Poll: Majority of Americans Say Sports Concussions are Major Health Issue

In May/June of 2016, the Center for Public Opinion Research at UMass Lowell surveyed a representative sample of 1000 American Adults on their attitudes about Sports that included a series of questions about sports safety for children, recognition of concussions and CTE as a public health problem, and the response of professional and college sports organizations to mounting evidence about issues caused by repeated brain injuries, including CTE. The main findings:

• There is widespread awareness that concussions and post-concussion syndrome are caused by sports and represent a significant public health issue 
• Majorities of Americans would favor changes to youth sports; large majorities do not believe that tackle football or heading the ball in soccer are appropriate until they reach high school. This is true among both men and women. 
• Professional, college and national sports organizations, by and large, are viewed by the public as having done too little to address the concussion issue in sports. 

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