New helmets to prevent head injuries are available for NFL players. But a look at them has a lot of folks asking - will players actually want to wear them?
The NFL now taking perhaps its most visual and polarizing steps in drastically improving player safety. The league now expanding the use of these admittedly far from fashion forward, soft shell helmets, athletes now given the option to wear guardian caps beyond practice to regular season games, engineered to enhance protection against head injuries by as much as 20% according to league data, the league cementing their stance, take a punch from Mike Tyson straight to the face. Would you rather put a pillow over your face or take it straight on the NFL introduced guarding caps during training camps. In 2022 we saw the Guardian Cap this year, the Guardian Cap again had a 50% reduction in concussions for the players who were in training camp NBC news on the field. Then with Washington commander, offensive lineman Sidiq Charles at first, I wasn't sure what to think about it. A year later, the NFL mandating their use during practices for most players, we've seen players sacrifice, looking cool to be safe in the past. And so you talk about CTE and helping avoid some of those things that affect you later on in life. I, I think if they're able to prove that it does reduce that, then then players will get on board with it. Even now reaction to the Beehive shaped coverings has been mixed. One player writing this is the craziest thing ever and it's not just the pros, some high schools have been using them for years when we first started wearing them. I had coaches coming up to me making fun of us. Livonia Churchill's high school's football team in Michigan has been sporting caps during practices since 2017. I think we've been a pioneer of player safety at our school and we're gonna continue pushing that envelope for sure. But will Guardian caps take the field or fumble as the NFL continues to tackle player safety, George Solis NBC News.
