A MAINE HIGH SCHOOL'S FOOTBALL PROGRAM THIS EARLY ON IN THE
SEMESTER HAS ALREADY SUFFERED SO MANY INJURIES THAT THEY HAVE
CANCELED THE REST OF THE SEASON.
IN JUST ONE GAME --
MY LIMITED FOOTBALL KNOWLEDGE TELLS ME THAT THAT IS
TECHNICALLY ENOUGH TO PLAY, BUT IT WAS NOT ENOUGH TO CONTINUE ON
WITH THE SEASON.
NOW, THIS IS A COMMENT FROM ONE OF THE HEADS OF
THE FOOTBALL TEAM THERE --
AND TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF THE FACT THAT THIS IS A HUGE
MOVE BY ONE HIGH SCHOOL, TO SHUT DOWN THE REST OF THE SEASON JUST
BECAUSE OF THE INJURIES IN A FEW GAMES, BUT MANY HAVE DIED
THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY ALREADY FROM HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL.
THAT IS JUST THREE OUT OF THE SIX.
LET ALONE THE NFL.
AND WE HAVE MORE HISTORIC NUMBERS, BUT THEY ARE TAKING
DRASTIC ACTION BECAUSE DRASTIC ACTION SEEMS TO BE NEEDED.
IT IS FOOTBALL, PEOPLE ARE GOING TO DIE.
PEOPLE DO SAY THAT.
THIS IS AN INTERESTING ISSUE.
I WANT TO
TACKLE THAT IN A SECOND, IF YOU WILL.
THE FIRST, A QUICK ASIDE
ON THE SORRY STATE OF THIS PARTICULAR FOOTBALL TEAM IN
MAINE, BECAUSE I HAVE A MORBID AMUSEMENT TO BE HONEST WITH YOU.
THEY START OFF THE YEAR WAS 26 PLAYERS IN CAMDEN HILLS. 13 WERE
FRESHMEN AND THREE WERE GIRLS.
THEY HAD OPTED TO MOVE DOWN TO
CLASS D IN AN EFFORT TO COMPETE.
IT WAS AN EFFORT THAT DID NOT
MEET SUCCESS.
EVEN IN CLASS D THEY WERE GETTING SLAUGHTERED
OUT THERE, THAT IS WHY THEY LOST SO MANY PLAYERS, THEY WENT FROM
26 TO ONLY 11 LEFT.
AND AT THAT POINT, THE PRINCIPAL AND THE
AUTHORITIES IN THE SCHOOL HAD TO STEP IN.
TO BE FAIR TO THE
PLAYERS, THEY WANT TO PLAY.
ONE KID IS LIKE, I AM DYING TO PLAY.
WHAT IF YOU GET KILLED ON THE FIELD?
HE IS LIKE, I DON'T MIND
BECAUSE I LIKE HITTING PEOPLE.
I CAN RELATE, I WAS A HIGH SCHOOL
FOOTBALL PLAYER AND THAT IS WHAT I LIKED TO DO.
I HAD A LOT OF
AGGRESSION, THAT WAS A LEGAL WAY TO TAKE IT OUT.
BUT AUTHORITIES
SAID DON'T WORRY, WE MIGHT COME BACK NEXT YEAR IS A JV TEAM.
GEEZUM LORD AND MERCY, OKAY.
THESE POOR KIDS OUT THERE, ARE THEY ALL LIKE 50 POUNDS?
I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM.
I THINK THEY SHOULD GET THEIR BEST PLAYERS, AND NEXT YEAR
COMPETE IN MADDEN.
PLAY THE VIDEOGAME, IT SEEMS FUN.
I FEEL BAD MAKING FUN OF THEM, THEY ARE DOING THEIR BEST,
THEY WANT TO HIT THE FIELD AND THEY WANTED TO CONTINUE.
NOW
ONTO THE MORE IMPORTANT ISSUE OF WHAT IS HAPPENING IN HIGH SCHOOL
FOOTBALL.
BACK WHEN I PLAYED, I HAD NO IDEA IT WAS THIS
DANGEROUS.
THEY DID NOT TELL YOU.
