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Former NFL player Wooten worried about pro football’s future

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Today’s news revolving around the health and safety of football:

* Former NFL player and College Football Hall of Famer John Wooten said recently he is worried about the future of pro and college football as concussions become more of a worry, according to Examiner.com.

“We are seeing that all the way down to pee wee league and so forth where people are saying I don’t want my son to play,” said Wooten. “Of course, a lot of players are taking that same position that they don’t want their children playing football. I think that you have to let the child decide as best he can whether he wants to do football or not. I would hate to see you take away from a kid that really wanted to play. We all know football is a violent game because you are hitting. But as long as you are using all of the protective means and so forth, I think you are all right to let them play. But you are absolutely right when you say this thing is moving down to that way where people are going to be reluctant to let the children play.”

* Bloomberg’s Jonathan Mahler said the NFL doesn’t have a concussion issue, it has an existential issue.

* A column in the Boise State student newspaper said that after the Boston University study and Jovan Belcher’s death, football isn’t worth the headache.

* Scientific American asked why don’t helmets do a better job of preventing concussions.

* RealClearSports.com got behind the push for banning tackle football for kids under 18.

* NFL.com reported the Kansas City Chiefs have made counseling mandatory for general manager Scott Pioli, coach Romeo Crennel and linebackers coach Gary Gibbs, who witnessed Jovan Belcher taking his own life.

* In NFL on-field news, CBSSports.com reported that the Jacksonville Jaguars waived linebacker Clint Session, who suffered through two seasons filled with concussions since signing as a free agent. And NFL.com reported that Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher has been fined $21,000 for making a horse collar tackle for the second consecutive week.

– Bill Bradley, contributing editor