Children shouldn't play football

From Is Football Safe for Kids? New Study Finds Brain Changes:

After 25 years of playing football, six of them in the NFL, former Minnesota Viking Greg DeLong feels like a "walking time bomb" who could end up with brain disease from all the hits he took on the field.

And now DeLong has another reason to worry: His 12-year-old son Jake has followed him onto the gridiron---and is part of a groundbreaking study that found brain changes in children after just one season of suiting up.

The more head blows a child sustained, the more changes were seen in their brain tissue, according to the study released Monday. The effect was seen even in young players who did not have a concussion...

From yesterday's New York Times, a story on a significant decline in the NFL's TV ratings:

Then there are factors that have a harder-to-quantify impact, like the N.F.L.’s continuing public-relations struggles involving issues like domestic violence, brain trauma and national anthem protests. “They have largely been side issues, but even if it is a psychic toll, it’s hard to have that much of a drumbeat without their having some effect,” said Robert Boland, director of the sports administration program at Ohio University.

Earlier posts on the issue: here, here, and here on soccer, which has the same problem.