California lawmakers to consider ban on tackle football for kids under 12

California lawmakers will consider on Wednesday whether to ban tackle football for children under 12 in the state.

The bill is scheduled to have its first public hearing before a legislative committee, The Associated Press reported. For the bill to move on, it must clear the state Assembly by the end of January to have a chance of becoming law this year.

If passed, the bill would not take effect until 2026.

According to Chris Nowinski, CEO of the Concussion Legacy Foundation and former Harvard football player and WWE professional wrestler, tackle football can cause brain damage, and the risk increases the longer people play football.

“I don’t have a problem with NFL players, who are adults and understand the risk and are compensated, risking CTE,” Nowinski told the AP.

CTE is chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the death of nerve cells in the brain caused by repeated head trauma.

“I can’t imagine a world in which we have children, who don’t understand the risk, doing this for fun (and) taking the same risk with their brain,” Nowinski said.

California Assemblymember Kevin McCarty introduced AB 734 last year.

Youth football leagues, coaches, parents and players are fighting to stop the bill.

“I can’t imagine kids of any age being restricted from doing any activity,” Steve Famiano the head of Save Youth Football - California Coalition, said. “It would make kids playing youth football in California illegal. It would make it a crime which I can’t even fathom a child playing football is a crime.”

In 2019 Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the California Youth Football Act which set a long list of safety requirements for kids playing tackle football, ABC 7 reported.

No state has banned tackle football.