Illinois Legislator Joins Fight To Limit Hits In Football Practice

Chicago Tribune

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-02-11/news/ct-met-football-concussions-20130212_1_high-school-football-practice-state-lawmaker-chad-hetlet

A state legislator is proposing that high school football teams be allowed to tackle during only one practice per week, a restriction meant to protect young athletes from suffering brain damage produced by repeated jolts to the head.

Rep. Carol Sente, D-Lincolnshire, said her bill could help ensure the continued existence of a sport that has come under attack as researchers find links between football-related concussions and degenerative neurological diseases.

“When you hear the statistics and see the injuries and talk to administrators, you realize there might be a point where football might have to change drastically because the schools will have trouble getting liability insurance,” she said.

Sente said her bill, introduced in late January, was inspired by discussions with Dr. Larry Robbins, a Northbrook neurologist who wrote an opinion piece last year calling for a ban on tackle football for players younger than 18.