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Dr. Bennet Omalu: Allowing kids under age 18 to play football is child abuse

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Even with football helmets, a noted doctor believes that parents who allow their kids to play football are child abusers.

"He's a little concerned -- at 9 years old -- about it," parent Rob Kemp said.

Kemp said his son is staying away from playing tackle football because even he is worried about possible head injuries that some NFL players are experiencing.

"Some of them having deaths and just later in life not being able to function correctly," Kemp said.

Hard hits to the head can cause certain brain injuries.

The doctor who first discovered the first case of CTE in an NFL football player, Dr. Bennet Omalu, said letting a child play football under the age of 18 is child abuse.

"Sending out a child to a field to suffer intentionally inflicted brain damage … there is 100 percent risk of exposure to brain damage. If that is not the classic definition of child abuse, what is?" Omalu said to our sister station WSB-TV in Atlanta.

Parent Cathy Garland said she doesn’t disagree with the potential dangers of tackle football, but said calling it child abuse is a stretch.

"I think we're pushing the limits on what parents can and can't do or are willing to do with children," Garland said.

While other parents wouldn’t have a problem with their kids throwing on a helmet and playing the sport.

"I grew up playing tackle football and there's nothing wrong with me," parent Vitto Ferrara said.

Even with the protective head gear, Omalu said it’s best to keep keeps off the field.

“So knowing what we know today, why would you place a helmet on a child and send him out to a field to suffer brain damage,” Omalu said.

According to the Greater Jacksonville Pop Warner football conference, there are steps taken to ensure the safety of players.

They set strict age and weight groups to reduce injuries.