Player Safety: What Does The Future Hold For Our Athletes?

As we approach a new year, it’s time to think about the future. And in the world of sports, we’re curious about what the future holds for our athletes.

Over the past few years, and particularly in 2015, we have seen a large paradigm shift in sports, as there has been more of an emphasis placed on player safety at all levels of play. 

Maybe it’s a byproduct of our more politically correct society, or maybe we’re just more conscious of the damage being done to athletes, but due to the rise of the concussion issue and other major injuries, we’re more knowledgeable about injuries. And it feels as though we are paying more and more attention to our athletes, for more than just their talents.

This obviously isn’t a bad thing. It’s important to protect our athletes and keep people from bodily harm. And this is especially true knowing what we know now: that the long-term effects of brain and joint injuries may make life unbearable for former athletes.

But is this shift toward more protection negatively affecting the games we love? While athletes today are stronger and faster, are we actually making them weaker? 

In the past, athletes were looked at as warriors; they played through injuries and illnesses of all kinds. Former NFL defensive back Ronnie Lott is immortalized for amputating part of his pinky finger to return to the field during a game. But today, athletes miss valuable game or practice time simply for precautionary reasons.  

It’s not just the treatments that are changing, but the rules governing the games as well. New rules are being implemented in leagues each year to better protect players and limit inappropriate body contact as much as possible. 

Take the NFL, for example; there are more rules than ever protecting ball carriers, defenseless players and quarterbacks from low hits and hits to the helmet. The days of Ronnie Lott are long gone, as the game barely resembles the one played in the not so distant past.

But being safer is obviously for the best and we want to keep players healthy. And maybe the uptick in injuries — specifically lower body injuries — is a function of the strength and speed of today’s athletes.

While it is still amazing to see how much stronger and faster athletes are today, it’s fair to ask if we have reached the physical limitations of what our bodies are able to handle. After all, doesn’t it seem like there are more injuries in sports than ever? While it may be more anecdotal than factual, it certainly feels like we hear more about torn ACLs and Achilles injuries than ever before.

Naturally, this shift toward safer athletics is also changing the equipment we use to protect players. More and more, protective gear is being mandated by leagues nationwide, and we’re also seeing athletes take initiative to wear equipment to keep them safe. Women’s lacrosse is closer than ever to adopting a full helmet for their sport, similar to the full caged helmet worn in men’s lacrosse.

And that leads us to the next frontier. Because more equipment is being worn, athletes want that equipment to be lighter and easier to wear, but still effectively protective.

What does the future hold for our athletes? They’ll be safer and better protected, that’s for sure. The question is: what does the future of sports look like?

Player safety is the wave of the future in the world of sports. But is there a way to keep our athletes protected without changing the games we love?

Keep Your Athletes Safe

Author Bio

Travis Armideo, marketing manager at Gladiator Custom Mouthguards, is a lifelong ice hockey player. He began playing for various clubs at a young age and continued onto junior teams, while also playing lacrosse at the collegiate level. Travis is still heavily involved in athletics, coaching high school and youth ice hockey athletes, as well as playing men’s league ice hockey on a regular basis.