In order to prevent concussions without changing how the game is played, the NFL should focus on improving the design of the typical football helmet. With modern day technology, there should be a way that a helmet can be designed that would prevent concussions. The money that would be spent on the improvement would be less than the possible decline of income because of the loss of NFL fans.
NFL players know the risks of playing the game that they get paid to play. Most will choose to play through a concussion even if they know they have one. It comes down to the personal choice of NFL players and if the players do not mind the effects, then the rules of the sport should not be up for debate. San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Justin Smith says this about playing even with the knowledge of possible brain damage. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out if (you have) a concussion, you're probably damaging your brain a little bit. Just like if you sprain your wrist a bunch, you're going to have some wrist problems down the road. Yeah, I'd still play the through it. It's part of it. It's part of the game" (Haerens, Zott, par. 11). As Jones-Drew said earlier "If you don't want to get hit, you shouldn't be playing". The viewpoints of both of these professional athletes show, ultimately it is up to the player, and if you are not willing to risk the possible effects of a concussion, then you should not be playing the game. It is important that the viewpoints of the professionals are considered before changes to the rules of the game they play are made. .
One reason that there is increasing controversy over concussions is with modern technology, we can now easily detect whether or not an athlete has sustained a concussion. Before, players were almost forced to continue playing with a concussion due to the lack of resources available to trainers. Players would continue to play even if there was a concussion suffered.
