Boxing can offer teens an alternative to street life and gangs — but it can also be dangerous. Citing the risk of everything from concussions and brain injuries to dietary issues, the American Academy of Pediatrics is renewing its call to ban boxing for kids 19 and under. The move has incited "fierce resistance" from the boxing community — advocates say the seemingly violent sport teaches discipline and a work ethic to the 18,000 U.S. children and teenagers registered to compete. But is a sport that involves "deliberate blows to the head" just too dangerous for kids' growing brains and bodies?
Yes. The damage boxing can do is clear: I love boxing, says Janelle Harris at The Stir, but there is no way my son or daughter is going "anywhere near anybody's boxing ring." The evidence can be seen in the faces and movements of retired boxers. The best of them, like Sugar Ray Leonard, may be sharp, but they are still slow. Others have fared worse and have even died from boxing-related health complications.
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