The National Football League has finally stopped denying and its officials recently testified that there is an “unequivocal link” between football and the degenerative brain disease Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), which results in dementia, mood swings, depression, and even leads to death. While not only are we physiologically unable to fix the damage to our brains caused by blows to the head, there is currently no known method to diagnose this resulting disease without an autopsy.

It is one thing for adults to consent to the guarantee that their brain will be permanently damaged, and it’s another for parents to give consent for their kids to receive this consequence of some of the most popular sports they play today. This is not just football.

The anecdotal argument that, “I got my bell rung playing as a kid and I’m OK,” is no longer valid. We have a duty to find safer ways to play, or not allow our kids to play at all until we do. We're allowing our kids to inflict permanent brain damage on themselves and their peers without understanding the real dangers and consequences. I understand this is a very difficult discussion, but our nation, and, most importantly, our kids need it.

Jason Morris

New London