High School Football Deaths Raise Concerns

Published November 18, 2015 at 12:52 PM CST

The Shoreham Wading River High School football team takes the field in Wading River, N.Y., on October 11, against Wyandanch in their first game since their teammate Tom Cutinella died on the field the week before. (Andrew Theodorakis/Getty Images)

At least 11 high school football players have died this year, either from head or neck injuries or heat-related illnesses. The most recent was a 17-year-old football player in Silver Springs, Kansas, who collapsed on the field after scoring an extra point and could not be revived.

Those numbers are raising concerns and have caught the attention of three members of Congress who want the federal government to study the problem. Three Representatives – Cedric Richmond (D-La.), Ralph Abraham (R-La.) and Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) – introduced the High School Football Safety Study Act, which would require the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study the causes of football-related deaths and create recommendations on how to keep them from happening.

Here & Now‘s sports analyst, Mike Pesca, speaks with host Jeremy Hobson about these deaths and what it means for the future of high school football.

Guest

Mike Pesca, host of the daily podcast The Gist and NPR contributor. He tweets @pescami.