Today is Saturday, February 18th.

Americans love football.

Last week in Super Bowl was the third most watched television event of all time.

But despite its popularity, statistics show youth participation in tackle football has

trended down in recent years.

It seems some parents don't want to let their kids play because of safety concerns.

But America is divided on this issue, and the debate is far from over.

In fact, even the American Academy of Pediatrics is still debating what the recommendations should

be for youth football.

Today, we'll hear from one of the people working to craft those guidelines.

He's also the team physician for the Iowa Hawkeyes football team.

But first, we're talking about specific new data that suggests why some communities are

more supportive than others of kids playing tackle football.

Mariah Warner is a PhD candidate at the Ohio State University, and she's the lead author

of this first-of-its-kind study.

Welcome, welcome to The Newsworthy Special Edition Saturday, when we sit down with a different

expert or celebrity every Saturday to talk about something in the news.

Don't forget to tune in every Monday through Friday for our regular episodes, but we

provide all the day's news in 10 minutes.

I'm Erica Mandy, it's now time for today's Special Edition Saturday.

Mariah Warner, thank you so much for coming on The Newsworthy.

Thanks for having me.

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