(8) Football has the highest incidence of con-
cussions, which also occur in many other sports such 
as baseball, basketball, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, 
and softball. 
(9) An estimated 4,500,000 children play foot-
ball in organized youth and school sports leagues, in-
cluding approximately 1,500,000 high school players. 
(10) According to the Consumer Product Safety 
Commission, more than 920,000 athletes under the 
age of 18 were treated in emergency rooms, doctors’ 
offices, and clinics for football-related injuries in the 
year 2007. 
(11) In any given football season, 20 percent of 
all high school football players sustain brain injuries. 
(12) One study that included a post-season sur-
vey of football players found that 47 percent experi-
enced at least one concussion and almost 35 percent 
experienced multiple concussions. 
(13) Medical experts at Boston University 
School of Medicine found that a deceased 18-year- 
old athlete, who had experienced multiple concus-
sions playing high school football, suffered from 
chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative 
brain disease caused by head trauma. 
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(14) A football helmet’s ability to protect play-
ers from injury by attenuating acceleration forces 
can decline over time as the helmet experiences 
thousands of hits from use during successive football 
seasons after its original date of manufacture. 
(15) According to industry estimates, 100,000 
football helmets more than ten years old, and thou-
sands almost twenty years old, were worn by players 
in the 2009 season. 
(16) A high school football player who suffered 
brain damage from being hit in the head soon after 
suffering a previous concussion was wearing a twen-
ty-year-old football helmet when he was injured. 
(17) Children as young as 5 years old rely on 
football helmets to protect against head injury. 
(18) The widespread adoption of a voluntary in-
dustry standard for football helmet safety led to an 
80-percent reduction in life-threatening subdural he-
matoma injuries. 
(19) The voluntary industry safety standard for 
football helmets does not specifically address concus-
sion risk. 
(20) There is no voluntary industry safety 
standard specifically for youth football helmets worn 
by children, who have different physiological charac-
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teristics from adults in terms of head size and neck 
strength, especially those who are younger than 12 
years old. 
(21) Some football helmet manufacturers and 
resellers have used misleading concussion safety 
claims to sell children’s football helmets. 
(22) Some used helmet reconditioners have 
falsely certified that reconditioned helmets provided 
to schools and youth football teams met voluntary 
industry safety standards. 
(23) Used helmet reconditioners do not inde-
pendently test reconditioned helmets before certi-
fying that they meet voluntary industry safety 
standards. 
(24) The industry organization that sets vol-
untary football helmet safety standards does not 
conduct independent testing nor market surveillance 
to ensure compliance with such voluntary safety 
standards by manufacturers and reconditioners that 
certify new and used helmets to such standards. 
(25) Football helmet manufacturers and re-
conditioners place product warning labels under-
neath padding where the warning labels are ob-
scured from view and not clearly legible. 
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(26) The Consumer Product Safety Act (15 
U.S.C. 2051 et seq.) charges the Consumer Product 
Safety Commission with protecting the public from 
unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from 
consumer products, including consumer products 
used in recreation and in schools. 
(27) The Federal Trade Commission Act (15 
U.S.C. 41 et seq.) empowers the Federal Trade 
Commission to prevent unfair or deceptive acts or 
practices, and prohibits the dissemination of mis-
leading claims for devices or services. 
SEC. 3. FOOTBALL HELMET SAFETY STANDARDS. 
(a) VOLUNTARY
STANDARD
DETERMINATION.— 
Within 9 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Consumer Product Safety Commission shall deter-
mine, with respect to a standard or standards submitted 
by a voluntary standards-setting organization regarding 
youth football helmets, reconditioned football helmets, and 
new football helmet concussion resistance (if feasible) 
whether— 
(1) compliance with the standard or standards 
is likely to result in the elimination or adequate re-
duction of the risk of injury in connection with the 
use of football helmets; 
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(2) it is likely that there will be substantial 
compliance with the standard or standards; and 
(3) the standard or standards are maintained 
by a standards-setting organization that meets the 
requirements of the document ‘‘ANSI Essential Re-
quirements: Due Process Requirements for Amer-
ican National Standards’’ published in January 
2010 by the American National Standards Institute 
(or any successor document). 
(b) CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY STANDARD.—Un-
less the Consumer Product Safety Commission makes an 
affirmative determination with respect to a standard or 
standards under subsection (a) that addresses the matters 
to which the following standards would apply, the Com-
mission shall initiate a rulemaking proceeding for the de-
velopment of a consumer product safety rule with respect 
to the following: 
(1) YOUTH FOOTBALL HELMETS.—A standard 
for youth football helmets which is informed by chil-
dren’s different physiological characteristics from 
adults in terms of head size and neck strength. 
(2) RECONDITIONED FOOTBALL HELMETS.—A 
standard for all reconditioned football helmets. 
(3) NEW FOOTBALL HELMET CONCUSSION RE-
SISTANCE.—A standard for all new football helmets 
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that addresses concussion risk, if the Commission 
determines that such a standard is feasible given 
current understanding of concussion risk and how 
helmets can prevent concussion. 
(4) FOOTBALL HELMET WARNING LABELS.—A 
standard for warning labels on all football helmets 
that, at a minimum, requires clearly legible and fully 
visible statements warning consumers of the limits 
of protection afforded by the helmet. This standard 
may include requirements for pictograms, instruc-
tions, guidelines, or other cautions to consumers 
about injury risk and the proper use of football hel-
mets. 
