NFL legend Aaron Donald facing backlash over video with son as fears raised for child's safety

Back in 2018, NFL owners passed an unexpected rule with the sole intention of minimising head injuries and easing CTE concerns. Which is why fans of the sport have been left concerned by a recent video from one of the game's biggest stars.

The ruling expanded penalties for contact involving helmets, specifically anytime a player lowers his head to initiate and make contact with his helmet against an opponent. Under the charge, a player would be penalised 15 yards and potentially ejected, with the aim of limiting the risk of suffering a severe head injury.

That’s because concussions and play-related head blows have been shown to be the cause of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in American football. The rule change was to address a 2017 season that saw 291 concussions, the highest in a season, and a serious spinal injury Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier that would have fallen foul in the change.

Discussions around CTE have again come to the fore, however, after a video posted by NFL legend Aaron Donald did the rounds on social media.

In the video, Donald is seen with NFL helmet and shoulder pads, with his son, also in helmet and pads, charging at his father before the pair’s heads connect.

Donald criticised for Instagram video

“Another day at the Donald’s #whosehouseramshouse #ad99 #ready,” the caption on Donald’s post read.

However, fans in the comments section of the video were quick to leave negative reactions to the post.

"[This is] how you get CTE so early,” one Instagram user commented.

One other posted gifs of American footballers and their heads coming together and the impact it would have on their respective brains.

Another showed a doctor smacking the forehead of a fake skeleton and a brain jiggling to show how much the organ can move when the head takes a hit.

Donald is a former defensive tackle who played for the St. Louis / Los Angeles Rams between 2014 and 2023, winning the Super Bowl in 2022.

The 34-year-old, who is widely considered one of the greatest defensive players of all time, announced his retirement from American football in March last year at just 32 years of age.

While Donald never suffered a severe head injury, he did miss the final six games of the 2022 season owing to an ankle sprain.

However his Instagram post, as innocuous as it may be, has prompted concerns about the child’s safety, especially as a child’s skull is thinner and less dense than an adult skull.