‘I don’t let my kid play’: Former NFL Player On Concussions And The Future Of The NFL

For the past decade — much to the chagrin of many fans — the NFL has implemented notable rules changes in an attempt to cut down on collisions which result in concussions. As increased research continues to raise awareness about the correlation between repeated head trauma and long-term brain damage, the league has launched a renewed player safety movement. 

Most notably, the league has restricted hits on “defenseless players,” amended kick-off rules to restrict players from taking running starts before the play, and reduced the number of full-contact practices for teams throughout the week. The rule change has helped decrease the number of concussions per game, but some old school fans (and a few players) say they miss the massive collisions that once occurred regularly on the field. 

As data continues to indicate a direct correlation between football and brain injuries, more and more parents are debating the merits of allowing their sons to play the game beloved by so many. 

The Daily Wire sat down with former NFL safety Jack Brewer to discuss the game today and the decision that parents face when it comes to allowing their children to strap on the pads. 

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DAILY WIRE: You didn’t play all that long ago, but the NFL has changed quite a bit. What is your take on all the new rule changes? Is it something you would be comfortable with if you were playing today, as far as the lessening of contact?

JACK BREWER: I don’t think I would be as effective of a player in today’s game as I was when I played. I think kind of my edge in my game – if I had one – was my aggression. For my size, I played receiver all through college and I hit at receiver just like I did at DB (defensive back). I was an old school player even in my time. 

So for me, it would be difficult. I learned how to tackle from coach David Gibbs teaching me how to “shoot them out.” I didn’t always have my head up – I tried to – but the way you have to hit now, I don’t know. It’s just a different game. 

DAILY WIRE: Which is potentially better as far as protecting players, especially with what we’ve seen with concussions. There is a small part of me that misses kickoffs and I do think there’s a potential for players with less practices that would have had a chance to make a football team that might not nowadays. 

BREWER: No doubt. The guys like myself again, the first month or two of practice, I don’t know. I may have gotten one or two reps to practice in actual competition. So, I can’t imagine being that guy who was a free agent, and coming in having to beat out four or five people at a position, which I had to. How do you get that opportunity? And if you can’t show that you can hit … I’d go blow somebody up in practice, or a pre-season game, or make a bunch of tackles. And that’s how I ended up making a team. What does a guy now do? And then you look at – with all of this stuff with COVID and the way that they changed college football – some of these late bloomer players who may bloom when they get to be 21, 22 years old, they’re not getting the opportunity to be seen as some of the early bloomers. People forget, when you play a sport like football, you become a man at different ages. 

Some guys may become a man at 18,19 years old. Other people may become a man at 23. I was a late bloomer. I didn’t have my man strength starting to come until I was 23 years old. So people don’t realize but that’s a big deal. And so I just think a lot of kids these days are missing out on that opportunity or having to take a difficult path, particularly in the sport of football. 

DAILY WIRE: Are you worried at all about football in the future? As far as the amount of kids that aren’t playing the game? We know parents that won’t let their kids play football because of the contact. Is that something that concerns you moving forward?

BREWER: You know, I’m not going to say it concerns me because I don’t let my kid play. So, I’m not going to sit here and say it doesn’t concern me because I understand why someone wouldn’t want their kid to play. If your kid, maybe he’s talented at football and that’s his ticket out of poverty, or that’s his ticket out of the situation he’s in or the chance to go to college or to do something where he can make life better for himself, his family or his community, so be it. But to say I’m going to put my kid in that when he can probably go to college either way and he may have resources to play and take baseball lessons and train at soccer and train at these other sports. 

A lot of communities – particularly in the South – football, you can play without having any money, because if you’re real good, you have access to it. You’re not going to just be a great soccer player growing up in the U.S. and the inner city area, unless you got a little money to get some training because that’s the type of sport it is. 

Same with baseball. You better have somebody in your community that could spend that time with you because they’re specialized sports. I don’t know an inner city community or school that doesn’t have a football team. 

My kid, I coach baseball and he played soccer, and we do flag football now. Under Armour has an awesome league. They have a bunch of communities that do with flag football. So, I keep him around the game cause I love the game, but to say I want my eight year old out there banging heads? No, I can’t particularly say that when I’ve seen the damage and I have close friends who are dying early or getting issues with concussions and neuro cognitive disorders. Some of my best friends. So, I can’t necessarily say that my feelings will be hurt if kids stopped playing football. 

Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers and the NBA for Sporting News. 

The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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