MARSHALL, Tex. — Two years ago, as fears over head injuries and the long-term consequences of collisions on the field intensified, this small town in the heart of football country took the unlikely step of trying to roll back tackle football.
The junior high school scrapped the seventh-grade tackle team because of safety concerns. The Pop Warner youth program had shut down because of a lack of players. This year, worried about potential liabilities, the local Boys & Girls Club dropped tackle football.
Yet last month, the crack and thud of helmets and shoulder pads punctuated the warm evening air as about 100 boys ran into one another, a sign that tackle football is not done here after all.