Paralyzed ex-player say it’s time to ban youth football

NEW YORK — A victim himself of the sport, Marc Buoniconti wants youth football banned.

He hasn’t always felt that way. Now, as his Buoniconti Fund and the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis also researches head trauma, the former college linebacker paralyzed from the shoulders down in a game nearly 32 years ago has a different view.

As he has learned more about concussions and has seen his father, Hall of Famer Nick Buoniconti, have significant cognitive issues in recent years, Marc Buoniconti is adamant that children should not play football.

“For me, my opinion has changed 180 degrees,” Buoniconti said. “Years ago I would always tell people that absolutely I will let my son get on the field, play football; I love football. The things you learn at football — the teamwork, the camaraderie, learning how to win, how to lose, the practice, the discipline — everything is so important that you learn in football that you can apply to your life.

“It was amazing for me what I learned on the football field was so instrumental when I went to the Citadel because of all I had to go through there with all that training and discipline that it really prepared me.

“But the more I learned about concussion through the research, through the experience of my father, I honestly can no longer tell parents that their loved ones should play football. I just can’t do it in my heart.”

He fears that the hitting is too dangerous for kids, even if no concussions have been suffered. Buoniconti is not speaking for the Miami Project, for which he has raised nearly a half-billion dollars for research into the treatment of spinal cord and brain injuries. That organization, founded in 1985, has not taken a stand on including such a discussion in its efforts.