Tackle football ban for children under 12 shelved for now

The measure would’ve banned kids aged 12 and under from playing tackle football.

A bill to ban tackle football for Illinois children under the age of 12 is likely dead.

House Bill 4341 would create the CTE Prevention Act, and prohibit kids under the age of 12 from playing “tackle football offered by an organized youth sports program.”

State Rep. Carol Sente, D-Vernon Hills, filed HB 4341 on Jan. 25 and picked up eight co-sponsors. The bill passed out of the House Mental Health Committee March 1 on a close 11-9 vote.

On April 18, Sente acknowledged the bill wouldn’t be called for a vote after failing to attract necessary support.

“Passing this bill is an extremely important goal to me,” Sente said, according to the Chicago Tribune. “I don’t plan to call the bill for a vote this year but I’m going to keep it open because every week there is new information.”

The bill was also called the “Dave Duerson Act” after a Chicago Bears football player who committed suicide in 2011. After his death, it was determined Duerson was suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.