California is seeking to pass a bill that would ban children under the age of 12 from playing tackle football.
Assemblyman Kevin McCarty (D-Calif.) of Sacramento proposed Assembly Bill 734 (AB734), which would not allow youth organizations to let children younger than 12 play tackle football, according to KCRA.
On Wednesday, AB734 passed with a 5-2 vote from the California State Assembly’s Arts, Entertainment, Sports, and Tourism Committee, advancing to the State Assembly.
“There are certain things that just aren’t safe for younger people,” McCarty explained. “Banging your brains around for little kids just isn’t safe.”
If passed by the State Assembly, the bill would go to California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) desk to be signed. The bill would take effect on January 2026.
An amendment added to the bill by the committee would begin phasing tackle football out slowly. Beginning in 2025, children under 6 would not be allowed to participate in the sport, and in 2027 children under the age of 10 would also not be allowed to take part in the sport. In 2029, children under the age of 12 would be added.
The bill would allow children under the age of 12 to be permitted to play flag football, which has increased in popularity. Flag football has been promoted as a safer alternative to tackle football, even moving to bring it to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“It’s a high school sport,” McCarty pointed out. “It’s going to be an Olympic sport. There is no way you can do a safe sport of 9, 10, 11 year olds.”
In response to the Assembly committee advancing the bill, many parents expressed frustration with AB734, pointing out that “flag football is still a contact sport.”
“If you think that just because a 7-year-old boy is running up to take a flag, that they’re not ramming into each other to do that, you’re out of your mind! We’re talking about boys!” Ashley Bertram, a mother of three boys ages 7, 12, and 14, told NBC Bay Area.
Bertram added, “In the state of California, I get to choose whether my child lives or dies in my womb. But I can’t decide what sport he plays?”
Tyrone Jones, a youth and high school football coach in the Bay Area, told the outlet that the bill is a “move in the wrong direction.”
“Football and organizational sports in general are clearly proven ways to keep kids out of trouble,” said Assemblyman Mike Gipson, who voted in favor of the bill. “This bill is not taking away that ability, it is simply saying that we’re going to move from tackle football to flag football and we can still have the same learning experiences.”
