Families in America will be glued to the TV for the Super Bowl this Sunday, Feb. 5. It remains a widely popular sport despite recent reports linking the game to concussion or serious head injuries. In fact, a new survey reveals that majority of American parents would still want their kids to play football despite the perceived dangers.
Iposos Public Affairs together with Reuters conducted a survey of 3,272 adults across America's states from Jan. 20 to 29. From these, 73 percent or 2,365 respondents said they will "very likely" to "somewhat likely" let their children join the sports if they are interested, while 19 percent or 670 respondents said they will "not at all likely" allow the children.
Further asked why they would let their kids play football, 63 percent said the sport teaches "strong work ethic and discipline," according to Reuters. Other reasons given were because they generally like the game (36 percent) and because it can open doors for college scholarships (33 percent).
The survey also found out it is minority families who are more inclined to agree with children playing football compared to Caucasian families. For parents who won't allow their children, the reasons were due to brain injuries (75 percent), physical injuries (69 percent) and a general dislike for the game (21 percent).
According to St. Louis American, American parents continue to debate over football safety. Some say coaches today are more aware of the health risks, thus training has drastically changed in recent years. Some parents, however, still believe the game is violent and brain injuries could manifest in later years. Hence, they do not want that risk.
The survey comes on the heels of a proposal in New York to ban football for kids below 14, according to New York Upstate. Many lawmakers have tried to pass the same proposals but these do not get past voting because, despite the injury reports, Americans remain deeply rooted in invested in football.
