[2] AYF programs range from financial grants to leagues which need help, shoes sponsored by Nike, field development in conjunction with FieldTurf, and Rising Stars football camps,[3] which send inner-city kids.
Of those so diagnosed, the athletes who started tackle football before age 12 displayed their symptoms an average of 13 years earlier than did other players.
Reardon states that in elementary-age football there can be significant size differences and some players do not have fully developed neck and shoulder muscles to help absorb hits.
[6] In an ESPN interview, Dr. Ann McKee, director of Boston University's Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, went beyond her role as merely describing the study as one of the co-authors and suggested that, "Some argue that players should play even later than 12, maybe 18, when they are adults and can make fully informed decisions.
"[5] In early 2018, former NFL linebackers Nick Buoniconti (Patriots and Dolphins), Phil Villapiano (Raiders and Bills), and Harry Carson (New York Giants) announced that they were working with the Concussion Legacy Foundation in support of a new parent education initiative, Flag Football Under 14.