Bill to Ban Tackle Football For Under 12 Youth Heard in Assembly

A bill to ban tackle football for children under the age of 12 in California was finally brought up before the Assembly Arts, Entertainment, Sports and Tourism Committee on Wednesday after almost a year of not advancing through the legislature.

Assembly Bill 734, authored by Assemblyman Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento), would prohibit youth sports organizations that conduct a tackle football program, or a youth tackle football league, from allowing a person younger than 12 years of age to be a youth tackle football participant through the organization or league. Should the bill pass, the law would begin to take effect beginning in January 2026.

Assemblyman McCarty wrote the bill last year because of increased concerns over youth football injuries, as well growing concerns with head injuries at a younger age. Specifically. McCarty cited several studies in support of his bill. These included a 2022 United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) study finding that chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is caused by repeated traumatic brain injuries, a Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) pointing to higher head injuries amongst younger athletes, and a Boston University study confirming a link between CTE, suicide, and early in life head injuries caused by athletics.

“Flag football is an alternative that is safer for youth and can still give them the opportunity to learn the skills to be successful at tackle football later in life,” said the Assemblyman last year. “The 2023 NFL Pro Bowl was a flag football game for the safety of the players. Why can’t we have that for our youth? AB 734 will help protect kids and nurture their brain development, and not put them in a situation that’s proven to cause irreparable harm.”

In a statement made earlier this month, McCarty added, “It’s not even about concussions. It’s about repetitive hits to the brain. If kids want to play tackle, wait until they get to puberty when their bodies are more developed. You can teach tackling once you get to 12 years of age when it’s fully developed. There’s only one brain. There’s only one life, but it’s a game you can play forever. There are certain things that just aren’t safe for younger people. Banging your brains around for little kids just isn’t safe. It’s a high school sport. It’s going to be an Olympic sport. There is no way you can do a safe sport of 9, 10, 11 year-olds.”

SB 734 heard after 11 months

While many health officials and early childhood development experts agreed with McCarty and supported the bill, many other pointed to flaws in the bill. Many youth sports officials worried that the ban would lead to players not being ready for when tackle football then begins and said that more injuries could occur as a result of not being ready. Others pointed out an overall lack of similar injuries amongst youth players as well as what the effects it would have on poorer and at-risk athletes who rely on football at a young age to keep active in a positive way.

“We have had to fight it all three times, and I can tell you we will fight it again,” added Sacramento Youth Football Commissioner Jay Erhart in a statement. “The league has changed rules for less contact at practices and made the sport safer with equipment. With over 9,000 kids last year, we had less than 20 kids that went into return-to-play protocol for concussions. It’s going to just disenfranchise kids. Those kids in our most needed communities, inner city, our rural communities are going to miss out on a lot, a lot of life lessons as well.”

Jamal Lawrence, a youth football coach in Los Angeles, also said that “When I grew up in LA in the late 80s, you know, football was the escape. And I’m talking about bloods and crips. The reason many managed to stay out was because of sports. Football in particular. Many were looking for that outlet, and full-on tackle football was that for many who would have otherwise moved towards other activities that aren’t exactly legal, if you know what I mean. I know. I was close myself, but I stuck with football.

“And today, it still is for many. Part of that appeal is to act real physical on the field. A lot of young kids need this, and they would just not do it if it was flag football. We are already having a hard time attracting young people in. We’re seeing declines nationwide in youth football participation because of head injury worries. We’ve been doing everything to address that. This thing in Sacramento, it would only hurt us further.”

While youth football has been regulated before in California, such as AB 1 in 2020 that regulated contact football and a bill that banned full-contact practices in high school, an overall ban on youth contact before the age of 12 has failed before in the state, as it has in others including Illinois and New York.

AB 734 is to be decided on soon in the Assembly, eleven months following the bill first being introduced in February 2023.