Retired NFL star Leonard Marshall favors tackle football ban for kids
Retired New York Giants defensive lineman Leonard Marshall, who won two Super Bowl rings in his 12-season NFL career, said preventing minors from playing tackle football would decrease the risk of brain damage.
Marshall commented as California, Illinois, Maryland and New York are considering legislation to ban tackle football for children under the age of 14.
“The idea is – and we are pushing for it the Concussion Legacy Foundation – is to have kids play between the ages of 8 and 14, but to play non-contact,” Marshall told FOX Business’ Stuart Varney on Friday.
Playing flag football or two-hand touch with a padded helmet would not undermine the popularity of football, according to Marshall.
“In America, football, this is our sport,” he said.
Marshall, who has been diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), has pledged to donate his brain to research, joining hundreds of other ex-NFL players.
He also discussed how marijuana-derived cannabidiol (CBD) is being used by recreational and professional players across the country to treat pain.
Cannabinoids are the natural chemicals found in marijuana plants that are used medicinally to treat the symptoms associated with a wide variety of disorders and diseases, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The marijuana plant contains more than 100 cannabinoids, including cannabidiol and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is the substance primarily responsible for psychoactive effects.
“The THC side we don’t use,” Marshall said.