Is Peterson's Punishment Unfair?

I believe it is. Adrian Peterson, star running back of the Minnesota Vikings, pleaded no contest November 4 to misdemeanor reckless assault in Texas for hitting his 4-year-old son with a wooden switch. He did not go to a hearing because he says they aren't doing what they agreed to in the first place. Because of this, there has been no punishment, but the court won't even let him play until they have decided discipline. Instead, he is on paid leave, even after all he has done to get back in the game.I totally disagree with this. He has been trying to get his discipline done and over so he can return, but they are dragging out the process enabling him to play. The NFL is causing him to miss most of his season. There are only six games left, and you never know when a running back's season could end in the NFL. I say let him play. Let him do whatever he has to do and get it over with. Let me know what you think about this.
http://www.ajc.com/ap/ap/top-news/peterson-nfls-discipline-process-has-been-unfair/nh8LY/

Campbell, Dave. "Peterson: NFL's discipline process has been unfair. Atlanta Journal Constitution:              Cox Media Group. 16 Nov. 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.

Battling the Heat

It is beginning to cool down this time of year, but heat stroke is still a serious problem to think about next year.When Georgia schools were asked to come up with rules for sports teams playing in the heat, one school promised to cut down on workouts when the heat index reached 140. In addition, as heart attacks are a leading cause of death in young athletes, many states now require that schools have automated external defibrillators. I think this is a great safety precaution, but no state requires that every high school have a full-time sports trainer. Kids are constantly getting hurt at sports practice, and not having a trainer there could cause a dramatic change in someone's life. The institute was named for Korey Stringer, a Minnesota Vikings football player who died of heat stroke in 2001. In 2011, Ralph Sweargin, then head of the Georgia High School Association (GHSA), decided to address heat-related deaths in football. In Georgia, schools were starting earlier and earlier, which meant football practices began in mid-July, the hottest days of summer. Sweargin asked a team of researchers at the University of Georgia to study the impact of heat on high school football players. On the day Stringer died of heat stroke in Minnesota, the heat index hit 110. Head injuries and extreme heat have drawn the most attention in high school sports. The increasing number of student athletes playing certain sports year round leads to serious injury from overused joints and muscles. Heat stroke is a very serious problem during the heat, and new policies should begin discussion now. This wouldn't stop the grind, just the danger. I believe if it gets too hot outside, the practice should be moved inside. What do you think?


https://newsela.com/articles/heatstroke-students/id/5513/

Stateline.org. "States take aim at heat stroke, other serious high school sports injuries." NEWSELA:
               16 Oct. 2014. 2 Nov. 2014

Chicago's Safety Charged With a Fine

In one of the Falcon's recent games against Chicago, a flag was thrown on Ryan Mundy of the Chicago Bears for helmet-to-helmet contact. Later, the flag was picked up and the Bears were not charged with a penalty. It was determined that he led with his shoulder but targeted the neck and head area.

After looking at the play further, he was fined for $22,000. This seemed pretty unreasonable to me. His intentions were not to target this Roddy White, it just played out that way.
It is hard to avoid helmet to helmet at all when your head is attached to your shoulders. I am a Falcon fan all the way, but this was dumb. I believe there shouldn't have been a fine, especially after the flag was taken back. I mean come on.

The new rules in football are good, and they protect the players. This is just too far though. Things are going to happen like this. STUPID FINE! What do you think?


 
http://m.ajc.com/news/sports/football/white-perpetrator-fined-for-hitting-defenseless-pl/nhj2G/
 
 

Concussions are a common occurrence in football and other collision sports and need to be stopped or at the least lowered. These massive injuries cause many harmful effects such as  brain damage which permanently alters your brain, and you can't get another one of those. Three out of ten football players are said to receive brain damage from a concussion, but there are said to be many sub- concussion events throughout football. Brain damage caused by these many little concussions could lead to many life altering diseases such as Parkenson's.

I have played football for about 5 or 6 years and love it, but this is something I don't like at all. It is pretty scary to see a fellow teammate not knowing where they are or being knocked out on the field. I recently enrolled into Ola High School and play football there. There are some kids on the team, especially upper classmen, that have had concussions, and you can easily tell they have had them. They are mentally slower and just confused a lot.

Concussions are a serious matter and should be prevented whether it be by better technology or more rules. The helmets should be safer, safer technique should be taught, and better tests should be taken to determine when a person is concussion free and good to go.



Steinberg, Leigh." Urgent Actions Needed on Concussions." Huffingtonpost.com. 26 September.
           2014. Web. 29 September. 2014
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leigh-steinberg/urgent-action-neededconcu_b_5885282.html