Lawmakers proposing new act that will ban pre-teen tackle football

ILLINOIS (KTRK) -- There's a push to stop tackle football for young players in Illinois.

The Dave Duerson Act is a proposal that calls for banning children under 12-years-old from tackling each other.

"I think the wisest thing to do is to wait until high school," former NFL player Chris Borland said.

Duerson was a former NFL player who committed suicide in 2011.

It was later determined that he suffered brain damage caused by the countless hits to the head he endured during his career.

Supporters of the bill say they still want kids to be physically active, but believe need to lessen the chances of brain injuries.

"Almost everybody who has had a long career has had this disease,"Chris Nowinski, with the Concussion Legacy Foundation said. "We have to shorten the number of years you play this game like we shorten the number of years you smoke to prevent lung cancer."