The Evolution of Safety

Safety in sports has really evolved over the years with new types of helmets and rule changes. In the NFL the helmet is the most important part of a players equipment because obviously it keeps the players head on their shoulders and not on the ground. In other sports like soccer, golf, and basketball there is no need for helmets because no one repeatedly gets hit in the head in those sports. But advances in rules have also contributed to the safety of players.

In the early days of professional football the helmets consisted of simple leather hats. The leather was hardened had some padding inside and flaps to cover the ears. Holes were placed in the flaps to let the players hear the calls, and there were no face masks. Helmets were not required so a number of players decided not to wear them. Even though the idea of wearing a leather helmet did not seem any different that not wearing one at all it was a stepping stone that led to safer helmets and equipment.

The next step to the revolutionized helmets that we have today is the coming of a plastic helmets. These helmets were developed by the John T. Riddell company who also created the chin strap which kept the player helmet on their head so that it did not come flying off every time they got hit in the head. The NFL started making plastic helmets in 1949, which was only sixty years ago. The original plastic helmet was more protective than the leather ones but they are no where near to what we have today because in one year a player broke nine helmets.Face masks were not always the way they were today.

In the early 1950's face masks were usually only one bar and would often break. To fix this problem the face mask was redesigned to include a tubular bar. After many years of innovations the helmet that we see today evolved to become very elaborate for extra protection. Linebackers and linemen often have a full cage face mask while kicker only have a double bar face mask.

In 2002 Riddell released a new more spherical design for the helmet called the Revolution and it is currently the most widely used helmet in the National Football League. A study released by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center shows that the Riddell Revolution, and others like it, reduce the incidences of concussion by 31 percent. Ever since then Riddell has come out with a new helmet to reduce injuries to the head. The Riddell helmet released in 2009 reduces concussions by 41 percent.

Many fans believe that the NFL is becoming too soft and the rule changes are too harsh. These rules are created only for the players safety. The quarterback safety rules are often critisized. An important rule for quarterbacks is that a defensive player can not hit the quarterback after they have released the ball. Some other rule implications are that a player can not be hit out of bounds because by then the ball is dead, the quarterback can not be hit below the waist, and the tackler or blocker can not make helmet to helmet contact. All these penalties are personal fouls and for good reason.