To date, four high school football players have died in the course of this season's play.
In a pre-season scrimmage, De'Antre Turman, 16, a highly regarded defensive back from Georgia, died as a consequence of a fractured neck, sustained as he tackled a pass receiver. On Sept. 4, freshman Tyrell Cameron, 16, died as a result of a collision with a blocker during a punt return at his Louisiana high school.
Clif CleavelandSixteen-year-old Ben Hamm, a linebacker on his Oklahoma high school team, died on Sept. 18, eight days after sustaining a head injury during a game. New Jersey quarterback Evan Murray, 17, died soon after a routine hit on Sept. 25; rupture of an enlarged spleen caused his death, although his enlarged spleen may have been the result of earlier injury or an undiagnosed, infectious mononucleosis.
Although he didn't die, on Sept. 2, Texas high school sophomore Jasiel Favors sustained a fractured neck in a junior varsity game, resulting in paraplegia.
Following the death of Cameron, an official of the Louisiana High School Athletic Association stated, "It's tragic. It's just one of those things where there's nothing you can do, and it's just a freak accident."
Does this mean that a certain number of deaths and serious injuries must be accepted as unavoidable, collateral damage in the sport of football?
The National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research (www.nccsir@unc.edu) gathers data nationally on severe injuries that occur in youth, high school and collegiate sports. The center's annual survey documents that, in 2014, six players - five high schoolers and one collegian - died as a direct consequence of football-related injuries. Ten fatalities at all levels of play were attributed to indirect causes, including heart abnormalities, heat injury and severe electrolyte imbalance.
The center's analyses have been instrumental in driving changes to equipment, training and play and rules and in the evaluation of head injuries. For example, contact above the shoulders of an opponent with helmet, shoulder, forearm or fist is now illegal. Penalties are assessed if an opponent is tackled or hit when in a "defenseless" posture.
Are these changes sufficient for younger players? I think not.
Players in high school and earlier do not have fully calcified skeletons, a process that's completed around age 20. Nor is the musculature of their necks fully developed. Collision at top speed with an opponent can produce shockwaves that immature skeletons and muscles cannot accommodate.
Enhancements of safety for pre-college football players should include further revision of rules to reduce high-speed collisions. Kickoffs could be replaced by putting the ball in play at the 20 yard line. High speed, blindside hits on pass receivers or quarterbacks could be banned altogether. Research in helmet design could produce gear that could absorb more shock.
More controversial would be a ban on anyone playing tackle football before age 14 or 15.
Football-related fatalities and catastrophic injuries have decreased in recent years, yet each instance still represents a disaster for a family, a team and a school. Less-serious injuries may take a quieter, longer-term toll on the health of a player. Repeated blows to the head, perhaps never rising to the level of overt concussions, may contribute to disabling neurological symptoms in later life. These less-severe injuries would certainly be reduced by revision of rules and equipment.
On Sept. 28, the New York Times reported on several high schools that had elected to discontinue football. Inadequate turnout of potential players and safety concerns were cited by the schools. It is too early to determine if this might become a trend.
Contact Clif Cleaveland at cleaveland1000@comcast.net.