My grandfather George Donald Porter won the California Golden Gloves in the 1950's and trained famed boxer Archie Moore. In 1982 I became the first African American woman to train in neurological surgery in the University of California system after rotating through the San Francisco General Hospital trauma neurosurgery service as a medical student and intern and conducting research on transient cerebral concussions and diffuse brain injuries. It is unethical of you to advocate on behalf of a sport in which there is direct trauma to the brain the often leads to irreversable neuronal death. I understand the position you have taken citing the ambiguity of the stance taken by the AMA. American football has accrued an archive of serious brain injuries leading to death, mental illness and danger to the public yet AMA has not taken a similar stance against football. As a former competitive gymnast I assure you the risk and incidence of brain injury is not comparable to boxing in exposing the head and neck to blunt trauma. Most of the gymnasts I evaluate in my sports medicine practice have lumbar spine injuries.