Nothing against your dad, but in my view his logic is the same as many parents & football coaches who used to play. “I did it, so it must be good for my kid to do too”. Seems like a cycle of abuse to me.

I played from 14 to 20, was all state & made some all American lists. Lots of scholarship offers & the full recruiting song & dance. Saw through the bullshit at 18 before my freshmen year & quit. Then felt like a giant bitch for quitting before I even played, so went back & played for a year & a 1/2, before quitting for good. Potentially couldve been a decent backup nfl offensive lineman, but the upper classmen I played with all had trouble passing their physicals even if good enough to be pro. Did not seem worth the risk of injury to me, & I really only understood the orthopedic risk at that time, the neurological risk is much harder to see & scarier.

It is not an easy to thing to quit for a teenager. There is fame, glory, endless food, girls, a little money maybe. Very few of my college teammates quit healthy like I did. I know of at least 3 of my former college teammates who have killed them selves, including one who shot himself in the chest so he could donate his brain to the cte study.

All 3 of those guys started playing early with much success. The game hasn’t changed, head trauma is everywhere, I even coached at my old high school a few years ago to gain more understanding.