Theodore Roosevelt High School principal agrees students shouldn’t play football

Photo courtesy of EmiLee Hartman Photography. (With permission)

More than a decade ago, Dennis Love secured his helmet and tightened his shoelaces as a member of the Roosevelt Rough Riders football team. Now, as the current principal and former football coach, Love agrees with concussion research pioneer Dr. Bennet Omalu on the recommendation that high school students should not play football.

Reporters in a Computer Assisted Reporting class at Kent State University contacted principals and school board presidents across Ohio asking for a reaction to Omalu’s 2015 New York Times Op-Ed advising high school students not to play football to prevent "irreversible brain damage," better known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.

“Of course I would agree with what [Dr. Omalu is] saying, but what next then?” Love said.

Dennis Love, principal of 
Theodore Roosevelt High School

Despite the evidence presented by Omalu, Love feels removing the program entirely isn't an easy process to go through and would cause an uproar from the community.

"It’s probably much bigger than myself and the superintendent," Love said. "These are community decisions. In Ohio, the community is the one who supports the schools, voting for the levies."

College football and the NFL continue to be two high rated sports. The 2015 Super Bowl alone garnered 114.4 million viewers, according to Sports Illustrated.

Theodore Roosevelt High School follows head injury recommendations from the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA). Following a head injury, parents receive home instructions and a notification sheet explaining the incident. They are offered two solutions in order for a student athlete to return to the sport.

A. The student needs a doctor’s release before being permitted to return to the field.

B. The student needs to be re-evaluated by the athletic trainer and Dr. Nilesh Shah, the team physician.

Additionally, the athlete and a parent or guardian must acknowledge receiving the Ohio Department of Health Concussion Information Sheet by signing the bottom of the form. The athletic department uses the SCAT3 concussion assessment tool for pre and post concussion testing as well.

On top of handouts and being provided with an athletics handbook, parents can attend an informational meeting held before the start of every football season. This year's took place on Aug. 2.

“It’s a tough thing, so I’d imagine a lot of principals feel that … you’re kind of damned if you do and damned if you don’t,” Love said. “Nobody wants to see anybody ever get hurt, but the reality is people will and people have died on the football field.”

While the information presented in Omalu’s Op-Ed is indisputably researched, Love said by getting involved with a sport “the risk is worth the reward.” Being part of a well-organized team and commitment to that team leads to success later in life, he said.

That means risking damage to a vital organ unable to regenerate.

Kent School Board President Marlene Dorsey stated via email that she "could call [me] sometime next week for a brief interview." When asked a specific date, Dorsey said she "might offer an opinion at a later time" before declining to comment on this issue regarding student safety.

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What I learned:

I learned not to accept everything that was said as useful information for the article. (Don't be a human microphone.) At points, my conversation with Mr. Love went on the verge of PR as he spoke about how talented the athletic department is, but he spoke truthfully about agreeing with Dr. Omalu's research instead of deflecting the question. Mr. Love couldn't name any specific concussion cases and I realize I should have talked to the athletic director to get that information.