IS YOUTH TACKLE FOOTBALL WORTH THE RISK?
We loved football. We lived and breathed it. It brought intense joy to my son and our entire family. The game of football brought us together in more ways than one. But, it ultimately cost us everything.
WHEN WE WERE PARENTS OF OUR 9-YEAR-OLD SON BACK IN THE EARLY 2000s, WE WEREN’T AWARE OF THE DANGERS OF CTE AND THE LIFELONG RISKS OF YOUTH FOOTBALL.
Even if we could have understood it at the time, we probably wouldn’t have wanted to hear about it. We loved the game too much.
Today, many would have you believe that only professional NFL players suffer from CTE because they play long careers. But there is general agreement now that the worst damage gets done when players are young and physically still developing.
CASE IN POINT: OUR SON CHANDLER. STOPPED PLAYING FOOTBALL AFTER HIGH SCHOOL. STOPPED PLAYING LIFE AT THE AGE OF 25.
We predict several years from now that Americans will consider youth tackle football a reckless endeavor, even unthinkable. We’re at a point in youth football history where wearing a seatbelt or a motorcycle helmet were in the 1970s. That purgatory in time where we have all the data we need to make smart decisions but we’re still choosing the short-term passion over what really makes sense.
The Chandler Kimball Foundation (Life's Big Win) was founded to share the medical evidence and the personal stories of families devastated by CTE caused by youth tackle football. As the medical evidence pours in, choosing not to play football has become easier. But for many moms, dads, and players across this country, the decision remains hard. We feel you. We celebrate your love for your child and the courage it may take for you to choose a different path… But we are confident that a path taken without tackle football will be one that ensures your child wins the biggest game of all: The game of life.