IT TURNS OUT I GOT LUCKY
BECAUSE I PLAYED IN THE 80S, AND IT TURNS OUT IT WAS MUCH MORE
DANGEROUS EARLIER.
FROM 1965 TO 1974, 150 KIDS DIED PLAYING HIGH
SCHOOL FOOTBALL FROM DIRECT FOOTBALL RELATED INJURIES.
NECK
INJURIES, HEAD INJURIES, ETC.
WHAT WAS THE SPAN?
10 YEARS, FROM 65 TO 74.
150.
DO YOU KNOW THAT TEDDY ROOSEVELT
NEARLY CANCELED THE SPORT WHEN IT WAS EARLY ON BECAUSE 18
PEOPLE HAD DIED ON THE FOOTBALL FIELD THAT YEAR?
BACK THEN IT
WAS MAINLY COLLEGE FOOTBALL, AND THERE WERE NOT THAT MANY
TEAMS SO 18 WAS A HUGE NUMBER.
THEY HAD THOSE FUNNY LEATHER HELMETS.
AND ROOSEVELT PULLED IN THE HEADS OF THE UNIVERSITIES AND
SAID, I WILL END THIS SPORT ENTIRELY, I WILL BAN FOOTBALL
FROM AMERICA, IF YOU DON'T FIGURE OUT A WAY TO MAKE IT
SAFER.
BECAUSE I CAN'T HAVE 18 KIDS FROM YALE, PRINCETON, AND
HARVARD DYING ON THE FIELD ON ME.
BUT NOW YOU HAVE A SITUATION
THAT IS ON A BIGGER SCALE.
THEY DID PUT IN SAFETY REQUIREMENTS
AFTER THE 70S, IT GOT A LITTLE SAFER, BUT JOHN IS RIGHT.
THERE
WERE AN AVERAGE OF ABOUT 5 TO 6 KIDS THAT DIE FROM DIRECT
FOOTBALL INJURIES EVERY YEAR NOW.
AND MORE INDIRECTLY.
10 TO 12 DYING INDIRECTLY.
WHAT IS THAT?
THAT IS HEAT STROKE, HEART ATTACK, ETC.
ASTHMA, SICKLE CELL, CARDIAC ARREST.
BUT THAT LEADS TO THE QUESTION OF, IF MORE ATHLETES ARE DYING
FROM HEAT STROKE AND HEART ATTACK THAN THEY ARE FROM
FOOTBALL RELATED INJURIES, THAT ALSO AFFECTS TRACK AND OTHER
THINGS, BUT I AM TALKING ABOUT JUST THE FOOTBALL PLAYERS, 10 TO
12 -- SHOULD WE SHUT DOWN TRACK IF THEY ARE ALSO DYING FROM
HEART ATTACKS AND HEATSTROKE IN TRACK?
THE ANSWER MIGHT BE NO.
IT IS IT A DANGEROUS SPORT, BUT ARE WE GOING TO SHUT IT ALL DOWN?
IT IS RELATED TO THEIR TRAINING.
YOU CAN PUSH PEOPLE
PAST THE THRESHOLD, BUT IT IS A MATTER OF KNOWING WHAT THAT
THRESHOLD IS.
YOU HAVE TO PUSH THEM AS HARD AS YOU CAN TO GET
THE BEST PERFORMANCE, BUT WHAT IS THE THRESHOLD FOR, OKAY, IT IS
TIME TO SIT DOWN, YOU ARE NOT BEING A PUSSY.
YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN?
YOU ARE RIGHT ABOUT THAT, BECAUSE WHEN I WAS PLAYING IT
WAS A WEAK MOVE TO GET WATER DURING A PRACTICE, AND THE COACH
WOULD NOT LET YOU GET WATER UNTIL EVERYBODY WAS ALMOST
PASSING OUT.
AND MANY YEARS LATER I HEARD THAT NOW THEY ARE
HYDRATING ALL THE KIDS BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT THEM PASSING
OUT.
AND I THOUGHT, PUSSIES.
I DID, BECAUSE I GREW UP A
KNUCKLEHEAD.
THEY PROGRAMMED ME THAT WAY.
GET A LOAD OF THIS,
THIS IS MAYBE THE MOST AMAZING PART OF THIS STORY.
