Why Do We Still Let Our Kids Play Football? So Play it again sports football helmets Are We Still Letting Our Sons Play It? The latest research reveals how dangerous football is for kids, whose brains are being damaged even without concussions.

Parents explain why they’re letting their sons play anyway. Brody Silva is a typical 10-year-old boy: bright-eyed, curious, and restless. He loves the Dallas Cowboys, worships All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman, and figures he, too, might go pro one day. Army veterans who often hold practice inside gyms to escape the frigid cold.

Ryder Rego, a defensive lineman playing alongside Silva, was leveled three times while pursuing the ball, each time bringing about a stoppage in play. On the third such knockdown, Rego stayed down for what seemed like an eternity. Coaches and game officials stood over his body like cops at a crime scene, while players took a knee. The 4’6″, 80-pound third-grader wasn’t diagnosed with a concussion or removed from the game. After all, these weren’t NFL-caliber hits. These were just boys whose helmets made them look more like bobblehead dolls than warriors, and injuries have always been part of the game. From the peewees to the pros, we’ve long accepted the toll that football exacts on the body—the sore muscles, the broken bones, the torn ligaments, the lost teeth, the risk of paralysis, and, especially in recent years, the dangers of concussions.