Expect violent sports to die on the vine.
Expecially contact sports involving anyone under the age of 18.
New medical findings and a class-action lawsuit involving hundreds of former professional football players point to the negative after-effects of concussions suffered routinely in violent practice and play situations.
Punch-drunkedness, the affliction affecting boxers who took repeated blows to the head, now claims victims in football, rugby, lacrosse, field and ice hockey and full-contact martial arts.
Early onset dementia can result from just a few blows to the head because of the loss of thousands of brain cells.
Parents now have legitimate reasons to steer their children to the relatively safe sports of soccer, basketball, baseball, tennis, swimming, track and field.
As long as schools, clubs and sponsors ensure that coaches and managers recognize the signs of concussion and other dangerous injuries in any athletic activity. (17 JUNE 2012)