IT TURNS OUT
THAT BEFORE 2003 IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL THEY USED TO HAVE TWO
PEOPLE DIE FROM HEAT STROKE EVERY MONTH.
AMAZING.
JUST FROM
HEATSTROKE.
BECAUSE THE IDIOT COACHES WOULD DRIVE THEM INTO
THE GROUND, THEY WOULD GET DEHYDRATED, THEY WOULD HAVE
HEATSTROKE, THEY WOULD DIE.
TWO A MONTH.
THEN THE NCAA SAID THIS
IS TOTALLY PREVENTABLE, THIS IS STUPID, CAN WE TAKE
PRECAUTIONS?
THEY TOOK PRECAUTIONS, NOW ONE KID HAS
DIED FROM HEATSTROKE IN THE LAST 12 YEARS IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL.
BECAUSE IF YOU DO THE RIGHT THINGS IT GETS SAFER AND YOU SAVE
PEOPLE'S LIVES.
I THINK THERE ARE BETTER ANSWERS THAN SHUTTING
DOWN THE SPORT.
KNOWING ALL THIS, AND KNOWING THAT HIGH
SCHOOL FOOTBALL IS MORE DANGEROUS THAN COLLEGE OR NFL
FOOTBALL, I WOULD NOT LET MY KID PLAY, WHICH IS A SHAME.
I WOULDN'T, EVEN THOUGH I LOVE THE SPORT.
BUT I CERTAINLY WOULD NOT BAN IT FROM HIGH SCHOOL.
I WOULD WANT MY KID'S HIGH SCHOOL TO PLAY FOOTBALL, I
WOULD JUST NOT WANT MY SON TO PLAY.
NOW WE KNOW THERE IS A GREAT DANGER IN CONCUSSIONS, IT COMES
UP YEARS LATER.
THEY CAN'T EVEN TELL AT THE TIME.
YOU DON'T HAVE
DOCTORS ON THE FIELD FOR HIGH SCHOOL GAMES LIKE YOU DO IN
PROFESSIONAL SPORTS, AND THERE IS NOBODY THERE TO SAY THIS IS A
PROBLEM, YOU NEED TO SIT OUT, OR YOU NEED TO SIT THE SEASON OUT IF
THERE'S A CONCUSSION.
THAT COULD CAUSE A PROBLEM LATER IN LIFE.
AND THOSE DEATHS DON'T GET INCLUDED IN THESE NUMBERS.
IF
YOU DIE YEARS LATER BECAUSE OF DEPRESSION, SUICIDE --
WE HAD A HUGE HIGH SCHOOL SO WE HAD A TRAINER, AN
ATHLETIC TRAINER, BUT ONLY 37% OF HIGH SCHOOLS HAVE ATHLETIC
TRAINERS WHO CAN HELP IF THERE IS AN ISSUE ON THE FIELD.
I DID NOT PLAY ORGANIZED FOOTBALL, I PLAYED PICKUP
FOOTBALL, BUT I PLAYED ORGANIZED WRESTLING, THIS IS TRUE, NO JOKE
COMING, BUT OUR COACH TOLD US TO NOT DRINK WATER WHEN WE WERE
WRESTLING AND PRACTICING.
IN FACT, I REMEMBER THIS STORY, I
HEARD SEVERAL TIMES, HE WOULD SAY I HAD A KID WHO PULLED A
MUSCLE IN HIS NECK, HE GOT A DRINK OF WATER, AND PULLED IT
MORE.
I SWEAR TO GOD, THAT WAS HIS THING.
WHAT IS HIS DRINKING FORM?
WATER MAKES YOU PULL YOUR MUSCLE MORE?
THAT IS WHAT WE
WERE TOLD.
IN LIKE FIFTH, SIXTH, SEVENTH GRADE WRESTLING, WE HAD
TO MAKE WEIGHT.
SO THERE WERE SIX-YEAR-OLD KIDS STARVING
THEMSELVES, WE WOULD PUT ON OUR WINTER COATS AND RUN
INDOORS TO SWEAT AND DO ALL THAT STUFF SO WE COULD LOSE WEIGHT
-- YOU SHOULD NOT BE DOING THAT IN SIXTH GRADE.
