An Illinois bill to ban organized tackle football for children under the age of 12 has passed through committee and will head to the state's House for a full debate.
The bill is known as the Dave Duerson Act, named after the two-time Super Bowl winner who took his own life in 2011 and requested that his brain be examined.
The bill passed by an 11-9 vote.
Per ESPN, three other states have proposed banning tackle football for youths younger than a certain age—New York, California and Maryland.
Researchers believe that limiting the number of years someone plays tackle football will decrease his risk of developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease that is caused by repeated hits to the head.