General Discussion

Little Star

(17,055 posts) Wed Dec 10, 2014, 04:18 PM Dec 2014

Half of Americans Don't Want Their Sons Playing Football, Poll Shows..

Television ratings are up and merchandise sales are booming, but longer-term trends don’t look as rosy for football. According to a new Bloomberg Politics poll, 50 percent of Americans say they wouldn't want their son to play the sport and only 17 percent believe it’ll grow in popularity in the next 20 years.

These are grim numbers for a sport that’s seeing an onslaught of negative attention, including a parade of National Football League players accused of abusing their wives or children; a team name so offensive that some news organizations refuse to print it; and, perhaps most troubling to parents, the growing body of evidence that repeated blows to the head can cause long-lasting brain damage. The sport’s troubles have caught the attention of Congress, whose members hauled a league official to Washington for a Senate hearing earlier this month. Individual lawmakers have proposed ending the league’s tax-exempt status and putting its coveted anti-trust exception up for a five year review.

The finding suggest that, over the course of time, football could go the way of boxing, a marquee American sport in the early part of the 20th century that declined amid a similar set of dynamics: changing perceptions of its brutality and star athletes making headlines for violent crimes.

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2014-12-10/bloomberg-politics-poll-half-of-americans-dont-want-their-sons-playing-football

13 replies

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Half of Americans Don't Want Their Sons Playing Football, Poll Shows.. (Original Post) Little Star Dec 2014 OP

I would vote no TexasProgresive Dec 2014 #1

^^^ hedda_foil Dec 2014 #3

They don't need that many anyway yeoman6987 Dec 2014 #8

some more detail GreatGazoo Dec 2014 #2

I played ball ... 1StrongBlackMan Dec 2014 #4

I wouldn't want my girls playing either Kalidurga Dec 2014 #5

My sons didn't want to play. HappyMe Dec 2014 #6

Our son was always big for his age and he always got "recruited." Arugula Latte Dec 2014 #7

Lots of stuff is dangerous as a kid. Life goes on. nt Logical Dec 2014 #13

Smart, it also teaches kids too much reverence for rah rah and coach's BS. Hoyt Dec 2014 #9

And soccer gladium et scutum Dec 2014 #10

soccer also has the same head injury problem Johonny Dec 2014 #11

My son is not playing till high school. dilby Dec 2014 #12

TexasProgresive

(12,157 posts)

1. I would vote no

Reply to Little Star (Original post)

Wed Dec 10, 2014, 04:26 PM

Dec 2014

I prefer my grandsons keeping their brains intact. They can do enough stupid stuff without brain damage.

hedda_foil

(16,375 posts)

3. ^^^

Reply to TexasProgresive (Reply #1)

Wed Dec 10, 2014, 04:35 PM

Dec 2014

I am so glad that my daughter and son-in-law have already decided they won't let my 8 year old grandson play football. Our family values intelligence.

yeoman6987

(14,449 posts)

8. They don't need that many anyway

Reply to TexasProgresive (Reply #1)

Wed Dec 10, 2014, 05:08 PM

Dec 2014

Football will be around forever. Quite frankly the 50 percent who don't want to play make it that much easier for the 43 percent. Every profession causes health risks. Doctors and nurses have big risks.

GreatGazoo

(3,937 posts)

2. some more detail

Reply to Little Star (Original post)

Wed Dec 10, 2014, 04:32 PM

Dec 2014

Democrats were slightly more likely to oppose their children participating in the game than Republicans, 52 percent to 47. Even though the National Football League has courted women as viewers, 58 percent of female respondents say they don’t want their boys playing football compared with 41 percent of men.

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2014-12-10/bloomberg-politics-poll-half-of-americans-dont-want-their-sons-playing-football

1StrongBlackMan

(31,849 posts)

4. I played ball ...

Reply to Little Star (Original post)

Wed Dec 10, 2014, 04:38 PM

Dec 2014

at the high school and collegiate levels ... I would NOT allow my son to play under the current conditions.

It is a completely different game today from that of 30 years ago.

Kalidurga

(14,177 posts)

5. I wouldn't want my girls playing either

Reply to Little Star (Original post)

Wed Dec 10, 2014, 04:40 PM

Dec 2014

I wish we had equality in sports, but I guess this is one area where less is more.

HappyMe

(20,277 posts)

6. My sons didn't want to play.

Reply to Little Star (Original post)

Wed Dec 10, 2014, 04:42 PM

Dec 2014

They did play soccer and hockey. They still play hockey.

Arugula Latte

(50,566 posts)

7. Our son was always big for his age and he always got "recruited."

Reply to Little Star (Original post)

Wed Dec 10, 2014, 04:54 PM

Dec 2014

We always said No Way.

However, he found other ways to get knocked in the head (basketball, for one). Aye yi yi.

But, I am glad we forbade football. It's not just the head injuries, it's the spine and knee injuries.

I hope American football eventually dies.

Logical

(22,457 posts)

13. Lots of stuff is dangerous as a kid. Life goes on. nt

Reply to Arugula Latte (Reply #7)

Wed Dec 10, 2014, 10:10 PM

Dec 2014

Hoyt

(54,770 posts)

9. Smart, it also teaches kids too much reverence for rah rah and coach's BS.

Reply to Little Star (Original post)

Wed Dec 10, 2014, 05:15 PM

Dec 2014

Soccer might be a better choice, although I don't really understand the game.

gladium et scutum

(808 posts)

10. And soccer

Reply to Hoyt (Reply #9)

Wed Dec 10, 2014, 08:24 PM

Dec 2014

has not rah rah and coach's BS. Take a look at the soccer pros in Europe or South America.

Johonny

(20,854 posts)

11. soccer also has the same head injury problem

Reply to gladium et scutum (Reply #10)

Wed Dec 10, 2014, 08:43 PM

Dec 2014

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/27/sports/soccer/researchers-find-brain-trauma-disease-in-a-soccer-player.html?_r=0

I'm not saying I would or wouldn't let my hypothetical son play sports, but I know soccer isn't such a safe sport either.

For the record boxing is in decline not because of its brutality but because it is so poorly organized. It is totally run on paid-per-view and reputation which eroded the sports appeal. The NFL which utilizes "free" television to the fullest and saturates the cable market is not a very similar business model to NFL football and Bloomberg should know that. UFC on the other hand is very popular and just as brutal as any boxing match and its business model is closer to the NFL.

dilby

(2,273 posts)

12. My son is not playing till high school.

Reply to Little Star (Original post)

Wed Dec 10, 2014, 08:53 PM

Dec 2014

He currently wants to play now but I did not feel comfortable with the coaches who were running the elementary school age program. They used a lot of key words but I did not feel they could teach the fundamentals and safety. I have spoken with the coaches at the high school he will attend in 5 years and their program looks pretty good and have had a lot of kids go off to college programs.

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