Marcus Wenger

Adam Padgett
ENGL 102
February, 29th 2016
Annotated Bibliography
Inquiry: Has football become too dangerous of a sport?
Proposed Thesis: Football has become too dangerous of a sport due to its direct link from repeated head
trauma to Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.

Commented [AP1]: Youll need to define too

dangerous. Too dangerous for whom? What is dangerous?
What about risk/reward?

SEPPA, NATHAN. Football Linked to Brain Changes. Science News 185.12 (2014): 1212. Web
This article is focuses on the shrinking of the hippocampus of the brain as a result of trauma

Commented [AP2]: Proof read a little closer.

experienced to the head from playing football and soccer. The hippocampus is the part of the brain that
controls memory which is why memory loss is linked to head injuries. 25% average decline in
hippocampus size in football players with concussions compared with non-players This information
informs the audience of one of the physical results and effects that football is causing to the brain of many
current and former players of the game. This is a very credible source published by The Society for
Science and the Public. The article was published in June of 2014 making it relevant and applicable to my
paper because of its fairly recent publication. This source goes hand in hand with my project because the
information and studies gathered helps support and answer my inquiry question.

Cook, Michael. "BioEdge: Should High School Football Be Banned?" BioEdge. BioEdge, 12
Dec. 2015. Web. 28 Jan. 2016.

Commented [AP3]: Wheres the url in your citation?

This source focuses on the youth playing football looking 1st-12th grade students and the negative
risks that coincide with letting them participate in football. Dr. Bennet Omalu says that young players are
at risk of major depression, memory loss, suicidal thoughts and actions, loss of intelligence as well as
dementia later in life and drug and alcohol abuse as the child enters his 20s, 30s, and 40s. This is a
credible article published by bioedge.org. This article informs the audience with a credible source from a
doctor of the many negative life changing effects that youth football players are exposed to as a result of

Commented [AP4]: Why is it credible?

repeated head trauma. This article was published in December 2015 meaning the article is still relevant
enough to be used as a credible source.

Breslow, Jason M. "FRONTLINE." PBS. PBS, 31 Oct. 2013. Web. 02 Feb. 2016.
This source focuses on informing the audience about the likelihood of sustaining a concussion at the high
school level. High school football players are nearly twice as likely to sustain a concussion as are college
players. This was gathered from concussion data and results from all high schools and colleges. The
source also acknowledges that at the time it still remains unclear on the effect of repeated head trauma
on the brain. This is a credible article published by Frontline that quoted all of their sources and
information. This source will be used in my project to make sure that the audience understands how
prevalent concussions are in youth football and that it does not just exist at the college or professional
level. This article source was published in 2013 possibly making it a little out date but still relevant enough
to use in my project to show how much medicine has learned since 2013. I will show how medicine in this
field has evolved so quickly recently with the amount of attention this issue has brought up and the
incredible type of research being done now that was not many years ago.

Wexler, Evan. "FRONTLINE." PBS. PBS, 8 Oct. 2013. Web. 28 Jan. 2016.
This article focused on the 4 stages of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy and the
different effects that each stage has on the brain. The four stages are shown with examples of
what the brain looks like with the tau protein deposits at each stage. Tau protein deposits are the
best known sign of CTE. This is a credible article published by Frontline that directly took all of
their information and results of the study by Neuropathologist Dr. Ann Mckee. The source will
be used in my project to explain the effects of why CTE is such a big issue and negatively life
altering. The article was published in late 2013 when the Dr. first discovered this disease in a
former NFL player. The article is a little out of date but the information and study is still
relevant.

Commented [AP5]: Whats the title of the frontline

episode?

Decq, Philippe, Nathalie Gault, Mathias Blandeau, Tristan Kerdraon, Miassa Berkal, Amine Elhelou,
Bernard Dusfour, and Jean-Claude Peyrin. "Long-term Consequences of Recurrent Sports
Concussion." Acta Neurochir Acta Neurochirurgica 158.2 (2015): 289-300. Crossmark. Web. 29 Feb.
2016.

Commented [AP6]: Theres nothing wrong with copy and

pasting per se, but you need to monitor the font/formatting
changes that come with copy and pasting.

This article is focused on the long-term effects of concussions as a result of participation

in sports. The study was designed to assess the prevalence of major depressive disorder, mild
cognitive disorders and headache in a population of retired high-level sportsmen and rugby
players and to study the link between scores evaluating these disorders and the number of
reported concussions (RCs). The study concluded that athletes with concussions tested higher
for major depressive disorder and a higher rate of mild cognitive disorders. This source will be
used in my project to inform the audience of the direct link that concussions have with brain
disorders in retired athletes. This is a credible source that I found from the web of science
database through the Thomas Cooper Library. The article was published in December of 2015
making it still relevant and up to date with recent findings on the topic of concussions.
"Psychological and Social Benefits of Playing True Sport." TrueSport. U.S. Anti-Doping
Agency,

2014. Web. 01 Mar. 2016.

This article focuses on the positives that youth gain from participating in sports. A
growing body of research literature finds that in addition to improved physical health, sport plays
a primarily positive role in youth development, including improved academic achievement,
higher self-esteem, fewer behavioral problems, and better psychosocial. The article claims that
children who participate in sports are happier and healthier human beings. I will use this source
in my project as a way to acknowledge a possible counter argument to strengthen my argument. I
want to use this source in the middle of my paper so I have time to really establish my argument.

Commented [AP7]: This seems like a really weird place to

pull a source about Traumatic Encephalopathy.

This way after my counter argument I still have the rest of my paper to counter their argument
and go back to supporting my argument. This source was published in 2014 meaning it is recent
enough to be used as a counter argument because information was already out about the negative
effects of concussions and head trauma. This source is credible because it is published and
written by truesport on a .org website.
Marcus,
I really like the topic you are running with. It is topical and relevant. You seem to have
compiled some really interesting and worthwhile sources and you do a good job offering helpful
summaries. But you need more peer-reviewed sources. I really only count one. Also, you should
be defining the parameters of where you will be placing this conversation. Ive mentioned the
trouble with simply saying too dangerous. What is your ultimate aim here? Is this a
recommendation for parents and sending their kids? Is this a call for a change in rules? So, you
have a lot of research discussing the problems with concussion, but Im not so sure anyone
would disagree that concussions are problematic. I also dont think anyone would deny that a
person has a higher likelihood of suffering a concussion by playing a sport like football. So, now
Im left with the so what question. What do we do now? Also, I feel like there has to be more
source your could use that might say that football isnt that big of a deal. In other words, Id like
to see a multi-voiced conversation here. Also, make sure to get your citations correct. Many of
these are not.