Argumentative Essay Final
Argumentative Essay Final
English 1-4
th
Block
Ms. Knowles
March 20, 2014
Argumentative Speech: Concussions in Pro Sports
A concussion, also known as the invisible injury, is like a tidal wave of blurriness. They
cause you to think differently, they cause you to act differently, and they cause you to become
very inactive in your life. Concussion is an injury associated with sports and is most often
identified with boxing, football, ice hockey, and the martial arts. In addition, recent research has
shown that concussion occurs in many different sports. In the decade of the 1990s, concussion
became a primary issue for discussion among the media, sports sponsors, sports medicine
professionals, and athletes.(Powell 1) Dating back into the year of 1879, football equipment
hasnt really had any changes into it. As a result of the outdated equipment, concussions are
spreading like uncontrollable diseases. Leaders of the Pro Sports nation should provide better
high tech equipment to protect their players from concussions because concussions can cause
negative health effects and death, and old equipment isnt protective enough.
Concussions are one serious injury. Concussions can cause negative health effects and death.
Concussions can lead to Alzheimers, depression, and also death, but there is one serious after
effect widely known is Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). In the article NCBI-Journal
of Athlete Training Concussions in Pro Sports, John W. Powell states that the main problem
with identification is the variety of signs and symptoms that may or may not be present. For
example, headache, dizziness, nausea, or memory alterations may be symptoms of concussion, or
they may be symptoms of other injury. The injury may result in short-term or long-term
unconsciousness or no loss of consciousness.(Powell 2). Basically he is trying to say that concussions
can cause a wide variety of bad effects in the long run. Even though they are slow and in-painful killers,
be careful of who the caretaker is. For example many more people have died, then people that lived their
actual entire life span.
In recent years, medical professionals have learned; and are still learning that sports concussions
are a severe injury, not only in the hours and days after they are suffered but also potentially for years
afterward. Unlike most people, professional athletes run a very high risk of suffering a concussion simply
by virtue of showing up for work. Ever since the year of 1879 sports equipment has not been very
protective. The numbers in concussions are also going up because old equipment hasnt had a big change
into it. In the article NCBI - Journal of athlete Training, John Powell states that, Because of the
perceived toughness of athletes and our past lack of improved equipment, the prevailing culture
has traditionally favored athletes' immediate return to action. He is trying to say that if the Pro
Sports nation improves all equipment, the numbers in concussions would drop rock bottom.
(Powell 1)
Many others think that it should not be the leaders who should protect they think that they
need to play smart and be accountable for their injuries. Since the big bang of
professional sports, athletes have suffered concussions, a form of serious brain injury, while
competing, and time and time again, these athletes have been rushed back onto the field of play
with only a TBD physical examination, if any. Opposing people believe in policies made by the
NFL. These policies state that, "Once removed for the duration of a practice or game, the player
should not be considered for return-to-football activities until he is fully asymptomatic, both at
rest and after exertion, has a normal neurological examination, normal neuropsychological
testing, and has been cleared to return by both his team physician(s) and the independent
neurological consultant.(NFL Committee 1) Basically these policies say that the NFL has a
firmly established policy concerning the treatment of concussions.
Have you ever wondered where all of this equipment comes from, what the players wear
or how the team manages the huge amount of equipment that goes into each game? When
watching football, its easy to take for granted that the equipment utilized by the participants is
the same as it has always been, standing ready to protect the players from the tough physical
demands of the game. As much as we know the game of football, it has not changed from its
origins as a rugby-like affair in the late 1860s to the modern game we know in 2013. The
equipment designed to shield the competitors has also been completely transformed within the
144-year history of the game.