Lawmaker's 10th attempt to ban tackle football for players 12 and under

A downstate lawmaker is pushing once again to have tackle football banned for children 12 years old and under.

This is the tenth time assemblyman Michael Benedetto is introducing the legislation, But this time may be different than in the previous nine years.

“90 percent of your brain develops up until about age 12-13 in that range ok, that is at a time when damage to the brain, is most vulnerable. And we are trying to prevent children from having their heads banged continuously.” says Benedetto.

With this latest attempt to pass the legislation Benedetto feels so strongly about, he will now have a senate sponsor. Senator Luis Sepulveda (D), who represents district 32, tells me of the importance of the legislation finally passing.

"A lot of institutions that have studied this have said kids should not be playing football at a young age, so why this has taken so long I don’t know. I was asked to be the sponsor this year, and I was enthusiastic about it. I have an 11-year-old, and I do not want him to have any cognitive impairment due to a sport that he enjoys.” said Sepulveda.

A 2017 study from Boston University found an association between children who play tackle football before the age of 12 and impaired mood and behavior later in life. One Capital Region pediatrician I spoke with says there may, in fact, be some risk to children who participate in tackle football, Risks that could later be detrimental to their adult behavior.

While the bill has a senate sponsor and the backing of some in the medical community, there is still opposition.