football either professionally, semi-professionally, in college or in high school).

They key to this article was that they said it can only be definitively identified in deceased players. So, that sampling by nature is going to be small. Not everyone is going give permission for this study, they don't have the funding for an unlimited study and again it's relatively new link. The article points to the facts. It's not sensationalizing. This article quote says it best:

"People think that we’re blowing this out of proportion, that this is a very rare disease and that we’re sensationalizing it,” said McKee, who runs the lab as part of a collaboration between the VA and BU. “My response is that where I sit, this is a very real disease. We have had no problem identifying it in hundreds of players.”

By the way I work with statistics daily.....comparing means even with small sample sizes can be accurate but that is another discussion.

Is the media sensationalizing it? Sure, that's what they do. That doesn't mean that the results are inaccurate or not a concern. My guess is within the next 10 years or further study, we will find out that results are probably more disturbing. I am not saying ban football or anything. You choose this sport and pursue it as a career you know what your getting into just like boxers or any other high contact sport. I just think it's important to be informed of the risks.

 

[jmt]

I love BA but calling people who dont want their children to play a dangerous sport "fools" is just ridiculous.

This.

 

[cardpa]

He specifically says, "There are more knee injuries 8 to 12 in soccer than there are in football."
Honestly, anyone who consults a 63 year-old for parenting advice is probably the greater fool.

Having been a licensed soccer coach and a soccer referee for more than 20 years at all different levels I can say BA should check where he finds his information. I have seen one or two knee injuries in all those years. I have seen more concussions due to challenges for head balls and broken wrists due to trying to stop falls than any thing else. 8-12 year olds get a lot of shin bruises from getting kicked in the shin than anything else.

 

[vince56]

As much as I hate Seattle they have a tackling stile that takes the head out as much as you can. My sons youth team took two weeks to teach this to all ages before they went to live tackling. They worked on it all season. People that say kids are not being coached up are in the wrong programs. People that say kids playing young don't have an advantage need to pull their kids out of all youth sports whats the point. As I have said as my son gets older the kids that have not played are falling more behind. This is not the old days. Kids specialize maybe to early but they better get some work in unless they are just a freak of nature. If your kids goes out there for the first time and gets worked over that might be it. Today in the right programs they learn tons of good technique at a young age.

I was taught head across the front. This is much better. It works as well and safer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOCtUFwxsFU

This this this. This style of tackling makes football a much safer sport and the Seahawks are doing the right thing, hopefully this continues to spread throughout football.

 

[Mitch]

Outstanding Boston Globe Article by Chris Gasper

Very good read---Gasper offers excellent support for his argument and his criticism of BA.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2016/03/26/gasper/PWjAxOvqkylGkQUtSAU7sI/story.html

 

[BigRedRage]

I love Arians but I think he should just stick to coaching and stop making comments about stuff like this.

they ask, he answers he is who he is.

Football was probably the greatest thing I experienced as a kid. It made a huge impact on who I am today. You can't live in a bubble. IMO Everyone needs to live life not live scared of it. You may or may not get some brain injury, and you may or not get cancer, and you may or not die in a car accident. Can't worry about these things just enjoy life while you can.

The smell of grass still takes me back to being a kid on the football field.

 

[Covert Rain]

they ask, he answers he is who he is.

That means nothing. I bet they could have ask 10 other people and gotten 10 other answers. He couldn't have framed it another way and not call out a bunch of his own fans fools?