BY: SUNSHINE STATE NEWS | Posted: May 23, 2013 3:40 PM
With family ties to the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers and with three sons who want to play football, Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney is more than a little concerned about concussions and brain injuries. This week, Rooney joined New Jersey Democrat U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell to sponsor a bill requiring children and high school students playing football use helmets meeting safety standards to protect against concussions and other brain injuries. The bill, which has a Senate version by Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., also imposes penalties when companies present fake claims about helmets and other equipment preventing injuries. Rooney and Pascrell co-chair the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force.
“As a father of three sons who can’t wait to play tackle football, I want to do everything we can to protect young people from suffering head injuries on the field,” Rooney said. “We can’t completely eliminate the risks of playing youth sports, but we can make sure that helmets and other equipment meet the highest safety standards for our kids.”
“The dangers multiple concussions pose to our young athletes is well-known, so it's imperative we do everything possible to protect them on the playing field,” said Pascrell. “I've fought to ensure there are resources available to young athletes that sustain a brain injury, and this legislation will bring us one step closer to preventing these devastating injuries to begin with. The only thing standing between athletes and serious injury is their equipment, which is why manufacturers must be held to the highest possible standard. We cannot jeopardize the health and safety of our young athletes by allowing inferior equipment into their locker rooms.”
Rooney, Pascrell and Udall are getting some major league support for their bill -- literally. The following organizations are all behind the bill: the NFL, NFL Players Association, Major League Baseball, MLB Players Association, NBA, NHL, NCAA, Major League Soccer (MLS) Players Union, American Academy of Neurology, American Academy of Pediatrics, Brain Injury Association of America, Brain Trauma Foundation, Cleveland Clinic, Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, Natl. Consumers League, Safe Kids USA, Natl. Assoc. of State Head Injury Administrators, Natl. Athletic Trainers Association, Natl. Fed. of State High School Associations (NFHS), NOCSAE, U.S. Lacrosse and U.S. Soccer Federation.
http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/blog/tom-rooney-leads-charge-safer-football-equipment-children