California proposal would allow soft helmet pads in youth football leagues

Assemblymember Avelino Valencia, a former tight end for San Jose State, had mixed feelings last year when he voted to support a short-lived proposal that would have banned tackle football for preteens.

While he credited football for enriching his life, Valencia, a Democrat representing the Anaheim area, said he believes the game is too dangerous for young players’ developing brains. Gov. Gavin Newsom ended up taking the rare step of intervening in the Legislature to quickly spike the proposal.

This year, Valencia has a new measure that he thinks could help protect young players’ heads, short of a ban on tackling. His Assembly Bill 708 aims to prevent youth football leagues from prohibiting players from wearing the mushroom-shaped padded helmet add-ons that are sometimes worn by concussion-wary NFL players during games.

In an interview with CalMatters, Valencia said the “evidence is substantially clear” that tackle football puts young players at risk of concussions and the long-term problems that come with repeated blows to the head. With the prospect of a ban on tackle football off the table while Newsom is in office, he thinks his measure allowing the equipment sold under the Guardian Cap brand is the next best thing.

“I think this is the direction that I feel most comfortable in, which is trying to make the game as safe as possible, while also providing the opportunity for parents and young people to play this game if they so choose,” Valencia said.

The bill is in response to some youth leagues forbidding the equipment’s use, citing concerns that the add-ons could negate helmet safety certifications. Helmet manufacturers and the organization that certifies them as safe for players reportedly have concerns the padding could alter how their equipment is designed to perform, making youth leagues vulnerable to lawsuits if players get hurt.

The National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment announced in November that attaching products to a certified helmet voids its safety certification unless the add-on has been tested and separately certified.

Two other former college players weigh in

Valencia has support from two other former college football players in the Assembly, Democratic Assemblymember Steve Bennett, a former linebacker and team captain at Brown University, and Republican Assemblymember David Tangipa, a former tight end and special teams player at Valencia’s college rival, Fresno State.

Bennett said helmet technology has improved dramatically from when he was a player in the ’60s and ’70s. When he was in high school, Bennett fractured his skull under his helmet while playing, he said.

Assemblymember Steve Bennett speaks to lawmakers during an Assembly floor session at the state Capitol in Sacramento on Oct. 1, 2024.

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Fred Greaves

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CalMatters

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Bennett supports the steps leagues are taking to make football safer, and he said he believes Valencia’s bill could help. He didn’t have a chance to vote on the proposed tackle football ban before Newsom killed it, but he said he would have had reservations about a ban.

“Some people say, ‘Hey, you know, we shouldn’t have a sport at all,’ etc.,” he said. “And I would just say that the benefits of the sport have for so many youth … outweighed those risks. So you have to try to minimize those risks.”

Tangipa disagreed with Valencia last year with his stance on the proposed ban. Tangipa hadn’t yet been elected to the Assembly, but he showed up at a rally urging lawmakers to kill it, he said.

But on Valencia’s bill, he agrees that parents and players should have the option of using the add-ons. He hopes the technology helps “bring back hard-hitting football again.” The NFL and other football leagues have changed their tackling rules to try to limit helmet-to-helmet collisions to reduce concussions. Some complain it’s made the game less exciting.

“Look, we went from leather helmets to hard-shell helmets,” he said. “There probably was, you know, grumbling that happened for that, and now we’re going to be adding an additional layer. I don’t think anybody should be bothered by that, especially if it protects our kids.”

There’s been no formal opposition to Valencia’s measure, which sailed through the Assembly and appears likely to do the same in the Senate.

David Tangipa, right, during football practice at Fresno State on March 31, 2017.

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Kiel Maddox

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CALMATTERS

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Medical groups support measure

The bill has support from the California Medical Association, the California Academy of Family Physicians, the California Neurological Society and the California Orthopaedic Association, which support taking steps to reduce concussions in young players.

But whether the helmet pads work as advertised is less clear.

The Guardian Cap manufacturer as well as the NFL say the caps have helped reduce concussions, matching lab studies showing the helmet pads reduce impacts. But other studies, including from Stanford and Wisconsin universities, found they had no effect on the rate of concussions or other head trauma.

Citing the lack of evidence, the Concussion Legacy Foundation reluctantly supported the measure but said it would prefer to see youth tackle football banned outright.

The group also noted “there is limited evidence that soft-shelled helmets have reduced the number of diagnosed concussions or will reduce the risk of football players developing CTE,” the acronym for the debilitating brain condition caused by repeated blows to the head.

“However, if the state is going to allow children to play, we agree that they should have the option to wear soft-shelled helmets,” their letter reads.