research paper

Chappell 1

Tawanda Chappell

Pamela Rollins

ENG 1302

31 October 2018

Head Injury in the NFL

A study by the American Academy of Neurology shows staggering information about american football which suggests that up to 40% of former professional (NFL) players have brain damage from previous brain injury due to football contact.

Recently, researchers studied former collegiate, high school, and professional football players brains to look for signs of brain trauma and brain degeneration. From the 165 deceased former players that the researchers studied, 96% of the players had brain degeneration that is commonly seen with intense trauma. Though the weakness with this research is that this brain degeneration cannot be attributed just to playing football at a professional level as the same trauma is often seen in car accidents, falls, and freak accidents.

To conclude, we have to question the link between brain injury and the degeneration of the brain that many of the former players will see later in their lives.

Andrews, Travis M. “40 Percent of Former NFL Players Suffer from Brain Injuries, New Study Shows.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 12 Apr. 2016,

Works Cited

www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/04/12/40-percent-of-former-nfl-players-suffer-from-brain-damage-new-study-shows/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.fb63631a7988.