Non-fiction: Hard Hit

Hard Hit
By Kirsten Weir
Is football too violent for the health of its players?

Sports Illustrated/Getty Images

In 2010, Owen Thomas, a 21-year-old University of Pennsylvania student,
took his own life. When researchers examined Thomass brain tissue
afterward, they made a disturbing discovery: early signs of a disease called
chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).Caused by repeated blows to the
head, CTE is often seen in wrestlers, boxers, hockey players, and football
players. Thomas was a defensive lineman for his college team.

(label, Owen
Thomas)University of
Pennsylvania
No one can say for certain whether playing football was linked to Thomass
early signs of CTE and his suicide. But repeated head trauma is the only
known cause of CTE, and blows to the head are all too common on the
football field. In the past few years, doctors have diagnosed the brain
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Non-fiction: Hard Hit

disease in a worrisome number of professional football players. A national

pastime is coming under serious medical scrutiny.

Weight Gain
Pro football players have gotten bigger over the years. Two decades ago,
defensive ends weighed, on average, about 230 pounds. Now they tip the
scales at 300 pounds. Their plays are more violent too. In 2010, 350 players
ended the season early due to injuryalmost twice as many as in 2006.
Todays high school football players are also bigger and faster, and their
tackles harder, than they were a generation ago. Each season, one out of
five high school players sustain head injuries, according to a report in the
journal Neurology. Many, if not most, of those injuries are concussions. A
concussion is a change in brain function caused by head trauma. It occurs
when the brain crashes against the inside of the skull, says Jason Mihalik, a
researcher at the Matthew Gfeller Sport-Related Traumatic Brain Injury
Research Center. When the brain sustains a concussion, it goes into a
frenzy, Mihalik says. The reaction can lead to impaired memory and
reaction time, among other symptoms.
An athlete should never return to a sport before a concussion has fully
healed, says Mihalik. The process takes at least a week, often longer. If a
second head injury occurs before the first one has healed, a condition called
second-impact syndrome can result. It can have serious, long-lasting
consequences: amnesia, loss of mental ability, and even sudden death.
Second-impact syndrome isnt the only way that concussions can harm the
brain. In some people, multiple concussions over years can result in CTE.
CTE causes dementia, a severe loss of mental ability over time. Its
symptoms include tremors, memory problems, paranoia, rage, and
depression, which can result in suicide.
Until recently, virtually all cases of CTE were found in pro athletes. The early
evidence of damage to Thomass brain was alarming because Thomas was
only in his early 20s and an amateur athlete. His case suggests that pros
arent the only ones who should be concerned about CTE.

Rule Reform
What can be done to make football safer? In 2010, the National Football
League changed its rules to reduce helmet-first collisions. It has also
established stricter rules governing when a player may return to the field
after a head injury.
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Non-fiction: Hard Hit

More than 4 million American kids and teens play tackle football, and rules
are changing in their leagues too. Many states have passed laws requiring a
young player to be cleared by a medical professional before returning to play
after a concussion. A kid whos playing with a concussion is really
vulnerable, says Mark Hyman, author of the book Until It Hurts: Americas
Obsession with Youth Sports and How It Harms Our Kids. If they get hit
again, terrible things can happen to them.
Meanwhile, researchers are trying to better understand CTEwhy some
people are more vulnerable than others, for example. Many football players,
concerned about the long-term impacts of their roughand- tumble careers,
have pledged their brains to such research after they die. In 2011, ex
Chicago Bears star Dave Duerson committed suicide. He left a note
requesting that his brain be donated to the Center for the Study of
Traumatic Encephalopathy in Boston. Duerson was once an outstanding
athlete and businessman. His life had recently gone into a tailspin, and he
was worried that he might have CTE.

Getty Images Sport

Young players who suffer concussions and give the damage time to heal
completely before returning to the field probably dont have to worry about
CTE, says Mihalik. Its in situations where you dont tell someone that you
have a concussion and you play through it and sustain repeated impacts
those are things that will set you up for long-term problems, he says.
In the end, a few weeks on the sidelines are better than years of brain
damage. You may live and breathe for football, but should you give up your
health and well-being for it?

Warning Signs
Its a myth that you have to black out to sustain a concussion. Loss of
consciousness is sometimes, but not always, a symptom of a concussion.
Here are the others:
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Non-fiction: Hard Hit

A concussion harms the neurons (nerve cells) of the brain. It damages their
axons, or filaments. It also throws neurotransmitters out of balance.
Neurotransmitters are chemicals released by neurons that send messages
from one neuron to the next.

Monica Schroeder/Science
Source/ Photo Researchers,
Inc.

amnesia
confusion
disequilibrium
(balance problems)

dizziness
fatigue
headache
sensitivity to light or sound
irritability
memory problems
nausea or vomiting
neck pain
personality change
sleepiness
sleep disturbances
tinnitus (ringing in the ears)
blurred or double vision; seeing stars

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Non-fiction: Hard Hit

Sports Illustrated/Getty Images

If you notice the warning signsin yourself or a teammate tell a coach or
a trainer. If any of those symptoms occur in the days or hours after a hit to
the head, you should see a doctor.

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Questions: Hard Hit

Name:

_____________ Date: _______________________

1. What are neurons?

A
B
C
D

memory problems
medical experts
head injuries
nerve cells

2. The passage describes the problem of head trauma resulting from football. All of the
following are solutions being adopted to address this problem EXCEPT
A some states have completely banned young people under the age of 18 from
playing contact sports
B many states have passed laws requiring young players to be cleared by a
medical professional before returning to play after a concussion
C the National Football League has established stricter rules governing when a
player may return to the field after a head injury
D the National Football League has changed its rules to reduce helmet-first
collisions
3. What can you conclude about Chicago Bears star Dave Duerson after reading the
passage?
A
B
C
D

His problems were most likely not related at all to head trauma.
He probably had repeated head trauma from playing football.
He most likely didnt sustain any injuries that caused concussions.
If he did suffer from a concussion, it was probably only a minor injury.

4. Read this sentence from the passage: A national pastime is coming under serious
medical scrutiny.
In this sentence, the word scrutiny means
A
B
C
D

professionals
ownership
examination
punishment

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5. The primary purpose of this passage is to describe

Questions: Hard Hit

A why young people should avoid playing contact sports that might cause head
injuries
B football-related head injuries and what is being done to solve the problem
C the difference between the safety of amateur athletes versus professional athletes
D the similarities between the careers of football players Owen Thomas and Dave
Duerson
6. How many pro football players ended the season early due to injury in 2010?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
7. Ex-Chicago Bears star Dave Duerson requested that his brain be donated to research
after he died. [paragraph 3 after Rule Reform] What does that show about Duerson as
a person? How do you know?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
8. The question below is an incomplete sentence. Choose the word that best completes
the sentence.
A concussion can cause many symptoms, including impaired memory, fatigue, ______
confusion.
A
B
C
D

yet
and
but
from
2

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Questions: Hard Hit

9. Answer the following questions based on the sentence below.

In the past few years, doctors have diagnosed a worrisome number of professional
football players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

Who? _________________________________________________________________

(have done) What? _______________________________________________________

When? in the past few years

10. Vocabulary Word: trauma: a serious injury or shock to the body.

Use the vocabulary word in a sentence: ______________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

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