I played rugby for a season in college. 2nd game I did a tackle bad, head slid down the back of the leg right into his cleat. 6 stitches on the left eye orbit. Nearly lost an eye.
2 seasons ago we had a football player play basketball. Dove and took a header. Broke a front tooth, jammed the other into his gum. Concussion. Had a shoulder injury in football, but no concussions.
2 seasons ago we had a JV player get 2 concussions on the same play. Neither hit was substantial. Pass blocking and slid down hit the defenders knee. QB throws a pick so he gets up and heads downfield, DB cuts in front of him, he tries to make the tackle, another concussion within 8 seconds or so. He's got some physical issues that he's still working through.
Had a player 5 years ago that fell off his skateboard going down a hill and got a bad concussion. Almost fractured his skull. He's had 3 concussions, none from football.
Track kid drops a shot on his foot in the ring, broke 3 toes, almost had to lose 1.
Female soccer player here got a concussion and had physical coordination issues for several months after.
I know a classmate from college that was playing rugby. Got in a scrum, got his neck bent, then broken. In a chair for 3 years, uses canes today.
I hit a safety my senior year that was head to head, crown to crown. His helmet was 1" lower than mine so he bent my facemask almost to my nose and that was when it was the steel linemen cage with a full nose bar.
My first helmet was a suspension helmet that I broke and resewed it back together.
3 kids have been killed here in the past 4 years from car accidents.
Football is a collision sport that favors big, fast, strong, athletes. I have no issue with parents/players making an informed decision not to play football. Or with them playing something else. But what I do not approve of is making a decision like this based on invalid/incomplete/premature studies or a sound bite or a headline or a conversation with a friend that has a girlfriend that has a cousin that played for a year. We all have a responsibility to help parents make an informed decision. And that means we have to be informed. But right now it seems that football (and eventually soccer, then basketball, then baseball, then.....) is being branded as the Bad Neighbor without much thought as to what can be gained from football.
Is football violent and subject to inflict injuries? Yes. Does it have value in the development of a young man? Yes. All I ask is for parents to be provided with a full set of data and let them make the decision without every headline seeming to be screaming at them that they are stupid for letting their child even consider football.