Football helmets should not be used.

Thank you for the opportunity to debate this topic. I look forward to a good discussion.Imagine there’s no helmet It’s easy if you try. Imagine all the people......smashed in the head by a 250 pound missile, leading with a shoulder pad, traveling close to 20 miles per hour. s://media.giphy.com...; alt="" />If the image does not load, https://media.giphy.com... s://media.giphy.com...; alt="" />If the image does not load: https://media.giphy.com...You seem like you have a pretty good head on your shoulders. I like to think that I have a pretty good head on my shoulders; handsome one, too (although empirical evidence suggests that’s a minority opinion - I digress). In fact, as I look around, everyone I see seems to have a head placed directly above and between a pair of shoulders. Except maybe this guy, who thought it would be safer to battle without a helmet. s://l2wiki.com...; alt="" />If the image does not load: https://l2wiki.com...Which brings me, in a round-about way, to my reasoning for arguing against your proposal. The helmet is not designed to effectively protect against CTE because the brain moves around inside your head during a concussion. [1] The helmet’s primary purpose is to protect the head against violent external blunt-force trauma. Removing the helmet because it is bad at doing something that is nearly impossible is an inappropriate solution to a very difficult problem. If you’ve ever played football, say in the CFL for two years, proper tackling technique involves head up with chest and shoulder contact to a strike zone in the opponent’s chest (or center of gravity), wrapping with arms around the ball carrier, and accelerating through the target with force from your legs and hips. [2] Ideally, that solves the spearing problem. The NFL has a policy in place to penalize spearing as unsportsmanlike conduct and the targeting rule (for intentional head contact) which results in an ejection and fine. The league is not ignoring this problem, rather it is changing the way people play the game by harshly penalizing dangerous hits. Rules specifically prohibit helmet contact with a quarterback, defenseless players like receivers and return men, running backs lowering their head, and of course, spearing. [3] However, the ball carrier, also has an objective to absorb the tackle impact. The ball carrier accelerates with legs and hips, and (this is the important part) lowers his center of gravity below that of the the tackler. This is instinctive for most athletes. It would be nice, if the ball carrier remained nice and high, elongated, and exposed. Then the target zone, instead of moving at a very high speed and attempting to evade the tackle, would absorb a nice hit and plant directly into the ground. No heads would be damaged in this experience. Which brings me back to the images above. Even with attempts at proper tackling technique, two opposing forces drop shoulders and head because the head is attached to the shoulders and chest. The top image shows outstanding shoulder to chest contact, but the heads still collide. The bottom image shows poor tackling technique (but excellent running technique) and the player suffers a concussion, leaving fans with fears of the player injured his neck or spine. Neither situation demonstrates what you labeled “spearing”. It's normal football. Both situations demonstrate the vulnerability of the head due to high-speed collisions while players wear body armor, designed specifically for protecting the player against those high-speed collisions. Players feel invulnerable so players hit harder. Good technique goes for a target zone in close proximity to the head. Heads get hit as a result of the speed of the game, the size of the players, the extensive armor, and the desire to impose one’s will physically on the opponent. None of those will change if you remove the helmet. The helmet is designed to protect the head (and neck) from external blunt forces that could cause serious injury, paralysis, and death. Removing the helmet without changing the rest of the body armor is extremely dangerous even with proper tackling technique. If the image does not load: http://media.giphy.com... Citations:[1] http://www.webmd.com...[2] http://usafootball.com...[3] http://operations.nfl.com...