New research at a Dallas hospital suggests kids who take hard hits to the head playing pee-wee football are more likely to damage their brain development. But doctors caution this doesn't mean kids should stop playing football.
Dr. James Muntz is a team physician for the Texans.
"Overall I still think the benefits far outweigh the risk."
Former Texan N.D. Kalu has a ten-year-old son who plays football.
"God forbid you can get injured or killed stepping on that school bus or riding your bicycle; you can't live in a bubble, you have to realize, any time you go out there there's going to be a risk you take."
Kalu says, of course, he's worried, but he's teaching his son to play the game and play it safely.
Dr. Muntz says the benefits of a team sport like football outweigh the risks.
"Read the paper, watch the news, unfortunately, there's a risk just going to school with shootings and crazy things that happen."
Dr. Muntz says we do a much better job of monitoring head injuries in youth football now than we did in years past.