Helmets for W. Lax?

The debate over head injuries in sports has been primarily focused on football, with the NFL in the unfortunate limelight. But obviously football is not the only contact sport — hockey, lacrosse, soccer, even gymnastics all carry risk of concussion.

Lacrosse is an interesting case — in men's lax the players all wear helmets as the game involves much more contact. The women do not. With both college lax seasons picking up in just a week, NYTimes sports reporter Alan Schwarz (a DP sports alum) wrote today 'A case against helmets in lacrosse.' The case, as stated, is that helmets encourage contact and give an unrealistic sense of protection from head trauma.

Although some safety advocates call for head protection in women’s lacrosse, almost everyone involved in the sport has said that its current ban on helmets for everyone but goaltenders is actually the safest approach. Hockey safety experts question if helmets foster more physical play. Football looks back and wonders whether big face masks encouraged a recklessness that can lead to long-term brain damage.
Now at its own crossroad, women’s lacrosse — with 250,000 playing nationwide — wants to take the road less battered. And so begins the second stage of sports’ continuing parry with head injuries — in which the best protection, many experts insist, is no protection at all.