Frequent Questions

We do our best to answer all the questions our supporters may have.

• WHY IS THE DOYLE FAMILY FOUNDATION INTERESTED IN THIS ISSUE?

  Most people think the former NFL players seeking compensation from the NFL’s Billion Dollar settlement Fund got CTE while playing professionally. Actually, the disease was initiated when they played youth football. NFL players who did not play until High School, when their brains were more mature, did not get CTE.

• SOMEONE TOLD ME THAT FLAG CAN BE JUST AS DANGEROUS AS TACKLE FOOTBALL. IS THAT BE TRUE?

  According to the Concussion Legacy Foundation, Tackle football is more dangerous for the brain than flag football. Youth tackle football advocates have been citing a poorly designed study out of Iowa (Peterson et al. Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine) that required coaches to voluntarily report injuries. The study claimed that among 3,525 tackle players, 30 concussions were diagnosed, and among 269 flag players, 3 concussions were diagnosed.

• HOW CAN I BRING THIS INFORMATION TO MY COMMUNITY?

  Word of mouth is always a start. Talking to friends and family about this issue is the first step to create mass change. Reaching out to your child's school about this issue can also be helpful

• HOW CAN WE MAKE A DECISION WITHOUT KNOWING THE RISKS?

  According to the Concussion Legacy Foundation, It is inappropriate to say our lack of knowledge of CTE genetics prevents us from making recommendations to protect children. With 110 of 111 former NFL players diagnosed with CTE, it is very unlikely there exists a gene that is 100% protective against CTE. If that is the case, then we are required to protect all children equally from environmental exposure.

• WASN'T THERE A STUDY SHOWING HIGH SCHOOL PLAYERS FROM THE 50's HAVING NO CTE

  According to the Concussion Legacy Foundation, A study of members of the high school class of 1957 in Wisconsin found that high school football players did not have an increased risk of cognitive and emotional problems later in life. Two other much smaller studies from the Mayo clinic have had similar results studying boys who played high school football between 1946 and 1970. While the Wisconsin study authors noted, “Our findings may not generalize to current high school football players, as football has changed dramatically since the 1950s,” we look at this study as supportive of Flag Football Under 14. Youth football was not widespread until the 1970s, so while the study did not know if subjects played youth tackle football, it is safe to assume few, if any, did. Vestibulum id ligula porta felis euismod semper. Donec id elit non mi porta gravida at eget metus. Etiam porta sem malesuada magna mollis euismod. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Integer posuere erat a ante venenatis dapibus posuere velit aliquet.

• ISN'T IT SAFER TO LEARN TO BLOCK OR TACKLE BEFORE THEIR TEENAGE YEARS?

  According to the Concussion Legacy Foundation, There's no analysis supporting the argument that learning tackle or block at an early age is beneficial. It was originally a surprise to seek out smaller, slower youth players still suffer head impacts virtually as severe as faculty soccer players. However, now that we understand the “Bobblehead Effect,” it makes sense that tackling as a young person appears to be at least as dangerous for the brain as tackling at any other age.

• CAN YOUTH TACKLE FOOTBALL BE SAFER IF WE MINIMIZE TACKLE IN PRACTICE?

  According to the Concussion Legacy Foundation, We strongly encourage high school, college, and professional teams to limit hitting in practice. However, for young children, hundreds of head impacts are never appropriate. It is analogous to asking whether children should smoke two packs of cigarettes a day or limit their smoking to one pack of cigarettes a day. The only appropriate goal for a child is no cigarettes.

• CAN WEARING HELMETS MAKE YOUTH TACKLE FOOTBALL SAFE?

  According to the Concussion Legacy Foundation, Helmets cannot make youth tackle football safe enough. Helmets primarily protect players from a skull fracture, but they are limited in how much they can protect the brain. The brain is the consistency of custard, and when the head is impacted, the brain moves, twists, and stretches within the skull, causing damage to the delicate cells and their trillions of fragile connections. Watch this video. There is not much hope that helmets can be radically improved. When asked how much better football helmets can get, expert Dr. Stefan Duma of Virginia Tech University said, “I think we are at 90 percent of where we are going to be. About as good as we can get." Cras mattis consectetur purus sit amet fermentum. Aenean eu leo quam. Pellentesque ornare sem lacinia quam venenatis vestibulum. Cras justo odio, dapibus ac facilisis in, egestas eget quam. Nulla vitae elit libero, a pharetra augue. Aenean lacinia bibendum nulla sed consectetur. Duis mollis, est non commodo luctus, nisi erat porttitor ligula, eget lacinia odio sem nec elit. Nulla vitae elit libero, a pharetra augue. Morbi leo risus, porta ac consectetur ac, vestibulum at eros. Integer posuere erat a ante venenatis dapibus posuere velit aliquet. Cras mattis consectetur purus sit amet fermentum. Fusce dapibus, tellus ac cursus commodo, tortor mauris condimentum nibh, ut fermentum massa justo sit amet risus.

• MY TOWN DOESN'T OFFER FLAG FOOTBALL. WHAT DO I DO?

  Yes, this becomes an issue with some parent's trying to look out for the best interest of their child. The main message Flag Football for Kids is about is to promote team sports that do not cause longterm brain damage. Any sport you can think of that has those two elements is A-OK. To be sure, please check out NFL Flag Football League

• WHAT ARE THE RULES OF FLAG FOOTBALL

  The rules are pretty complex. Please see our page NFL Flag Football Rules

• DOES TRAINING "HEADS UP FOOTBALL" MAKE YOUTH FOOTBALL SAFER?

  According to the Concussion Legacy Foundation, A game with blocking and tackling, no matter the form used, will cause repetitive head impacts. Children are not capable of executing “proper technique” 100% of the time, nor are their motor skills refined enough to consistently make the split-second movements required to put their head in the “proper” position when making a tackle. These are the same reasons why we don’t let children drive cars. Giving 6-year-olds driver education would lead to a safer form of 6-year-olds driving, but we still don't allow children that young to drive because it’s still not safe enough, no matter the technique we are teaching them.

• CAN TACKLE FOOTBALL CAN BE CHANGED TO BE MADE SAFER?

  According to the Concussion Legacy Foundation, it can't. Tackle football cannot be reformed to make it safe for children. The fundamental problem with youth tackle football is that the act of tackling and blocking a moving person will always create accidental, but repeated head impacts. Vestibulum id ligula porta felis euismod semper. Donec id elit non mi porta gravida at eget metus. Etiam porta sem malesuada magna mollis euismod. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Integer posuere erat a ante venenatis dapibus posuere velit aliquet.