Bill would ban tackle football for kids under 12
By Michelle Bandur
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SACRAMENTO, California (KCRA) — A new bill making its way through the California Legislature could make tackle football for younger children a thing of the past.
The idea is to protect children from serious injuries, including concussions while they are still growing. But critics of the proposed bill call it misguided and discriminatory.
Sacramento lawmaker Kevin McCarty is proposing Assembly Bill 734 for the third time. He argues there are other sports options for families and that the bill will save lives.
Under the bill, youth organizations would not allow kids younger than 12 years of age to engage in tackle football through the organization or a league.
“There are certain things that just aren’t safe for younger people,” McCarty said. ” Banging your brains around for little kids just isn’t safe.”
McCarty said it’s time the government steps in to save children; phase out tackle football and encourage flag football for kids.
“It’s a high school sport. It’s going to be an Olympic sport. There is no way you can do a safe sport of 9, 10 11 year-olds,” McCarty said.
Opponents of the bill said they’ve fought it every time the bill has surfaced,
“We have had to fight it all three times, and I can tell you we will fight it again,” said Jay Erhart, the league commissioner for Sacramento Youth Football.
Erhart said it’s the largest youth league in the nation with 9,000 participants, ages six to 14. The league has changed rules for less contact at practices and made the sport safer with equipment.
“With over 9,000 kids last year, we had less than 20 kids that went into return-to-play protocol for concussions,” Erhart said.
However, when it comes to protecting children from outside influences, Erhart said that’s where the bill fumbles.
“It’s going to just disenfranchise kids,” he said. “Those kids in our most needed communities, inner city, our rural communities are going to miss out on a lot, a lot of life lessons as well.”
In defense of the bill, McCarty said he’s talked with former NFL players who didn’t play youth tackle football.
“Kids can still succeed if they wait and wait for tackle football until they reach puberty,” McCarty said.
The CEO of the Concussion Legacy Foundation agrees.
Chris Nowinski said he played college football and is now grateful he didn’t start until college.
“A good question of debate about whether government should be telling us what sports our kids can and cannot play, but if you reframe the question and ask, ‘Should a parent be allowed to give their child brain disease?’ We all agree on that,” Nowinski said.
State lawmakers in the Arts, Entertainment and Sports Committee will hear testimony from both sides Wednesday at 9 a.m. The Founder of the California Youth Football Alliance says this bill will affect nearly 100,000 kids statewide and also calls the bill “misguided.”
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