Sports are one of the few things that keep us entertained, especially football. We all love to see our favorite teams and favorite players clash for the Super Bowl trophy. While watching these games we sometimes see a hit that makes us think, “Are they going to get up?” Sometimes they do and sometimes they don’t. Then you get the news that your favorite player is out for the season due to a concussion or a broken bone. It also makes you wonder if their career is over too.

Some pro-players like Rob Gronkowski have quit football because of their injuries. As stated by the NFL, “Rob Gronkowski announced his retirement in March and has since opened up about why, including that he needed to prioritize his health.” Rob Gronkowski was and still is a very famous player to the NFL and to the Patriots. Gronkowski quotes, “In order to do something bigger in life … I felt like I had to get away from the game and focus on my health.”

Players in the NFL have started to care more about their health and have more knowledge about their health these days because of advanced technology. Players in the NFL aren’t just retiring because of injuries but they’re also retiring because they want to spend more time with their families because they never know if they get seriously injured and will never be able to do the things they did before. Players nowadays are thinking more about their future with their family then wanting to play football for a long time. People don’t understand that players have a life too and they’re just like us. People sometimes forget to put that into account.

One high school football player, Jaden Leiby, had taken a very risky hit to the head. Later it was inspected that his neck was broken. This was a high school student who had his neck snapped because of a bad hit. As stated by WITF, “Leiby was taken by ambulance to a nearby field, where a helicopter flew him to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest. There, doctors found the 18-year-old’s neck was broken. Leiby went into emergency surgery.” To this day Leiby suffers from a spinal injury that he is slowly recovering from.

At Ipswich High School, number 72, Brian Trefry, states his opinion on this whole epidemic. He was not surprised when Gronkowski had decided to leave the New England Patriots because of his injuries. Everybody knew it was Gronkowski’s time to leave. “Look at all the hits he takes and everybody has a stopping point,” says Brian Trefry. Brian definitely thinks that football has gotten better about injuries, with all the new equipment that there is and the new rules, like no head to head contact. Brian feels safe with his pads. Brian has only had one major injury playing football. He had torn his MCL in his leg. But one of Brian’s teammates was forced to quit football by his parents. The injury wasn’t as bad as some players but even a concussion can raise concerns of parents. 

“The game in this age is going in a different direction than it was. Players are starting to rest more and practice not as hard but take it more easy. The players have way more knowledge about their health than players from back then. This is good for the league because now you won’t see players get seriously hurt and be able to see them retire when their health is not all beaten down,” Mick McVann, IHS teacher, stated.