Should Massachusetts Ban Youth Tackle Football?

Lawmakers on Beacon Hill have proposed a bi-partisan bill that would ban organized youth tackle football in Mass. until after 7th grade.

The push comes on the heels of a growing body of research that suggests youth football could be responsible for brain trauma and later-life emotional and cognitive problems.

The bill — proposed by Democrat, Paul A. Schmid III of Westport and Republican Bradley Jones Jr. of North Reading — would mean kids could still play touch or flag football, but tackling would be out, and organizers who violate the ban would risk having to pay up to $10,000 in fines.

Guests

Jon Butler, executive director of Pop Warner Little Scholars. He tweets @PWLS.

Chris Nowinski, co-founding CEO of the Concussion Legacy Foundation and author of Head Games: The Global Concussion Crisis. He has a PhD in behavioral neuroscience from the Boston University school of medicine and tweets @ChrisNowinski1.