#9- Rhetorical Analysis 2

In my analysis, I will be arguing the article from the New York Times, “Not Everyone Says Headgear Is Right Fit for Girls’ Lacrosse.” In this article Bill Pennington talks about how women's lacrosse is one of the fastest growing sports in the country, with many injuries occurring to the head, such as concussions. This is causing a debate within the lacrosse associations about if women should be required to wear headgear or not. From an outsider's perspective it seems like a no-brainer, but it is causing worry to coaches, players, and officials. The author claims that if headgear becomes a requirement to girls lacrosse it will ruin the purity of the game. This claim is non-factual and overdramatic because simply adding headgear to girls lacrosse will not change the essence of the game. “Girls’ lacrosse is a purer form of the game, with a lineage closer to the sport’s early history. In the female version of the game, players abide by rules that are closer to the original regulations.” (http://www.woodburyunitedlax.com/page/show/729518-what-boys-can-learn-from-girls-lacrosse) Simply because we are being more cautious and adding headgear does not effect the rules of the game. The game of girls lacrosse is so pure because they stick closer to the regulations from the original indian history. In the article “The great debate: Why no helmets for women's lacrosse,” one of their players, because of her past injury experience, stated that she would be wearing a protective helmet for her own safety, and her parents agreed. They said, "We saw it as a prophylactic thing to do as a parent, so we felt that if it would give her more self-confidence and add a little protection to her, we feel it was a better thing to do.” The player Carley Sturges said, "It helped me rebuild my confidence," She said as long as she plays lacrosse she will wear the helmet, even next year in college. Crutchfield, one of the coaches said he wants to see women's lacrosse go to hard helmets like the men. "I don't think girls are going to play a rougher game. I think we are going to dramatically see a reduction in the number of concussion injuries in women's lacrosse.” (http://www.wbaltv.com/article/the-great-debate-why-no-helmets-for-women-s-lacrosse/7074461) The main reason that so many people in the lacrosse community are bothered by the headgear requirement is because they believe in the “gladiator effect.” The gladiator effect is the mentality of playing harder because you are protected. Ann Carpenetti, the managing director of U.S. Lacrosse said it perfectly, she said, "Changing the culture of the game -- changing the nature of the game -- is a concern. Increasing the physicality of the game is a concern. People play with a greater sense of invincibility when they have protection." This is why the stress of the purity of the game is so high. If the girls play with more aggression because they are better protected, the game will increasingly get more like the boys because of the violence, and could possibly lead to changing of the rules. This statement is based on opinions and has no facts to back it up.