High schools dropping football programs over safety concerns

There's a growing national debate in America about the safety of players in one of our most popular sports - football. 

Now, there are more and more reports of high schools dropping their football programs out of conce for the safety of their student athletes. 

The latest examples include Maplewood Richmond Heights High School in the St. Louis suburb of Maplewood, Missouri. 

The Maplewood school board voted in June to disband the team, who won the state championship just 5 years before. 

'Over all, it was, ‘Can we field a team that is competitive and safe for the kids to perform?' ' said Nelson Mitten, the president of the Maplewood Richmond Heights School Board, who said players' injuries last season included a broken ankle, a to anterior cruciate ligament and a significant head injury.  (NYTimes)

Over this past weekend, a star quarterback from Warren Hills Regional School in New Jersey died following an on-field injury. It was initially believed that Evan Murray suffered a head injury. But the medical examiner determined that Murray suffered from severe inteal bleeding after he spleen was lacerated after being tackled and hit in the abdomen. 

Murray is the third high school football player to die this season from game-related injuries. 

Five players died last year from game-related injuries. (source)

Despite the popularity of college and professional football, the number of male high school football players has fallen to about 1.08 million this year, a 2.4 percent decline from five years ago. (NYTimes)

The dangers of brain injuries in professional football will get a lot more attention when the major Hollywood film Concussion, starring Will Smith.