A football helmet lies on the ground while members of the Floral Park High School football team are in the background practicing for the 2015 season, on the morning of August 19, 2015.(Photo by Thomas A.
Ferrara/Newsday via Getty Images) COLUMBUS, Ohio - Youth tackle football has become a particularly controversial topic due to the mix of benefits and risks it offers — and a new study proves just how divided America is on the subject."Football plays a prominent role in American culture," a co-author wrote. "This study analyzes public opinion about the appropriateness of children playing tackle football."Researchers at Ohio State University surveyed nearly 4,000 adults and asked them to rate on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree) the statement: "Tackle football is an appropriate sport for kids to play."Participants, who live in all 50 states, answered the survey online between the fall of 2018 and spring of 2019.The survey, published in Social Currents on March 26, found about 45% of Americans agreed that tackle football was appropriate for kids, while 50% disagreed.
The remaining 5% did not know.Thousands of football fans in Kansas City pitched in to help R&B singer Ashanti belt out the national anthem after technical issues rendered her inaudible ahead of the Cincinnati Bengals versus Kansas City Chiefs AFC Championship on Jan.
30. (Credit: @KChiver via Storyful)During the process, the team also examined how adults’ social structural locations, ideologies and group affiliations, and sport-related values were associated with beliefs about the appropriateness of youth tackle football.