Reply #117: Speaking of which...

[comsymp]

Head's up: Bill would ban soccer headers
By Emelie Rutherford / Daily News Staff
Friday, May 20, 2005

BOSTON -- In 1952, 2-year-old Bob Edwards tumbled down his parents' stairs and smacked his temple on the pavement, causing a brain injury that altered the course of the Framingham man's life.

While Edwards knows he cannot prevent other kids from getting in accidents like his, he is asking lawmakers to stop a potentially damaging practice among K-12 students: "headers," or when soccer players hit balls with their heads.

"Brain injury or a concussion can change a soccer player's life if all soccer players uses his or her head as a battering ram," Edwards, 54, told the Legislature's joint Education Committee yesterday.

Public and private school students also would be required to wear helmets during soccer matches under a bill Edwards crafted. The bill additionally calls for the Legislature to create a commission made up of sundry experts to help thwart sports injuries among children and, he hopes, recommend requiring protective gear.

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