Tackle Football Ban For Kids Under 12 Headed To House Vote

SPRINGFIELD, IL — A proposed ban on kids playing tackle football before the age of 12 was approved by an Illinois House committee Thursday. The bill, sponsored by 59th District Rep. Carol Sente (D-Vernon Hills), has been dubbed the Dave Duerson Act after the late former Chicago Bears safety.

Sente's bill aims to prevent children from being hit in the head before they're 12 years old to reduce the risk of neurological damage from youth sports.

It was approved 11-9 by the House Mental Health Committee, the AP reported. Several committee members who voted against the proposal objected to the lack of any presentations from opponents of the ban.

Duerson, the bills namesake, took his own life at the age 50. He was subsequently diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy. The degenerative brain disease has been linked to repeated head trauma and has symptoms including violent outbursts, memory loss and mood swings.

Duerson shot himself in the chest so that scientists could study his brain for signs of CTE, according to the AP.

His son, who has been advocating for the bill along with Sente and medical experts, appeared at Thursday's committee hearing in Springfield to endorse the youth tackling ban.

The bill, HB4341, has been placed on the calendar for debate on the House floor.

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