The recent death of an Illinois high school player, Andre Smith, has sparked discussion on whether high school football is too dangerous of a sport. On Thursday, October 22, on the last play of a Thursday night game at Bogan High School, Smith took a hit to the head, walked over to the sideline, and then fell unconscious to the ground. Smith was then rushed to the hospital but could not be saved and died early Friday morning. Smith, 17, a senior at Bogan High School, died of “blunt force head injuries due to a football accident,” as reported by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. According to the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research, Smith is the seventh high school football related death in the year 2015 alone.

Just one day following Smith’s head injury, on Friday, October 23, another high school football player, Josh Nava, suffered a severe head injury after making a head first tackle. Nava, of Riverside Poly High School, needed emergency treatment to release the pressure and swelling on his brain, and is currently hospitalized in a medically induced coma. Nava, a safety for Riverside Poly High School, tackled an opposing Moreno Valley player running the ball in the 3rd quarter of the game. Both Smith and Nava were wearing certified five-star protection football helmets, but this was obviously not enough from preventing two major head injuries, one being fatal.

Both districts have looked into what needs to be done to prevent future head injures in the high school football sport. The districts are looking into hiring experts to teach the players safer ways of tackling, which may not be enough to prevent future severe head injuries. Although Smith died of blunt force trauma to the head, the leading cause of high school football deaths is sudden cardiac arrest. According to the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, only 37% of high schools employ a full-time medical trainer, which undoubtedly needs to improve for the safety of high school athletes.

After Smith’s death Friday, the Illinois High School Association made stated, “As anyone who has participated in athletics knows, there is a risk of injury any time a player steps on the field of play.”