“If I could go back, I wouldn’t [play football].”

Former Pittsburgh Steelers’ Wide Receiver Antwaan Randle El expressed his regrets about playing professional football for nine years in the NFL earlier this week. Although the receiver clarified that he is not as regretful as he let on during his interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Brady McCollough, he reiterated that as he struggles to walk down the steps without experiencing pain in addition to other football-related symptoms.

Today’s players are bigger, faster, and stronger than at any point in football history. As a result former players who claim that they are living with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) filing lawsuits against the NFL, the league has taken greater precautions to eradicate the prevalence of concussion injuries in its game. Some of those precautions include outfitting players with safer helmets and the implementation of 15-yard penalties, fines, and suspensions to players that deliver helmet-to-helmet hits on “defenseless receivers.”

In spite of the strides that the NFL has made to mitigate concussion injuries, there are still many players that are not changing the way they hit offensive players. For example, Cincinnati Bengals Linebacker Vontaze Burfict delivered a crushing blow to Steelers’ Pro Bowler Antonio Brown during the wildcard game a couple of weeks ago. The result of the play was a 15-yard penalty that put the Steelers in position to kick the game-winning field goal. Unfortunately, Brown was concussed on the play and was subsequently ruled out of the Steelers’ next game against the Denver Broncos.

As football continues to grapple with the threat of CTE-related symptoms impacting the quality of life for its players as well as the increased spotlight that the movie “Concussion” has placed on head/brain injuries, flag football continues to be a safer alternative to tackle football for parents and their children.

In the Steelers game against the Broncos, a 30-second commercial about NFL Flag aired. The significance of this commercial is that it encourages parents to sign their kids up for their local youth flag football leagues.

Fortunately for families living in Western Pennsylvania, the PFFL Youth League has been running strong for five years. We offer a safe, positive atmosphere for kids to learn the nuances of football without fear of sustaining a concussion. Early Registration ends this Sunday January 31st.