Are teen deaths a sign change is coming too slowly?
Between September 26 and October 3, three U.S. high school football players died in three separate states. Of course this caught the attention of the national media, especially given the raging debate 
over the past few years of the safety of the sport from the NFL down to pee-wee leagues, and created such a stir that it was even reported on by the the BBC:
These types of stories are becoming all too common in the football world, and they have parents, schools, players and other stakeholder groups asking serious questions. Football is a youth sports mainstay in many areas of the country, and of course brings in outrageous piles of money as a professional sport, but that doesn’t make it invulnerable to crises.
As the NFL has reluctantly acknowledged, there is a clear link between how the game is played now and permanent crippling injuries, both physical and mental, and to us that’s a clear indication that for smaller organizations to stay successful they need to take the initiative and get out in front of the pros on this.
Increasing safety, reducing risk, and communicating exactly what’s being done and why is critical to football leagues everywhere, or people will simply find another sport for their kids to play. Of course that’s saying a lot considering the popularity of the sport, but with record numbers of kids already being pulled out of youth leagues and massively increased levels of scrutiny from many angles, is it that far out of the realm of reality?
The BCM Blogging Team
https://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com