The Chris Borland story is only partly about the NFL, but his decision to retire at age 24 because of his concern about head injuries is a harbinger of things to come at all levels, particularly youth football. As much as anything, it opens the door to important conversations between parents and kids about football. This is a guide for how those conversations can be had most productively.
There is the rational conversation about the steadily accumulating, scientifically rigorous quantitative data indicating that playing tackle football is a meaningful brain-health risk for kids (and adults, too, which was a key piece of Borland's own thought process). But this often comes across as typical parental hectoring -- like "You'll shoot your eye out!" in "A Christmas Story." (Full disclosure: I am among those parents who will never let my kids play organized tackle football -- at any age. My kids play flag football and love it, and I can feel good about them playing it.)
And then there is the qualitative, narrative evidence that seemingly carries more weight in parents' decision-making, and more weight with kids: when current and former NFL players say they wouldn't let their own kids play tackle football. (Even LeBron has weighed in.)
But Borland's story is both unique and arguably even more powerful -- a current player barely a decade out of youth football and with a successful career ahead saying: "Not for me."
As parents weigh whether to let their kids play tackle football, Borland's decision stands out. And as parents use the news to take a moment to talk to their football-fanatic kids about it -- as I did with my 8-year-old Tuesday morning over breakfast -- it's not even a complicated topic:
Me: "Chris Borland from the 49ers quit football."
Him: "Why?"
Me: "He's worried about what all the tackling will do to his brain."
Him: "Oh! Wow . . . "
And in that "Oh," I could see the processing going on: Kids get it -- if an NFL player himself is worried about what football is doing to their heads, maybe they should be, too. If the NFL player isn't willing to take the risk to his head, why would the kid?
Parents can use this as an amazing moment to talk with their kids. Pick your angle -- and it isn't just: "See? This is why we won't let you play tackle football." (Although feel free to add it to your personal list.)
Talk about the very real risks of the sport. Here is the quote from Borland to "Outside the Lines" that I read to my son: "I just thought to myself, 'What am I doing? Is this how I'm going to live my adult life, banging my head, especially with what I've learned and know about the dangers?' " The risks are real -- you don't have to dig into the details, but you can feel confident oversimplifying that smart doctors have figured out Borland is right, both for NFL players and for kids.
Discuss the process Borland went through to make his decision. He approached it the way you would want your kid to approach any choice: What are the options? What are the pluses and minuses of each? What do experts say? What does his heart say? Regardless of his decision, his process was an equally teachable moment.
Examine what Borland is giving up. Don't shy from that discussion. Even if you agree with his decision, it is a lot of financial security he is leaving behind, in addition to a dream he has probably been working toward since he was a kid. No big decision comes without drawbacks, and acknowledging Borland's significant one -- financial security for a lifetime -- creates even more credibility for his choice, but also opens up a valuable new discussion line about how a lot of players have used their professional careers as a way to dramatically change their lives and that of their families.
Talk about how other NFL players might feel about it. The quotes and tweets that filtered out in the wake of the decision were a mixture of respect and largely respectful disagreement. An interesting byproduct of Borland's story is that every football player -- from the NFL to college to perhaps your local high school teams -- will be asked about it by their neighborhood beat reporter. More dialogue is always better.
Let kids drive the conversation in whatever way resonates most with them. A great starting point would be to lay out the story without judgment and to say simply: "What do you think about that?"
(For what it's worth, this isn't the moment to tell kids they have zero NFL future anyway, and effectively no chance to earn a full college scholarship to play football -- but as always, your child's virtually nil chance to finance higher education or your adult life playing professional tackle football should remain indelibly in the back of your mind.)
In the meantime, back in the adult conversation where the choice ultimately belongs, if you weren't already among the growing number of parents who had already heard enough to steer their kids away from tackle football, this will make you stop and think even harder about the risks of letting your kids play.
Whether or not he wants to be a symbol, Borland now becomes a leading conversation topic between parents and kids in family rooms and backyards.
Dan Shanoff writes about the intersection of sports and parenting. He formerly was an editor and columnist for ESPN.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @danshanoff.