New rules are always being put in place in the National Football League (NFL). Players and coaches are getting frustrated with the league’s choices on rules. Especially the new hit rule of the 2018-2019 season.

The NFL put in a rule regarding the way players are to hit, this means that players are no longer allowed to lead a hit with their head. With the new rule you have to raise your head and look at who you are tackling in order to hit/tackle a person without being penalized. However it at least seems like it is going to help players not get hurt from head/neck/spine related injuries.

Coach Pala Vaituu, the Head Coach of the Taylorsville Warriors said “It’s kinda always been a rule,” he said, “we called it spearing.”

Coach Pala then claims “Whether the hitting or the crackbacking, now you can’t crackback someone […] you all understand the risk of the game but you still play the game”

Coach Merve Leituala, the Defensive Coordinator for the Warriors “You can’t reduce the danger, […] you make the rule you can’t spear, so you can’t get a concussion by spearing unless someone spears and breaks a rule

Since two different stand points say that it will help health and injury prevention it brings in the next question, should this rule be brought into college/high school football? Seen as it helps reduce injuries surely the people should protect their youth.

Trevor Rouse, a major football fan, said, “Especially; with such few percentage of high school and collegiate athletes actually becoming a professional, it is even more necessary to prevent injuries and future permanent mental and physical damage and disabilities.”

“If this is going to be a permanent rule in the NFL then they need to implement this rule across the board in little league, high school, and college, prior to expecting an NFL player being asked to not do something that was taught his whole life. Reason 2[…] your body/brain is still growing and developing at that age,” said Christopher Pilling, another major football fan.

There are many good qualities to this new rule, however there are also bad ones.

Mark Maske from The Washington Post said, “when the NFL ratified its helmet-hitting safety rule, that come August, flags would fly with regularity in preseason games… what they perceive as the sport’s erosion toward flag-football status”

Clearly agreeing with the fact that the NFL is going more towards flag football even though football is a seemingly violent sport, hence the near-full body protection. As well as several rules about the way you have to hit, the NFL is trying to protect their players.

Benjamin from New York Times says that after interviewing the NFL, “there would be no going back on the league’s reworked rule for[…] helmet to initiate contact.” adding onto the decision is final type deal for the NFL rules.

People both agree and disagree with the new hitting rule, but one thing is for sure, and the NFL is not going to change the rule so no matter the amount of hate people give the NFL is sticking with trying to protect its players which is respectable.