President Joe Biden said he would recommend his children play rugby instead of American football due to the risk of brain trauma.
(Bloomberg) — President Joe Biden said he would recommend his children play rugby instead of American football due to the risk of brain trauma.
“I’d rather have my children playing rugby now for health reasons than I would have them playing football,” Biden said Thursday in a speech to the Irish parliament.
“Fewer people get hurt playing rugby, and you have no equipment,” the US president said. “You just don’t hit each other in the head very often.”
The president’s comments may draw attention back home, where American football is the most popular professional sport. It’s also unclear whether rugby is significantly safer than football when it comes to brain trauma.
Multiple studies have shown large numbers of former football players suffer from a neurological disorder associated with repeated head trauma, but there are similar concerns with rugby. Dozens of former rugby players sued the sport’s governing bodies in the UK, alleging they suffered brain injuries playing the game.
Biden earlier this year dismissed the idea that the National Football League is getting too dangerous after Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field during a game after suffering cardiac arrest.
“I don’t know how you avoid it,” Biden said in January. “I think working like hell on the helmets, the concussion protocols, that makes a lot of sense. But it’s, you know, it’s dangerous.”
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