Is football too dangerous to play?

Redwood, California — Pete Stenhoff was a physically fit, 210-pound, 16-year-old football player for Chula Vista High School when he rammed his head into the chest of the opposing ball carrier during a game of his junior year. He has been confined to a wheelchair ever since.

Stenhoff was rushed to the hospital where he learned that he had cracked vertebrae.

This incident was just one of 20,000 high school football-related injuries that happen every year. 12 percent of these injuries permanently disable its victims. 35 percent of the injuries affect the head or neck area. Thirteen players died on the field this past year. (Former USC player Taylor Mays gives a punishing hit to former University of California player Nyan Boateng.)

As a result of his injury, Pete Stenhoff is not able to graduate with his class and has to receive his diploma through correspondence classes. He has lost an extensive amount of weight from his football playing days, weighing just 172 pounds.

Despite all that has happened, Stenhoff is not bitter. “I knew the risks involved when I decided to play football,” he said, “but I wish I would have known just how bad it could be.”

Football Injuries

Football Knee Injury