Following the recent deaths of two Alabama high school football players, the Alabama High School Athletic Assocation medical director James Robinson maintains that the sport of football is safe.
"Football is still safe," Robinson told AL.com. "If you look at the data from the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research, you will see that death rates remain at a fairly stable level. In 2023, there were 16 deaths at all levels. Ten were medically related, three were traumatic and three were not football related or unknown. At the high school level, four were medically related and three were related to traumatic head injuries. This is out of 4.2 million participants at all levels. While we had one traumatic head injury death and what seems like one medical death in Alabama, I do not know the numbers for the rest of the country. It is unusual to have two deaths already this early.”
Robinson's comments come after 16-year-old Morgan Academy student Caden Tellier died Saturday after suffering a critical brain injury during a Friday game. And earlier this month 14-year-old freshman Semaj Wilkins died after collapsing during a mid-week practice.
When asked if football were not currently a sport, whether the AHSAA would begin such a program given what it knows about the nature of the sport, Robinson affirmed that he thinks football is here to stay.
“I personally think football is here to stay," he said. "Every year organizations that sponsor football try to make the sport safer with rule changes and equipment modifications.”
Robinson said that he thinks it's necessary that parents understand that there are risks with any sport.
“I would tell them that there are risks in all sports, especially the cardiac conditions," Robinson said. "Football is unique as far as traumatic injuries are concerned, but there are similar risks in other sports as well (wrestling, soccer, cheerleading, gymnastics). I would make sure the parents understood the risks, understood the signs and symptoms of these serious conditions and would tell them to get a good preparticipation physical from a physician that is knowledgeable in sports related conditions and injuries and not just get a piece of paper signed. Probably the most important thing I would tell them is to make sure there is a Licensed Athletic Trainer at their school. Not all schools have one and they have been proven to reduce injuries and can properly respond to serious conditions. It is not mandatory to have one, but every school and athletic department should do everything possible to secure one for their school.”
