[ARETE] Bachyski, No game for boys to play

[Duncan Jamieson]

All,
Please find below and attached Pardeep Toor's review of Kathleen Bachyski's *No
game for boys to play.*
Thanks,
Dunca

*Book Review: “No Game For Boys to Play” by Kathleen Bachynski*
*(972 words)*
*Review by Pardeep Toor*

Football in America is a clash between rhetoric and reality. The reality is
that it’s a dangerous game that puts the lives of young people at risk for
short- and long-term health consequences. The rhetoric from adults,
coaches, and youth football organizers is that its intrinsic social and
moral values outweigh health risks. In the book *No Game for Boys to Play:
The History of Youth Football and the Origins of a Public Health
Crisis*, Kathleen
Bachynski traces the pendulum between rhetoric and reality to the origins
of tackle football in the 19th century while detailing the growth and
obsession with the game in America, despite the physical violence it
inflicts on youth and adults.

Football wasn’t always an assumed part of American society. Due to
football-related deaths in their respective states, the Georgia House of
Representatives voted (91-3) to ban football in 1897 and the New York Board
of Education banned high school football in 1905. However, those rulings
were quickly overturned. According to Bachynski, resistance to college and
youth football was met with a combative response that ensured sport’s
growth. The book offers multiple reasons, such as appeal to upper- and
lower-classes and military ideals, why football flourished in the United
States. But at its core, football expanded by becoming synonymous with
American small-town life and masculinity. Bachynski further explains how
the New Deal programs after The Great Depression catalyzed growth with the
construction of many new stadiums and facilities. The combination of
infrastructure and an unwavering belief in the competitive benefits of
playing football at a young age allowed the game to grow from Ivy League
colleges initially, to all colleges, high school, and then Pop Warner.

Bachnyski argues that the rhetoric of the perceived benefits of tackle
football for American youth has evolved over time. At different points in
its history, the game has been considered a substitute tool for military
training, anti-communist expression, business acumen and leadership, and
above all, a symbol of American masculinity. The book eloquently details
the connection of each of these characteristics with football and how these
factors have overcome the imminent threat of injury on the field. As
outlined in the book, although the dangers of football are numerous and,
have been highlighted in medical journals and mainstream media publications
throughout the 20th century, the game has continued to prosper and grow
into the American cultural phenomenon it is today.

A significant portion of the book focuses on the conundrum equipment
manufacturers face: presenting football as a risky sport that requires
safety equipment, without admitting that the game is unsafe for kids.
Bachynski charts the evolution of the football equipment industry that has
often sought to profit from the unsafe elements of the game while assuming
no risk for the detrimental effect the sport has on youth. The sports
equipment manufacturing industry, like the fast-food and tobacco industries
before it, often took a “personal responsibility” approach, emphasizing
that participants in the sport are aware of its inherent risks.  The book
also wonderfully overlaps the marketing efforts of equipment manufacturers
with the scientific claims of physicians and politicians highlighting the
physical dangers of the sport.

Additionally, Bachynski addresses the argument that football is a means for
social and economic mobility for minorities, beginning with the Carlisle
Indians in the early 20th century and the integration of black athletes in
mainstream high school and youth football after the 1950s. Integration was
an opportunity for minorities to model equality and perhaps superiority on
the football field. However, as Bachnyski claims, the pursuit of short-term
equality and long-term social mobility did not translate off the field.
Instead, it reinforced negative stereotypes of minorities. For example,
Bachynski notes that black athletes were disproportionately relegated to
positions that take heavier hits (running back, wide receiver, cornerback
and safety), while white players played quarterback due to stereotypes
about their intelligence and leadership ability. Such disparities and
subsequent public health effects highlight the nuanced physical threats of
football based on race and socioeconomic status.

The book ends near present day, with the National Football League (NFL)
acknowledging that head injuries are a risk in the sport and working
collaboratively with scientists to research improvements in the equipment
and game. However, unlike the early 20th century, the existence of football
is now assumed, rather than contemplated, underscoring the pivotal place
the game occupies in modern American society

This book should be read by anyone associated with youth or professional
football or those considering enrolling themselves or their kids in the
sport. Although not a parental or player guide, the book’s comprehensive
examination of the rhetoric and reality provides important historical
context for current conversations about the safety of football for youth
and adults. The historical perspective is essential to fully comprehend
football’s grasp on the American psyche. Bachnyski’s research is
complemented by a narrative arc of football that is written academically
and informatively while maintaining the integrity of the sport’s intricate
history. The book is accessible to both academics and concerned parents and
is a must-read for anyone affiliated with the sport.

Bachynski’s meticulously researched book explores the American psyche and
cultural identity related to football. Bachynski consistently balances the
staggering dangers the sport poses for youth with the explosive growth of
the game from the 19th century to present. Football is an illogical force
of popularity that reveals a collective American identity of willing to put
children in harm’s way in the name of economics and the perceived social
value of competition and contact. Bachynski frames the problem as a public
health crisis, yet historical and current responses fall short of treating
it as an immediate threat. Bachynski doesn’t lay a path forward for youth
and professional football. Instead, she comprehensively reveals the past to
guide the reader to their own judgment of what’s best for children in the
future.


Remember to smell the roses as you recumber past

Duncan R. Jamieson, Ph. D.
Professor of History
Book Review Editor
*AETHLON: The Journal of Sport Literature*
Ashland University
Ashland, OH  44805
USA
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