[fullmetal]

And yes, their existence suggests every contact sport is risky to some degree. But the extent of the damage is so significant with football that it's just too hard to ignore. I have a distant family member who played football at U$C, suffered numerous concussions, and while he held down a job at a tech firm for a few years, started to have issues with memory, concentration, focus, and impulse control. Now, at the ripe old age of 30, he cannot concentrate for extended periods of time, manage his anger, or hold down a job, and he recently literally walked into a police station and started threatening officers because he knew it was the only way he would get helped and be detained from doing something dangerous to himself or someone else. And he's 30. Sorry, but I just can't look past this stuff anymore and willfully enjoy a sport that is generating such catastrophic byproducts.

I'm so, so sorry.  That's terrible :(

[fullmetal]

And yes, their existence suggests every contact sport is risky to some degree. But the extent of the damage is so significant with football that it's just too hard to ignore. I have a distant family member who played football at U$C, suffered numerous concussions, and while he held down a job at a tech firm for a few years, started to have issues with memory, concentration, focus, and impulse control. Now, at the ripe old age of 30, he cannot concentrate for extended periods of time, manage his anger, or hold down a job, and he recently literally walked into a police station and started threatening officers because he knew it was the only way he would get helped and be detained from doing something dangerous to himself or someone else. And he's 30. Sorry, but I just can't look past this stuff anymore and willfully enjoy a sport that is generating such catastrophic byproducts.

I'm so, so sorry.  That's terrible :(