Football is currently America’s most dangerous sport, with many people getting injured daily. On December 4, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier critically injured his back while making a tackle in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals, and was carted off the field to later be hospitalized and undergo ‘Spinal Stabilization’ surgery. This one play ended Shazier’s season with the Steelers, as his teammates pray for him. Although no rules were broken to cause the injury, the NFL is currently working on with a program to prevent such inconveniences such as this one.

“[I hope they] make or change a rule to tackling, if it was caused by a certain tackle hopefully they can make that tackle illegal so it cannot happen in the future,” freshman Thomas Ibbotson said.

In September 2016, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell launched a new program called ‘Play Smart. Play Safe.’ in hopes of preventing the amount of casualties of football. This program is based off of four pillars to achieve their goal of making the game safer. This program combines protecting players, advanced technology, medical research, and sharing progress to lower the overall injury count given to each of the NFL’s 32 teams at the end of each season.

Ibbotson has another opinion about why the NFL implemented this program in the first place.

“The NFL is a business, they have to make money and have sponsors and if a lot of players are getting injured that just hurts the stigma around the NFL in general,” Ibbotson said.

Along with this program, the NFLPA added a new policy about concussion protocol, making it clear to teams that failing to follow the new policy could lead into some big punishments.

Since 2002, the NFL has made 42 new rules concerning player safety, and are planning on adding more.

“I think it is good, but I also think there is a line,” Ibbotson said. “Football is a physical sport and injuries are going to happen.”

Although the NFL may be trying to make their game safer, they aren’t preserving the original game of football.

“I don’t think all injuries can be preventable while preserving the core part of the game,” Ibbotson said. Along with Ibbotson agrees Steelers safety Mike Mitchell.

“I feel like I gotta ask a guy – ‘Hey are you ready for me to hit you right now before I hit you?’ And that’s crazy,” Mitchell said on December 6 with Sports Illustrated. From player safety to the national anthem the NFL is definitely booked for the holidays.

“They really have their hands full,” Ibbotson said.