# Should the NFL Go Back to Leather Helmets? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 3, 2012, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-nfl-go-back-to-leather-helmets/620699 "2012-05-03T00:14:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-nfl-go-back-to-leather-helmets/620699/21 "2012-05-04T15:55:58Z")
> [@Mooch](#): > > What about the same padding that’s already on the inside of the helmet also mounted on the exterior? It might look funny like a bunch of bobble heads out on the field but wouldn’t the impact absorption help with head injuries? > > You could just paint the logos on the padding - although they would no longer be sleek or shiny. In the 1990s, a couple of NFL players who had histories of head injuries did this ([Mark Kelso](http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/kelso.jpg) and [Steve Wallace](http://www.helmethut.com/DrDelrye/Dr102808a.jpg) come to mind). They basically had big foam pads stuck to the outsides of their helmets (Kelso was even nicknamed “[The Great Gazoo](http://thedailyjim.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Great-Gazoo.jpg)” due to how outsized his helmet looked with the padding). Never seemed to catch on, and I have no idea if it helped them. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-nfl-go-back-to-leather-helmets/620699/22 "2012-05-04T18:20:08Z")
I agree with post #9. Guys are just too big and fast these days. In the days of the leather helmets, the field was full of 180lb 30yr olds. But I don’t really see a problem. Every player on the field knows the risks. The ones that make it to the Pros get paid millions of dollars to abuse themselves and others. They make the choice. Hell, I played Pop Warner and knew I could get hurt. Don’t wanna get a concussion? Go into Dentistry. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-nfl-go-back-to-leather-helmets/620699/23 "2012-05-04T18:32:09Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > … > But I don’t really see a problem. Every player on the field knows the risks. The ones that make it to the Pros get paid millions of dollars to abuse themselves and others. They make the choice. Hell, I played Pop Warner and knew I could get hurt. > … I don’t really think many players really understand the risks, at least where brain injuries are concerned. They’re deluding themselves and counting on their body’s ability to heal. It’s not just brain injuries that plague retired players. Leg injuries, from knees to ankles and feet, many ex-players live in constant pain. Like money woes, there’s a short-sightedness that ignorant college kids just won’t overcome. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-nfl-go-back-to-leather-helmets/620699/24 "2012-05-04T18:54:06Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > I don’t really think many players really understand the risks, at least where brain injuries are concerned. I agree. For years, concussions and subconcussive hits were dismissed as “getting you bell rung” akin to getting the wind knocked out of you. You take a play off, then get your ass back on the field. That’s one thing about the lawsuit against the NFL, I don’t think anyone really new how bad football was to the brain and how it can lead to degenerative brain diseases. Now, as more and more research is done and more and more people learn about it, maybe players will be more aware of it. It may not change a thing (people still love football), but I think it’s wrong to think that the players of yesteryear knew they might end up with dementia and taking a shotgun to their chests. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-nfl-go-back-to-leather-helmets/620699/25 "2012-05-04T19:03:45Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > I don’t really think many players really understand the risks, at least where brain injuries are concerned. They’re deluding themselves and counting on their body’s ability to heal. Agreed. Young people in their teens and twenties (particularly athletic males) have a tendency to see themselves as close to invulnerable, and often don’t have a healthy appreciation for how their actions today could lead to problems down the road (just look at how many young people take up smoking, or going to tanning salons). By the time a football player gains the maturity to understand these things, the damage is already done. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-nfl-go-back-to-leather-helmets/620699.md?page=1)