Youth impact sport, autonomy, and the right to an ‘open future’

Anderson et al. (2023) have provided an invaluable summary of current empirical evidence on brain trauma in impact sports. Their cogent arguments for doubting children’s capacity to give genuine informed consent to impact sports can be extended by particular reference to American football. Questions that arise about whether intensive elite youth sport preserves athletes’ right to an open future become all the more urgent when brain trauma is involved.