Is It Time to Ban Kids From Playing Tackle Football?

As far as football controversies go, Deflategate has nothing on youth leagues. The intensity of the game, the vitriol of the parents, and the overall safety of the sport have been called into question recently, and Esquire Network's hit Friday Night Tykes brings many of these issues to light. In tonight's episode, one of the 10- and 11-year-olds in Texas's TYFA league gets a pretty serious concussion on the field. After a head-to-head collision, the Outlaws' JuJu Thomas has trouble getting up from the play. He's cross-eyed, he's complaining that his entire head hurts, and he's escorted off the field. EMS arrives as play resumes, and Thomas is taken to the hospital for further examination.

Scenes like this are becoming more common in the NFL, the NCAA, high school, and youth leagues, leading many to call football too dangerous a sport for tots. While others say it is just the nature of the sport, some, including a recent Boston University study, suggest that young kids shouldn't be playing football at all. "There's increasing evidence that children respond differently to head trauma than adults," the study's lead author Julie Stamm said. "Kids who are hitting their heads over and over during this important time of brain development may have consequences later in life."

Tell us, do you (or would you) let your kids play tackle football?