‘Honestly, I Was Hoping He Would Suck Or Would Hate It’: Families Grapple With Kids Playing Football

The dangers of CTE are documented, but kids are still playing collision sports. Here’s how parents come to that decision.

My 15-year-old was joking the other day about what he’ll do when he’s finally out from under my thumb:

“First thing I’m gonna do once I turn 18? Join a football team. Then the army!”

I laughed, equally relieved that he understands these activities are forbidden and has shown no interest in pursuing them. I understand that my view comes from a place of privilege. We don’t need a member of our family to become a professional athlete to lift us out of poverty, and I’m fairly confident that we can find a way to fund my child’s college education without a football scholarship (or one from the military, for that matter.)

Football isn’t part of our lives, and I view it from an outsider’s perspective, in the same light that I see bullfighting: a cultural tradition that, while troubling, holds deep meaning for many people — meaning that inspires them to play the sport.

For football fans and players’ families, however, the calculus is a lot more complicated.