Uploaded October 2019 | Updated September 2026, 5 hours ago
The Tackle Can Wait campaign is inspired by a study published in the Annals of Neurology medical journal on Monday, which was led by Boston University researchers and concluded that the risk and severity of developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is not correlated to number of concussions, but is instead correlated with the number of years playing tackle football. The link is so profound that a high school football player who starts tackle football at age 5, instead of age 14, has an incredible 10 times the risk of developing the brain disease CTE.
The provocative PSA, which shows youth tackle football players smoking cigarettes while playing the game, is partly inspired by data in the study that shows the link between tackle football and CTE may be stronger than the link between smoking and lung cancer.
The campaign was led by two daughters who both lost their fathers to CTE, Rebecca Carpenter and Fingerpaint employee Angela Harrison, and former NFL player Chris Borland.
Harrison, who led the creative on the campaign, is the daughter of Joe Campigotto, a star college football player who died with late-stage CTE in 2016 at age 65. She is also the mother of two young boys.
Carpenter, who directed the award-winning film Requiem for a Running Back, directed the PSA. She is the daughter of former NFL running back Lew Carpenter, who died with late-stage CTE in 2010.
Watch the Tackle Can Wait PSA here: youtube.com/watch?v=Th1uN3Pjawo
Learn more at tacklecanwait.com
Watch Former NFL Star Chris Borland discuss why Tackle Can Wait: youtube.com/watch?v=QGZZKmKdRTY
Want to learn more about CTE? Visit concussionfoundation.org/cte
Created with Fingerpaint: fingerpaint.com
The Tackle Can Wait campaign is inspired by a study published in the Annals of Neurology medical journal on Monday, which was led by Boston University researchers and concluded that the risk and severity of developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is not correlated to number of concussions, but is instead correlated with the number of years playing tackle football. The link is so profound that a high school football player who starts tackle football at age 5, instead of age 14, has an incredible 10 times the risk of developing the brain disease CTE.
The provocative PSA, which shows youth tackle football players smoking cigarettes while playing the game, is partly inspired by data in the study that shows the link between tackle football and CTE may be stronger than the link between smoking and lung cancer.
The campaign was led by two daughters who both lost their fathers to CTE, Rebecca Carpenter and Fingerpaint employee Angela Harrison, and former NFL player Chris Borland.
Harrison, who led the creative on the campaign, is the daughter of Joe Campigotto, a star college football player who died with late-stage CTE in 2016 at age 65. She is also the mother of two young boys.
Carpenter, who directed the award-winning film Requiem for a Running Back, directed the PSA. She is the daughter of former NFL running back Lew Carpenter, who died with late-stage CTE in 2010.
Watch the Tackle Can Wait PSA here: youtube.com/watch?v=Th1uN3Pjawo
Learn more at tacklecanwait.com
Watch Former NFL Star Chris Borland discuss why Tackle Can Wait: youtube.com/watch?v=QGZZKmKdRTY
Want to learn more about CTE? Visit concussionfoundation.org/cte
Created with Fingerpaint: fingerpaint.com
