Youth football safety once again a hotly-contested debate topic after death of two teenagers

The death of two young football players in late August sparked yet another conversation about the safety of youth football. A 13-year-old middle school player died from brain trauma during a practice, but his father, Ryan Craddock, recently spoke out and said this tragedy doesn’t mean kids should give up the sport.

Instead, the father is urging schools to add head protectors called guardian caps to their football helmets. 

“I don’t want to waste time,” Craddock said in an interview with CBS News. “So that’s the reason why I’m trying to push to get guardian caps for these kids now…I do not want to see this happen to anybody else.”

In August, Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman James Daniels wore a guardian cap during a preseason game against the Houston Texans. He became one of the first, if not the first, NFL player to wear one during a game. The caps have become more commonplace during practices.

Cohen died the same weekend as Caden Tellier, a 16-year-old Alabama high school quarterback who suffered a brain injury during a game. 

According to CBS News, at least seven teenagers who played football died in the U.S. during the month of August. Not all of them were from head trauma, such as 16-year-old Leslie Noble in Baltimore who collapsed from an apparent heatstroke.

“If you look at the main causes of catastrophic problems in kids, we talk about heat, we talk about hearts, we talk about heads,” Dr. Joseph Chorley, sports medicine chief at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, told CBS News.

Craddock was heartbroken after losing his son and said it felt like a bad dream he wishes he could wake up from. However, he thinks football can still be enjoyed by children, but the key is to do it safely.

“I don’t think we need to do away with football,”Craddock said in an interview with the Associated Press. “A lot of people enjoy football, including myself. I just think we need to maybe put more safety measures out there to protect our kids.”