Illinois House to Debate Bill Banning Tackle Football Under Age 12
The Dave Duerson Act, a bill to ban tackle football for children under the age of 12, passed through committee and will be up for full debate.
An Illinois bill to ban organized tackle football for children under the age of 12 has passed through committee and will head to the state's House for a full debate.
The bill is known as the Dave Duerson Act, named after the two-time Super Bowl winner who took his own life in 2011 and requested that his brain be examined.
The bill passed by an 11-9 vote.
Per ESPN, three other states have proposed banning tackle football for youths younger than a certain age—New York, California and Maryland.
Researchers believe that limiting the number of years someone plays tackle football will decrease his risk of developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease that is caused by repeated hits to the head.