BY THE WAY YOU WILL SCREW UP YOUR BODY IN WRESTLING 1000
TIMES WORSE THAN IN FOOTBALL OR ANY OTHER SPORT.
THAT SCREWED UP
MY METABOLISM FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.
I WAS NOT IN GOOD SHAPE TO
BEGIN WITH, LET'S KEEP IT REAL, BUT ALL THE LOSING WEIGHT,
GAINING WEIGHT, IT MESSES WITH YOUR SYSTEM.
AND I HAD A FRIEND WHO WAS A COLLEGE CHAMPION, A THREE-TIME
COLLEGE CHAMPION, A GOOD FRIEND OF MINE, A WRESTLER, AND HE HAS
TOTAL EATING ISSUES NOW.
HE ALWAYS HAS A SCREWED UP STOMACH
AND ALL THIS STUFF, AND IT WAS BECAUSE OF ALL THAT DIETING AND
HAVING TO WORRY -- SO HE HAS FOOD ISSUES LITERALLY.
I HAVE NOT BEEN –- THIS IS A SPORTS STORY AND I HAVE NOT BEEN
MADE FUN OF YET SO I WANT TO OPEN UP THE FLOOR FOR THAT.
PLAY
VOLLEYBALL, MAN.
IT IS FUN, IT IS GREAT FOR GUYS, THERE ARE
LOTS OF WOMEN AROUND, IT WILL GET YOU IN GREAT SHAPE, AND
PEOPLE RARELY DIE FROM PLAYING VOLLEYBALL.
YOU ARE NOT FAR OFF BECAUSE THEY CANCELED THE FOOTBALL
PROGRAM IN CAMDEN HILLS, BUT THEY HAVE THREE SOCCER TEAMS,
A GOLF TEAM, A SAILING TEAM, A MOUNTAIN BIKING TEAM AND A
CROSS-COUNTRY TEAM.
HOW MANY PEOPLE DIE MOUNTAIN BIKING EVERY YEAR?
THAT IS MY
QUESTION.
HOW MANY PEOPLE DIE A YEAR PLAYING FOOTBALL?
WOULD
THEY HAVE DIED IF THEY HAD GONE SWIMMING?
HOW MANY PEOPLE DROWN
A YEAR?
SHOULD WE BAN SWIMMING?
I NEED MORE INFORMATION.
ESPECIALLY MOUNTAIN BIKING.
PEOPLE DIE ON ATVS ON THE TIME,
BUT NOBODY SAYS LET'S BAN ATVS.
I WOULD NEED MORE INFORMATION
ABOUT WHETHER WE SHOULD BAN THIS STUFF.
I WOULD NOT LET MY KID PLAY FOOTBALL.
LET'S DO TWO DIFFERENT POLLS ON THE TYT APP.
WOULD YOU
BAN HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL, AND WOULD YOU LET YOUR KID PLAY HIGH
SCHOOL FOOTBALL?
LET'S DO BOTH OF THOSE POLLS, I'M CURIOUS WHAT
YOU GUYS THINK.
WE ARE A LITTLE SPLIT HERE, BUT WE ARE GOING THE
SAME DIRECTION, AND MARK, TO YOUR POINT, WE DON'T KNOW THE
EFFECTS LATER, SO AFTER I READ THE STORIES I ALWAYS WONDER
BECAUSE I PLAYED FOOTBALL, I WRESTLED, WE PLAYED RUGBY
WHERE WE BANGED HEADS WITHOUT HELMETS --
PEOPLE DIE IN RUGBY TOO.
I DID THAT IN COLLEGE, SO I ALWAYS WONDER, IS THE BRAIN
DAMAGE COMING LATER?
OR HAS IT ALREADY HIT?
A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT
THERE ARE WONDERING, I KNOW.
SO YOU ARE RIGHT, THERE IS THE ATV
ACCIDENTS, WRESTLING HAS THE WEIGHT PROBLEMS, BUT FOR MY KID,
I DON'T WANT TO TAKE THAT CHANCE THAT HE MIGHT HAVE BRAIN DAMAGE
LATER EVEN IF HE SURVIVES HIGH SCHOOL.