A major issue for the NFL (National Football League)
today are the constant head injuries.
These head injuries keep players off the field, but more significantly,
these injuries cause problems in the brain which are very damaging to players’
health during and after their careers.
The NFL has been trying to come up with ways that will make the game
safer for players. This article that I
found discusses a new technology that may be a step in the right direction to
benefit players and the NFL.
This
new technology is called Mitigatium.
Basically it is a newly designed football helmet, which will decrease
the impact of shock waves on the brain.
This helmet has three layers. The
first layer is very similar to the current helmets being used in the NFL. The
second layer is made up of flexible plastic. The third layer is made up of a
material similar to dried tar, which is supposed to absorb more shockwaves than
the helmets today do. The prototype has
been tested and only 20% of the shock waves that usually reach the brain are
actually getting there.
This
new technology is so beneficial for a litany of reasons. First of all, recently the NFL has had many
lawsuits against them involving health care for past players. These players have received brain injuries during
their time in the NFL and are now suffering the consequences from them. This has cost the NFL millions of
dollars. Also, the NFL’s reputation has
taken a big hit from these lawsuits and are faced with needing to find a
solution before the popularity in the sport decreases. This new technology called Mitigatium can
help. By using this “new and improved”
helmet, there is a chance that brain and head injuries decrease making the
sport safer to play. Players will also
be able to live longer lives and will have a better quality of life, as opposed
to the players who have suffered from these injuries and have Alzheimer’s and
problems with their memory. This will
encourage a younger generation to stick with the sport and continue to improve
the NFL’s popularity. Also, this will
help to decrease lawsuits in the long run and the NFL will be able to make more
money because of it. Although it may
cost the NFL, to pay for this technology it is well worth the price of
increasing their popularity and the sport’s safety.
Mitigatium
is a future technology that has many positive attributes for the business of
the NFL and also for the benefit of football players. Not only will the NFL benefit from this
technology but also any football player will, including youth football players. This is a technology that could affect
society very positively as a whole and I’m interested to see, if this
technology is used in the NFL, how it will change the game of football.
Source:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160205173210.htm
Over the past decade, the NFL has come under fire for the safety of their sport. Multiple retired players have died from reasons determined to be head trauma related. Notably, Junior Seau, all-pro linebacker, committed suicide in 2012. Seau’s death has been linked to CTE, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is caused by repeated head trauma. His family sued the NFL over brain injuries he suffered during his career, and is now part of a historic lawsuit. The NFL has recently worked to improve the safety of the game, and this new technology could be a huge step in the right direction. Football by its nature is a violent sport, but Mitigatium could prove to be vital in increasing player safety. In his blog, Matt states that Mitigatium decreases the amount of shock waves sent to the brain by nearly 80%. This is huge. The National Football League needs to step up, and improve player safety drastically because cases like Junior Seau are becoming more and more common. Football is a game, but that was Seau’s life, and it could have possibly been saved if Mitigatium was put into use earlier.
ReplyDeleteA huge problem with professional sports today is the injuries they cause. I know that there are a ton of cases that discuss the head trauma NFL players are learning they have years after they left the league. I think the helmet, Mitigatium, is a great idea because if it can help absorb the impact a player feels then maybe it can help put a stop to all the sports related injuries especially in football. These new sports helmets will cost the NFL a lot to make but in the end it should be worth it because they will save the money they would have been sued for. The article states new helmets today get approved based on the amount of weight they can withstand but not the shock waves they can absorb. Yes I agree it is important to make sure your skull is protected but it is also important to make sure your brain is protected therefore I think future helmets should have both these criteria covered. I hope in the future new helmets are made entirely that use this new technology and the old helmets to protect both types of injuries.
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