Why What Happened to Daewood Davis Is A Reminder of The Harsh Reality Of Football

During a preseason game on Saturday, August 26th, 2023, in a matchup consisting of the Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars, Dolphins receiver Daewood Davis went down with a very scary injury that left him motionless and needing to be carted off of the field. While he is okay now, the injury that horrified the entire nation is just a reminder of how harsh and violent the game of football truly is.

On the particular play in question, Daewood Davis was hit hard on the side of the head by a defensive player on the Jaguars. According to recent news from the Dolphins, Davis has sustained a concussion and he'll be okay. And while we are all very much relieved that he will be okay, it highlights the violent nature of this game. According to the University of Pittsburgh, 12.77% of all concussions reported in America in sports come from football. This includes a majority of high school players, along with collegiate players and professional players. But regardless of how severe the concussions are or what age group gets them, they are all very serious.

A concussion is a traumatic brain injury that results when a force causes the head to violently move back and forth, hitting the brain against the skull. The result? Bruising of the brain (contusion), and other symptoms such as headaches, nausea, balance/vision problems, etc. Now, a single concussion by itself is very dangerous. These injuries could result in bleeding in the brain, structural damage to the brain, and even permanent brain damage. Now, in the case that the concussion doesn't cause any of these problems, there is another huge issue to look out for: Secondary Impact Syndrome (SIS). Basically, this is a situation where a second concussion is likely to happen after a previous concussion if the previous concussion hasn't healed. That sounds pretty complicated, so here's a perfect example: Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in the 2022-2023 NFL season suffered two concussions within the span of 4 days, with the second one requiring him to be carted off the field. The primary reason for the second concussion was SIS, as the first one he had sustained hadn't healed properly.

The major danger with SIS, along with the fact that it's another concussion, is the fact that when this occurs, more permanent brain damage is likely. And that is very, very bad. Structures in the brain can be damaged and alter one's life forever. A player can even become fully paralyzed after a second concussion in short succession with an initial one if they are hit hard enough. Yeah, it's pretty grim. But perhaps even more scary when it comes to SIS is the dreaded disease, called CTE. For those who don't know what CTE is, CTE is a degenerative brain disorder that is very dangerous. It can handicap someone for their whole life, or even cause an individual to take their own life. After suffering SIS, an individual has a 30% higher chance of developing CTE, which is absolutely huge.

And while this sounds scary and makes you think, "Who the hell would play football knowing these risks?!", the reality is, this is a widely-known truth. Many high schoolers, college students, and professionals who play football understand that the game that they know and love is extremely violent, and one wrong hit could derail their entire lives. And no matter how much time and money is invested into football, the harsh reality is that the game is extremely violent. Even with all the pads, helmets, and cutting-edge technology designed to keep players safe, there is always a possibility that one wrong hit could leave a player paralyzed forever.