The California Legislature will debate Wednesday whether to ban tackle football for children under 12. The move is being promoted by advocates trying to protect children from brain injuries, but opposed by coaches who warn it would cut off an important source of physical activity for young people.
The bill, authored by Democratic Rep. Kevin McCarty, is scheduled for its first hearing in a legislative committee, but it still has a long way to go before it passes.
Wednesday's hearing is extremely important. For the bill to become law this year, it must pass the state House by the end of January.
If passed, the bill would not take effect until 2026. The proposed amendments are expected to be implemented in stages by 2029.
The bill comes as flag football is gaining popularity nationwide, especially among girls.
Chris Nowinski, CEO of the Concussion Legacy Foundation, former Harvard University football player, and WWE professional wrestler, said research shows that tackle football causes brain damage and that playing football for longer is not enough. He said that the risk increases.
It can cause chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which causes the death of nerve cells in the brain.
“I don't have a problem with NFL players because they're adults and they're taking the risk of CTE and they understand the risk and they're compensated,” Nowinski said. “I can't imagine a world where kids who don't understand the risks are doing this for fun (and) subjecting their brains to the same risks.”
Although no state has banned tackle football for children, there have been some attempts to do so.
Similar bills previously introduced in California, New York and Illinois failed to pass.
California law already prohibits full-contact practices for high school and youth football teams during the offseason and limits them to two practices per week during the preseason and regular season.
The law that went into effect in 2021 also requires youth football personnel to be thoroughly educated about concussions and head injuries, among other safety measures.
Steve Famiano, a former youth football coach who heads the Save Youth Football California Coalition, said youth football leagues need more time to implement the 2021 law and see its effectiveness.
He said children under the age of 12 should not be forced to play only flag football, saying flag football is a completely different sport than tackle football.
“Flag football is aimed at leaner, faster kids. And some of the kids we see in tackle football may not have developed physically yet, they “Maybe he's a little bit overweight, or maybe he's big, maybe he's not the fastest kid on the team,” he said. “They're a great fit for a youth football team. They can play on the offensive line and defensive line. If you take that away from those kids, where do they go?”
Tackle football at the high school level is on the decline in California.
According to a California Interscholastic Federation participation survey, the number of participants decreased by more than 18% from 2015 to 2022, dropping from a high of 103,725 players to 84,626 players.
In 2023, the number of soccer participants increased by 5% to reach 89,178.
