Dear Next President,

I think it is important that sports organizations such as the NFL protect their players as much as possible. They need to provide better padding and helmets to prevent brain damage and other life altering injuries.

ESPN says that since 2012 there have been 645 reported concussions in the NFL. With repetitive hits to the head, players can develop CTE or Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, which affects the way the brain works and thinks. Players like Dave Duerson and Junior Seau have committed suicide because of repeated hits to the head.

According to The Washington Post, out of 165 deceased high school, college and NFL players 131 of them had CTE. That means in the study 80% of the players had CTE, causing me to believe that the percentage may be the same for the players in the NFL right now. The Washington Post also states that the amount of head related injuries jumped 32% from 2014 to 2015, going from 206 concussions in 2014 to 271 concussions in 2015. Clearly the NFL is not doing enough to provide adequate equipment for their players or else the numbers would be going down rather than going up.

The reason I bring this up as a problem is because this could cause the NFL and other athletic sports to lose millions of dollars if the players and former players decide to sue because of the injuries. Football is one of America’s most popular sports and if we had to get rid of that, it would cause many businesses invested in the NFL or NCAA football lose money.

I think as the next president you should help keep the athletes safe. Many have already taken their lives because of the injuries and we don't need any more. You should set a standard for the safety requirements on the equipment or make a rule regarding the amount of concussions a player can have in one season. You should focus on minimizing the amount of total injuries throughout high school, college, and professional levels of sports.

Sincerely,

Jack N., 10th Grade

West St. Paul, MN