(5) DATE OF MANUFACTURE LABEL FOR NEW 
FOOTBALL HELMETS.—A standard for a clearly leg-
ible and fully visible label on all new football helmets 
stating the football helmet’s original date of manu-
facture and warning consumers that a football hel-
met’s ability to protect the wearer can decline over 
time. 
(6) DATE OF RECONDITIONING LABEL FOR RE-
CONDITIONED HELMETS.—A standard for a clearly 
legible and fully visible label on all reconditioned 
football helmets stating the helmet’s last date of re-
conditioning, its original date of manufacture, and 
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warning consumers that a football helmet’s ability to 
protect the wearer can decline over time, despite 
being properly and regularly reconditioned. 
(c) SAFETY STANDARDS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall— 
(A) in consultation with representatives of 
coaches, consumer groups, engineers, medical 
experts, school sports directors, scientists, and 
sports equipment standard-setting organiza-
tions, examine and assess the effectiveness of 
any voluntary consumer product safety stand-
ards for youth football helmets, reconditioned 
football helmets, and new football helmet con-
cussion resistance proposed by a voluntary 
standards-setting organization; and 
(B) in accordance with section 553 of title 
5, United States Code, promulgate consumer 
product safety standards that— 
(i) are substantially the same as such 
voluntary standards; or 
(ii) are more stringent than such vol-
untary standards, if the Commission deter-
mines that more stringent standards would 
further reduce the risk of injury associated 
with football helmets. 
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(2) TIMETABLE
FOR
RULEMAKING.—If the 
Commission does not make an affirmative deter-
mination under subsection (a) within the 9-month 
period, the Commission shall commence the rule-
making required by subsection (b) within 30 days 
after the end of that 9-month period. The Commis-
sion shall periodically review and revise the stand-
ards set forth in the consumer product safety rule 
prescribed pursuant to that proceeding to ensure 
that such standards provide the highest level of safe-
ty for football helmets that is feasible. 
SEC. 4. APPLICATION OF THIRD-PARTY TESTING AND CER-
TIFICATION 
REQUIREMENTS 
TO 
YOUTH 
FOOTBALL HELMETS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The third-party testing and cer-
tification requirements of section 14(a)(2) of the Con-
sumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2063(a)(2)) shall 
apply to any youth football helmet (including a recondi-
tioned youth football helmet) to which any consumer prod-
uct safety rule prescribed under section 3(b) of this Act 
applies as if the helmet were a children’s product that is 
subject to a children’s product safety rule without regard 
to the age of the individual for whom it is primarily de-
signed or intended. 
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(b) SPECIAL APPLICATION OF DEFINITION OF CHIL-
DREN’S PRODUCT FOR PURPOSES OF TESTING AND CER-
TIFICATION OF FOOTBALL HELMETS.—For the exclusive 
purpose of applying the definition of the term ‘‘children’s 
product’’ in section 3(a)(2) of the Consumer Product Safe-
ty Act (15 U.S.C. 2052(a)(2)) to the requirements of sub-
section (a) of this section, ‘‘18 years’’ shall be substituted 
for ‘‘12 years’’ each place it appears. 
(c) For the purposes of this section, third-party test-
ing and certification shall be conducted by a testing lab-
oratory that has an accreditation— 
(1) that meets International Organization for 
Standardization/International Electrotechnical Com-
mission standard 17025:2005 entitled General Re-
quirements for the Competence of Testing and Cali-
bration Laboratories (or any successor standard that 
is from an accreditation body that is signatory to 
the International Laboratory Accreditation Coopera-
tion for testing accreditation); 
(2) that meets International Organization for 
Standardization/International Electrotechnical Com-
mission Guide 65:1996 entitled General Require-
ments for Bodies Operating Product Certification 
Systems (or any successor standard that is from an 
accreditation body that is signatory to the Inter-
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national Accreditation Forum for product certifi-
cation accreditation); and 
(3) that includes all appropriate football helmet 
standards and test methods within the scope of the 
accreditation. 
SEC. 5. FALSE OR MISLEADING CLAIMS WITH RESPECT TO 
ATHLETIC SPORTING ACTIVITY GOODS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—It is unlawful for any person to 
sell, or offer for sale, in interstate commerce, or import 
into the United States for the purpose of selling or offer-
ing for sale, any item of equipment intended, designed, 
or offered for use by an individual engaged in any athletic 
sporting activity, whether professional or amateur, for 
which the seller or importer, or any person acting on be-
half of the seller or importer, makes any false or mis-
leading claim with respect to the safety benefits of such 
item. 
(b) ENFORCEMENT BY FEDERAL TRADE COMMIS-
SION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Violation of subsection (a), 
or any regulation prescribed under this section, shall 
be treated as a violation of a rule under section 18 
of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 
57a) regarding unfair or deceptive acts or practices. 
The Federal Trade Commission shall enforce this 
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Act in the same manner, by the same means, and 
with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as 
though all applicable terms and provisions of the 
Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et 
seq.) were incorporated into and made a part of this 
Act. 
(2) REGULATIONS.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, the Commission may promulgate 
such regulations as it finds necessary or appropriate 
under this Act under section 553 of title 5, United 
States Code. 
(3) PENALTIES.—Any person who violates sub-
section (a) or any regulation prescribed under that 
section, shall be subject to the penalties and entitled 
to the privileges and immunities provided in the 
Federal Trade Commission Act as though all appli-
cable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade 
Commission Act were incorporated in and made part 
of this Act. 
(4) AUTHORITY PRESERVED.—Nothing in this 
section shall be construed to limit the authority of 
the Commission under any other provision of law. 
(c) ENFORCEMENT
BY STATE ATTORNEYS GEN-
ERAL.— 
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