NATCHEZ — NFL Hall of Famer and legendary former University of Southern Mississippi and Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre will be remembered for his gritty performances on the gridiron, but Favre said recently he would now rather be remembered for something else.

Favre recently told the UK’s Daily Mail that he would rather be remembered for ending youth tackle football than for his Hall of Fame career if it meant saving children from the type of head trauma he endured throughout his football career.

To that end, Favre is backing a bill in the Illinois Legislature that would ban children under the age of 12 from playing tackle football.

Favre is supporting The Dave Duerson Act to Prevent CTE, which is named after the former Chicago Bears football player who committed suicide in 2011 after battling the effects of chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

CTE is a degenerative brain disease often suffered by athletes and that is caused by repetitive brain trauma, such as concussions.

In 2013, Favre told ESPN he believes he is suffering the effects of CTE, citing memory loss as a potential symptom.

“I don’t remember my daughter playing soccer, playing youth soccer, one summer,” Favre told ESPN.

Favre’s ultimate goal, however, he said, is to back a similar measure at the federal level banning children under age 12 from playing tackle football.

“The body, the brain, the skull is not developed in your teens and single digits,” Favre told the Daily Mail. “I cringe. I see these kids get tackled and the helmet is bigger than everything else on the kid combined. They are looking like they’re going to break in half.”

In the Miss-Lou, youth tackle football starts at a much younger age than 12, and the question of ‘Should my child play tackle football?’ comes down to whether the risk is worth the potential reward for most families.

For Natchez resident Amy Marchbanks and her family, she said the reward outweighs the risk.

Marchbanks has two sons — 10-year-old Crews and 14-year-old Hayes — who both play tackle football, and Marchbanks said she fully supports them playing the game they love.

“I want them to play because the game teaches them other things that they probably won’t learn from my husband and I or even the classroom,” Marchbanks said.

Football, Marchbanks said, teaches her sons to learn and trust other men, how to be a good teammate, how to be a graceful winner and loser, and most importantly, it helps them grow as men. Another reason Marchbanks said she is comfortable with her sons playing tackle football is because she trusts the local coaches.

Vidalia High School coach Dee Faircloth said having a trustworthy coach is the biggest thing that stands between a child and an injury.

“When it comes down to it, it depends on the youth coaches,” Faircloth said. “Leagues need to make sure the coaches they have are qualified and are teaching the kids proper techniques.”

At the moment, Marchbanks said she hasn’t seen her children experience the type of tackles she believes could cause CTE.

“My husband and I trust the coaches to teach my kids how to safely tackle someone,” Marchbanks said. “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t let them play.”

Although Marchbanks said she is fine with her sons playing football, Marchbanks said she understands the concerns about concussions and CTE. Yet, Marchbanks said she believes, allowing her sons to play is no more dangerous than letting them get into a car or an airplane.

It is sometimes tough to see her sons experience a big hit, Marchbanks said, yet at the same time, Marchbanks said she is seeing her sons turn into great young men.

Natchez resident Chesney Doyle has a different mindset when it comes to her 9-year-old son, Archer.

Growing up, Doyle’s parents would not allow her brothers play football because the risk of injury and they wanted to encourage them to compete in sports in which they could participate their entire lives, so she has established that philosophy with her son.

“That’s my thinking,” Doyle said. “Not everyone has to play football. Archer is big into sports such as tennis, soccer, basketball and karate. He is even taking golf.”

Doyle said she hasn’t observed any loss on Archer’s part in not playing football.

Although Archer is not playing football, Doyle said she still sees him enjoying the game.

“At the end of the day you can still be a football fan,” Doyle said. “However, I think maybe all parents have some concerns.”

While it might be sometime before youth tackle football is banned in Mississippi and Louisiana, Faircloth said he hopes it is never banned, but Faircloth said he understands the argument to end the sport at that age.

“Both sides have legitimate arguments,” Faircloth said. “But the game has changed so much over the years to prevent injuries such as concussions.”

At the moment for Miss-Lou residents deciding whether their children should play tackle football, it’s just a matter of viewpoint.

“It’s a matter of personal opinion when it comes to participation,” Faircloth said. “Parents have the right to choose if they want to withhold their kids from tackle football.”