Michael Manny

When it comes to sports in the United States, there is no question that football is king. Whether it be the National Football League or the college level, football has long surpassed baseball as America’s national pastime. Below that, high school football is a major part of many small communities across the nation. Youth football is a pipeline that children grow up in as players. According to Nielsen, Fox’s broadcast of this year’s Super Bowl between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs

“Start at the bottom, kids shouldn’t be playing tackle football, I would say until high school.” When asked what he thought the future of football looked like, Brandon Boyd had no hesitation on his answer. As youth participation in tackle football has decreased and medical research on traumatic brain injuries has advanced, it is that question that in the past decade has had to be weighed in some form by football coaches, players, executives, broadcasters, parents and fans. Boyd is the educati

Former Chicago Bears center Mike Pyle was a beloved figure in Chicago. He was the offensive captain of the Bears’ 1963 NFL Championship team, and known for his work in the community. As he grew older, those around began to notice his personality change. Little did his daughter Samantha and the rest of his family know, Mike was struggling with symptoms of CTE.

Every time an athlete at any level steps on the field, ice, mat or court, there’s a possibility that any given game could be their last of the season — or their career. Historically, take Washington quarterback Joe Theismann’s compound fracture of his right tibia and fibula against the New York Giants on Monday Night Football in 1985, or then-Los Angeles Raiders running back Bo Jackson’s hip fracture in 1991, for example. Jackson was a once-in-a-lifetime talent — a two-sport athlete that found