Due to the recent rash of NFL concussions that are affecting players later in life, parents are may want to start rethinking letting their kids play football.

What got the ball rolling was California state court filing the first concussion lawsuit by 75 former NFL players and 51 spouses on July 19, 2011. Things got more serious a month later on August 11th when the case got taken to federal court according sporting news.com

These lawsuits are also against the makers of the NFL helmet “Riddell,” because the players view it as not being safe enough to protect against concussions.

Since then over 3,000 former players have joined the fight to receive compensation from the NFL because they believed that they hid valuable information on the harmful effects of concussions from them.

“The NFL must open its eyes to the consequences of its actions,” said Kevin Turner, a former running back with the Patriots and Eagles who has been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis according to Espn.com.

According to Philly.com the board award nearly $2 million in November to three former players who claimed they suffered brain damage from playing in the NFL. The board’s conclusion on these former players could be critical evidence in the expanding lawsuit against the league filed in the Philadelphia court.

The question that comes from that ruling though is that why did only three players receive reparations?

For most of the players they will not receive they will not be getting their day in court till sometime in 2018 said many experts with knowledge of the case according to sporting news.com.

Concussions effects on former players have been well documented on former players over the years as many have resorted to suicide.

Former Eagle and 12 year veteran defensive back Andre Waters committed suicide in 2006 when he shot himself in the head in his Tampa Bay home according to Espn.

Former Falcon safety Ray Easterling also committed suicide in his home back in April. Easterling suffered from brain related injuries that are commonly after receiving blows to the head according to voxxi.com

Modern day players are committing suicide too as former San Diego Charger Junior Seau shot himself on May second after playing 20 seasons in the NFL.

Does the recent attention on concussion related problems affect whether or not parents will let their kids play football?

Galen Snyder, a Levittown resident and the head football coach at Pennsbury High School has a son who is a freshman at the school.

“My son Luke plays varsity here at Pennsbury. If football is coached the right way, the positives heavily outweigh the negatives of injury risk.”

Snyder continued by saying “The discipline, teamwork, self-esteem and the leadership that is taught and learned in this game, in my opinion is greater than in any other sport or club.”

Snyder was a very successful football player himself and he turned his talents into an Ivy League education and successful teaching and coaching careers.

When asked why he wanted to play football, Luke Snyder answered simply, “Because my Dad played and I wanted to play for Pennsbury just like he did.”

For every person that would either allow or in some cases encourage their child to play football, some former football players and some never played the game, there was the same amount of people who would love for their children to play sports but just not football.

Victor Iturbides, a former Pennsbury football star quarterback and a former captain of the West Chester University football team is now studying medicine at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and he has a different take on the situation.

“I do agree that football has the capacity to greatly effect young men in a very positive way but when and if I have children I don’t think I will allow him to play.”

“Football has done great things for me but it has also left me with injuries that I will deal with for the rest of my life.”

“I have been fortunate enough to avoid any diagnosed concussions but the rest of my body has not been so lucky.”

“There is no way to predict when and how injuries will or will not happen but I know from experience that football is a sport that is a very physical game and injuries are a huge part of the game.”

“I’m not sure that’s something that I will want to expose my child to.”

D’Andre Webb, a former star running back at Harry S. Truman High School and West Chester University has another perspective on the topic.

When Webb was a senior at West Chester his girlfriend at the time, now wife, gave birth to his first child, D’Andre Jr.

When asked if he would allow or encourage his son to play football he said “Hell yeah!”

“I can’t wait for him to put the pads on. He’s 2 years old and I already got him throwing and catching the ball.”

This is another topic in sports that will be a forever debated and will only become more discussed as more medical evaluation information is released to the public.