What Kind of Father Lets His Son Play Football?

It’s that time of year we all know so well — the summer is ending, the smell of autumn is in the air, and that means its the back to school vibe, and football season. But that may not be a reason to rejoice. In recent years we’ve been hit by some disturbing science suggesting that football is more dangerous than we ever thought. There are concerns about concussions and CTE — the long-term brain damage believed to be caused by repeated head trauma. A recent study of 111 brains of NFL players found that 110 of them showed signs of CTE. Luke Zaleski knows this science pretty well — he is the research director for GQ magazine, which has published stories about the health and safety concerns surrounding football. In a new article, Zaleski reviewed his own personal decisionmaking process as a father of an 8-year-old boy who wanted to play tackle football in school. On this episode, I talk to Zaleski about his article called “What Kind of Father Lets His Son Play Football?”