The Journal of Law, Medicine &amp; Ethics

Symposium Articles

Youth Sports & Public Health: Framing Risks of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in American Football and Ice Hockey

A Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York, NY.

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Daniel S. Goldberg

Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioethics & Interdisciplinary Studies, The Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C. Dr. Goldberg earned his J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center and his Ph.D in the medical humanities from the University of Texas Medical Branch.

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Kathleen E. Bachynski

A Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York, NY.

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Daniel S. Goldberg

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First published: 26 September 2014

https://doi.org/10.1111/jlme.12149

Citations: 1

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Abstract

The framing of the risks of experiencing mild traumatic brain injury in American football and ice hockey has an enormous impact in defining the scope of the problem and the remedies that are prioritized. According to the prevailing risk frame, an acceptable level of safety can be maintained in these contact sports through the application of technology, rule changes, and laws. An alternative frame acknowledging that these sports carry significant risks would produce very different ethical, political, and social debates.