California bill that bans contact football for minors passes in state assembly committee

Proponents of the bill argue safety concerns and the risk of traumatic brain injuries, while critics of the bill say it is discriminatory and tramples on parental rights.

Assembly Bill 734, authored by Democrat state Rep. Kevin McCarty, who serves in California's 6th district around Sacramento, passed in the committee on Wednesday in a 5-2 vote.

The text of the bill reads: "On and after January 1, 2026" the bill would "prohibit a youth sports organization that conducts a tackle football program, or a youth tackle football league, from allowing a person younger than 12 years of age to be a youth tackle football participant through the organization or league."

During the hearing, Rep. McCarty argued the need to impose a youth tackle football ban on the dangers of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and the risk of suicide that follows the diagnosis. He brought in medical experts to provide testimony.

"There is a way to love football and protect our kids," said Rep. McCarty, according to Daily Mail. "We've come to realize over the last few years that there's no real safe way to play tackle football. There's no safe blow to the head for a six, seven, eight-year-old."

He claimed that the stories of football players who killed themselves after sustaining severe brain injuries had impacted him.

Rep. McCarty told the story of Wyatt Bramwell, 18, a former football player who committed suicide in 2019. Researchers at Boston University found that Bramwell had severe damage to was diagnosed with CTE, a degenerative disorder caused by repeated head trauma, after his death.

Dr. Stella Legarda, a pediatric neurologist and President of the California Neurology Society, introduced a study during the hearing that examined 152 deceased contact sports players under the age of 30 with the most common cause of death as suicide.

The study revealed that 63 of those players had CTE and that they all played football on average for more than three years, according to the Daily Mail.

"This wealth of data is straightforward," said Legarda. "The medical and scientific communities unanimously agree that repetitive head impacts regardless of impact severity lay the foundation for brain injury."

She continued that repeated head trauma was "often too easily dismissed by coaches, parents and simply shaken off by the players themselves."

However, youth football coaches, players, and parents flooded the hearing to voice opposition to the bill.

Ron White, president of the California Youth Football Alliance, said his organization was strongly opposed to the bill, calling it "an unwarranted, discriminatory attempt to ban youth tackle football in the state while trampling parental rights along the way."

"You will hear medical opinions offered by the author and those testifying in support of AB 734," he said, according to the outlet. "It's important to note the following: those opinions are not unilaterally shared by the medical community."

Republican Rep. Tom Lackey, who serves California's 34th District, did not dismiss concerns surrounding CTE but argued against the bill on the grounds that parents know "what is best for their children."

"If we ban this sport, we take away the many opportunities for children to grow not just as a player, but a self-actualized adult," said Lackey. "I don't dismiss the concern. CTE is real and something that we should take seriously."

The bill now moves to the full body of the California State Assembly and must be passed by the end of January to become law. If passed, California will become the first state in the US to ban youth tackle football.