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Comment by psaintla | Hacker News Reader

The talent pipeline for professional football is going to dry up no matter what. As more scientific evidence mounts of what we already know anecdotally lawsuits will increase along with the insurance costs for youth football. There is no stopping that.

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My dad played football, and so did I. My child will not, because his brain is more important than football. That's anecdotal, but there are plenty more like us.

Isn't their this kind of risk in lots of sports? They haven't seen talent dry up

e.g. Motorsport

In the 70's Formula 1 there were 9 deaths and many more serious injuries. Safety has improved significantly in the last 15 years but there was never a lack of talent in the most dangerous years.

e.g. Boxing

I don't have specific evidence here but in a sport where people punch each other there has to be long term risk and it continues to prove extremely popular.

e.g. Rugby

Again little specific evidence but it's at least as brutal as the NFL and lacks the protection for the players. I know several kids in my local area who have suffered broken necks, paralysis, and I've heard of one death. And these were kids playing for their high school team. Yet it continues to grow in popularity and talent.

There is a huge difference between those sports and football. Youth football is sponsored and run by public schools whose residents will not want to cover the financial fallout from a lawsuit. Private schools have been ending football programs for awhile now because they have even less ability to pay for a lawsuit, it's only a matter of time before public schools go the same route.

I completely disagree. There is a huge difference between professional and amateur level football in terms of intensity and potential damage, so the inherent danger is orders of magnitude lower at the high school and most of the college level. At elite college levels, the potential for money from a future NFL career will trump any concern about personal safety. Furthermore, parents are going to have a hard time preventing a kid with clear potential from playing high school football.

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