I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3986 

To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through 

the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and 

in consultation with the Secretary of Education and the President’s 

Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition, to conduct a study on the 

causes of deaths related to high school football and formulate recommendations to prevent such deaths. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 5, 2015 

Mr. RICHMOND (for himself, Mr. RUSH, and Mr. ABRAHAM) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 

case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 

the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 

acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention, and in consultation with the 

Secretary of Education and the President’s Council on 

Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition, to conduct a study on 

the causes of deaths related to high school football and 

formulate recommendations to prevent such deaths. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘High School Football 

3 Safety Study Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 The Congress finds as follows: 

6 (1) As of October 27, 2015, seven high school 

7 football players—Cam’ron Matthews, Roddrick Wil8 liams, Kenney Bui, Evan Murray, Ben Hamm, 

9 Tyrell Cameron, and Andre Smith—have passed 

10 away during calendar year 2015 from causes directly 

11 or indirectly related to football, including head or 

12 neck trauma, heat stroke, and dehydration. 

13 (2) According to the National Center for Cata14 strophic Sports Injury Research, 1,207 high school 

15 football players have passed away since 1931 from 

16 causes directly or indirectly related to football. 

17 (3) Over the past several years, the negative 

18 health effects of repeated head trauma have become 

19 clearer. 

20 (4) Protecting the Nation’s children is one of 

21 the most important responsibilities of parents and 

22 Members of Congress. 


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1 SEC. 3. STUDYING HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL DEATHS AND 

2 DEVELOPING RECOMMENDATIONS TO PRE3 VENT FUTURE TRAGEDIES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

5 Human Services (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Sec6 retary’’), acting through the Director of the Centers for 

7 Disease Control and Prevention, and in consultation with 

8 the Secretary of Education and the President’s Council 

9 on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition, shall conduct a study— 

10 (1) to more precisely identify the causes of 

11 deaths related to high school football; and 

12 (2) to develop recommendations to prevent such 

13 deaths in the future. 

14 (b) SOLICITING INPUT.—In carrying out subsection 

15 (a), the Secretary shall seek input from nongovernmental 

16 entities, including organizations representing football 

17 coaches, athletic trainers, parents, and health care profes18 sionals. 

19 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

20 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 

21 the Congress and publish on the public Website of the 

22 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality a report on 

23 the results of the study under subsection (a). 

24 (d) CONTENTS.—The report under subsection (a) 

25 shall include— 


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1 (1) a comprehensive review of research con2 ducted on deaths in high school football; 

3 (2) an evaluation of causes of deaths related to 

4 high school football; and 

5 (3) recommendations on actions that can be 

6 taken by schools, coaches, trainers, and govern7 mental entities to prevent high school deaths from 

8 occurring in the future, including— 

9 (A) measures to prevent life-threatening 

10 injury from occurring; 

11 (B) medical treatment protocols to treat 

12 these injuries when they occur; and 

13 (C) ways in which technology and data 

14 analytics can be used to prevent serious injury 

15 and death. 

Æ 


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