As the debate over "When is it too young to play tackle football?" continues, an Illinois legislator introduced a bill on Thursday that would ban tackle football for kids under age 12.
Rep. Carol Sente, a Democrat from Vernon Hills, proposed the legislation just a week after publication of a Boston University study rekindled the discussion. It found that repeated hits to the head, even if they don't cause a concussion, can cause chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in people with a history of repetitive brain trauma.
“It’s something that a lot of people are talking about, and it’s definitely something that’s hurting the overall numbers in football,” said Chip Stoner, CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Rockford. The club's tackle football program goes down to the age of 7.
“Parents have always had to decide whether they want their kids to play or not, but things are changing," Stoner said. "It’s a tough call.”
The bill would take the decision out of the hands of Illinois parents of children under 12. A similar bill that would ban tackling for anyone 13 or younger has been introduced in New York state, and other states could follow suit.
The Illinois legislation, christened the Dave Duerson Act to Prevent CTE, is named for the former Chicago Bears star who committed suicide in 2011 at the age of 50. Duerson shot himself in the chest so that his brain could be examined by CTE researchers at Boston University, where a postmortem exam revealed CTE.
In 2015, the National Football League and a group of retired players agreed to a $1 billion settlement in lawsuits claiming that the NFL had failed to sufficiently inform players about concussions and what they can do to the brain. Also that same year, Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into legislation The Youth Sports Concussion Safety Act, which added new, and stricter, requirements for schools and park districts providing football programs.
Nevertheless, participation in youth football has declined in recent years amid the growing fear of head injuries. Many local programs have gone to shorter schedules because there are fewer teams to compete against. The Park District of Highland Park was one of several organizations that cancelled its tackle football program this year because of declining numbers.
“I hope it doesn’t come down to that around here. I just think football is too important to a lot of people,” said Ron Gates, president of the Rockford Renegades football program, which qualified for the national tournament at the Junior Pee Wee (ages 9, 10 and 11) level this fall.
“A lot has been done to make it safer, but some people don’t think it’s enough. No matter what, the safety of our kids is the most important thing.”
Jay Taft: 815-987-1384; jtaft@rrstar.com; @JayTaft