Concussion Prevention Technology

Aaron Cervantes
University of Texas at El Paso
Professor Rodriguez
RWS 1302

Aaron Cervantes
Concussion Prevention Technology in Football
Throughout the history of football, many ex-players and their families have accused extreme
impacts and hits to the head as the reason for traumatic illnesses. Because a majority of symptoms begin
to appear many years after football retirement, some people argue that they are not related to football
injuries. It is believed that long term traumatic illnesses are a result from many short term injuries such as
concussions. Athletes who suffer from concussions not only undergo brain damage, but must also fight
through painful symptoms and be set back for weeks until they are able to return to the playing field.
After countless cases of these traumatic injuries, there is a serious understanding that actions must be
done in order to prevent concussions as much as possible. There are countless amounts of new
technological equipment being tested that will hopefully be applied to the game of football and other
sports in order to protect athletes. Examples of this serious issue are being described in two genres that
address how equipment and technology is being advanced for concussion prevention. In the WGBN News
article, Can New Technologies Help Solve the Concussion Crisis?, new technology in a football helmet is
explained about how it may absorb greater impacts and be able to track a concussion, and Gregory B.
Bonds, William W. Edwards and Brandon D. Spradleys sport journal entry, Advancements in Concussion
Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment, has an in-depth explanation of this issue as well as how computerbased testing can discover what rules to the game must be made to prevent injuries. The remainder of this
analysis will consist of further explanations and comparisons between the two genres regarding the main
issue.
Audience and Purpose
The genre, WBGNs Can New technologies Help Solve the Concussion Crisis, Is a news article
that has been locally posted on their website. This article is informative towards athletes and sports fans

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who are interested in the new advances involved with football equipment that are being made for
concussion prevention. The second genre, a U.S. Sport Academy journal, Advancements in Concussion
Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment, is a journal entry in the Sports Journal. Aimed toward concerned
doctors, athletes, and sports fans, the writers explain everything there is to know about concussions, brain
damage, and how the issue is being addressed in sports, especially football.
Ethos
In the first genre, there were sport experts and retired football players that got interviewed who
appeared to be confident and highly experienced in their work. The owner of the helmet company was
able to confidently explain why his technology is different and able to protect football players in intense
impacts. Doctors and researchers are credited which gives the reader confidence in the credibility from
experts. The second genre is full with plenty of facts and statistics involving the issue. Researchers and
doctors standpoints are explained and it is clear to the audience that all of the facts are credible due to the
professional background. Countless amounts of references are mentioned to back up all of the important
facts.
Pathos
The writer of the first genre did not emphasize a great amount of emotion throughout the article
but there is certainly enough to send a message. The author is able to athletes a great deal when describing
impacts to the head in football because of personal playing experiences that the players might have.
Knowing that the author can relate to what athletes go through helps establish a connection and
understanding in how his work is being implemented into the game of football. If any kind of emotional
appeal is present in the second genre, it is very similar to the emotion in the first genre. Having a lot of
statistics and facts involved with the information, there was not a significant amount of room for
emotional appeal.

Logos

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Logos was clearly evident throughout the first genre because it always seemed to be referring to
tests being ran that involved research facilities. The article provides credible statistics either from reported
cases of traumatic injuries, or from actual lab testing. The game of football has been played so long, and
so many different injuries are possible, that the makers of the helmet know exactly what is needed to
protect athletes as much as possible. Logos is evident in the second genre because of how professional the
information and statistics are given, similar to the traumatic reports of information that the news article
provides. There is an overwhelming amount of credible information regarding concussions, with
references to every source that the information was retrieved from.
Structure and Delivery
Information about the topic of concussion prevention was provided differently in the two genres.
Although both are accessed through the internet, the article and journal entry used different techniques to
display the information. The first genre introduces the webpage by providing a clip of how a
technologically advanced football helmet is assembled. This helmet is equipped with brand new, top of
the line technology, which has great appeal towards athletes. This introductory clip is a great way to
capture the readers attention for the rest of the article. The remainder of the article continues to clearly
focus on what must be added to equipment in order to prevent concussions. The second genre, being a
journal, seems to be plainer than the news article. It provides excellent information, but seems quite
overwhelming to read so many paragraphs in such small print. This journal does not mainly focus on
equipment, but also goes into great detail about anything there has to do with concussions.
Conclusion
Both of these genres are excellent sources to go to for any athlete or sport fan who are interested
in new technologies for concussion prevention. Although the first genre was simple and stuck to one
topic, it clearly describes the newest technology that is being implemented to football equipment today.
The second genre not only covers the main points about the topic, but also an in-depth analysis in
concussions in general, including many different categories. This enables the reader to establish a well
understanding of concussions and how they affect the human body. Concussions in sports is a very

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serious issue which will require a great amount of change. These two genres introduce and clearly explain
what should be implemented in order to protect athletes.
References
G. B. Bonds, W. W. Edwards, & B. Spradley (2014). Advancements in Concussion Prevention,
Diagnosis, and Treatment. The Sports Journal. Retrieved from
http://thesportjournal.org/article/advancements-in-concussion-prevention-diagnosis-and
treatment/
WGBH News (2013, October 8). Can New Technologies Help Solve the Concussion Crisis? WGBH
Local News. Retrieved from
http://wgbhnews.org/post/can-new-technologies-help-solve-concussion-crisis