That's a big proviso. Kids who are physically gifted are often groomed and inculcated into these sports which cause repeated head injuries (especially football in big portions of the US), from quite a young age. They get encouraged and steered into these sports long before they have any ability whatsoever to comprehend the risks and long-term impact of the sport and CTE.
It is, and it varies from sport to sport. I think probably varies a lot by region. I can imagine in football there is a lot of pressure, especially since it is a standard high school sport and common enough in college that many athletes use it to get a scholarship. Boxing, at least where I am in my region of the US, from what I have seen, this is not usually the case. I am sure it happens. One thing about boxing is you do want to start young if you want to really be good, so there is a catch 22 involved in that respect. But mostly what I saw, and what I experienced from my own grandfather, was it is usually a kid who is very determined to box, and the parents are normally reluctant. I think with football we can talk ourselves into it just being a sport like any other. With boxing that is hard to do. If you encourage your child to participate in boxing you are going to see them hitting and getting hit. The aim of boxing is just a lot more obvious and clear, so it is harder to talk around it being about fighting. I will say, I think it is important for a sport like boxing to protect young people, and to avoid having kids enter who are there because they are being pressured. I am all for the sport being well regulated.
But I also don't think boxing is as casual about this stuff as it used to be. With newer coaches I think there is a lot more awareness of CTE these days. I don't think they take it lightly. And even back in the day, people knew about pugilistic dementia (You can find quotes from Muhammad Ali talking about how he fought the way he did, rather ironically, to avoid taking brain damage: apparently he was very concerned about it). With Football, I think people were surprised to learn how much damage tackling does to the brain. But with boxing it is a sport that is largely about taking blows to the head, so even as a kid, you know it can cause brain damage. I think what was surprising to people was that even smaller concussions just from regular sparring can add up and can make you more vulnerable if you keep getting hit while you have them.
All that said. You are getting hit in the head. It is going to damage your brain. There is no getting around that. At the end of the day, I think you need to let people make that choice for themselves. And I would just restate for those who haven't done it, I think they don't understand why people would risk their minds for a violent sport. Can there be pressure and other factors? Can young people not be well informed when they make the choice? Sure. But a lot of people sign up for it knowing full well what the risks are.
