As Americans, we love toughness. We love it when football players tackle each other, colliding with over 1500 lbs of force. We love it when a hockey player knocks teeth out of another hockey player. We love it when we can idolize performances of toughness such as Kirk Gibson hitting a crucial home run on two bad legs or Curt Schilling pitching with a bloody sock. Most importantly, as athletes, we love being admired for our toughness.

This universal idea of toughness has been so indoctrinated into the minds of young athletes that it has begun to jeopardize the long-term well-being of young athletes. Long-term health issues have arisen with athletes in high-contact sports, which value aggressiveness and overall toughness. The causes of these issues have not been pinpointed, but there have been strong correlations between long-term health problems and concussions.

Most recently, the autopsy results of Chris Henry showed chronic traumatic encephalopathy (C.T.E), more commonly known as dementia pugilistica. Henry died in December 2009 after hitting his head after falling out of the back of a pickup truck. C.T.E. is an insidious condition: it can only be discovered by an autopsy, and players can have this condition without even knowing it. This is particularly alarming because Henry had previously suffered several concussions during his football career and this brain injury may have augmented the effects of his accident in December, making fatal what would otherwise have been a survivable concussion.

Although there is not much information available on C.T.E, the possibility of a correlation between C.T.E. and major long-term behavioral or health issues is definitely likely, according to several experts. In fact, Henry had a plethora of off-the-field issues for a while in his career, including five arrests in 28 months.

Furthermore, former NFL players have reported memory loss, depression and mood swings. Andre Waters, a former NFL player, committed suicide at age 44 and autopsies showed signs of severe damage to his brain.

Although the evidence is inconclusive as it is difficult to account for the external factors, in a study of 2,500 former NFL players done several years ago by the Center for the Study of Retired Athletes, there was a direct correlation between Alzheimer’s-like symptoms and the number of concussions a player suffered.

With these sources and suggestions considered, the question now is, how do we balance toughness and safety in order to prevent these terrible health issues? Although this question has not been clearly answered and there are many abstract findings, several policies need to be implemented.

Firstly, the idea that it is “cool” to not wear helmets needs to be abandoned. There are way too many adolescents and teenagers who think that riding a skateboard or a bike without a helmet is badass. The World Health Organization proclaimed that wearing a helmet is the single most effective way of reducing head injuries and fatalities, decreasing the likelihood of death by almost 40 percent.

Secondly, social norms in youth sports need some reform. Far too often young athletes are overextending themselves and risking their future wellbeing, especially with concussions – which can be easily fixed in the short-term with a few aspirin, but have been linked to severe effects in the long term. Coaches of all sports need to encourage athletes to take it easy when they have concussion symptoms and cut the common “you can’t make the club in the tub” attitude when it comes to head injuries.

Although competition is fierce and athletes hate being on the sideline, the detrimental effects of brain injuries – or even the risk for them – are completely not worth it. There is no doubt that one of the cornerstone lessons in sports is building the toughness of young athletes. In no way should that be discouraged and athletes who love playing tough, high contact sports should be able to continue to play those games. However, there is a difference between building toughness and risking the wellbeing of an athlete.

Although the research is not concrete and some may argue that the media is sensationalizing the issue, the fact of the matter is that the sacrifice needed for the adoption of these policies is minimal compared to the potentially detrimental effects of brain injuries. In other words, it doesn’t hurt to wear a helmet when you’re on a bike or motorcycle, and it really wouldn’t detract much from a team’s competitiveness if coaches had lighter policies for legitimately injured players.

There is no doubt that sports play an integral role in the development of young children and that sports can be highly beneficial for them. While there is some merit to the notion that sports should teach athletes to endure pain and become tougher, significant changes need to be implemented in order to prevent terrible long-term health issues.