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Parents Growing More Concerned Over Potential For Concussions In Young Soccer Players

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Soccer has now been caught up in the growing legal debate over head injuries.

A group of soccer parents and players filed a lawsuit seeking new safety rules aimed at preventing concussions in the sport.

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in San Francisco federal court and seeks class action status on behalf of current and former soccer players who competed for teams governed by FIFA and several U.S.-based soccer organizations.

The NFL, NHL and NCAA have all faced similar lawsuits

Some Jericho parents were not worried about the prospect of their kids suffering a concussion while playing soccer.

"There's not a lot of head activity, I'm sure it's going to increase as they get older in age, but I was more worried about the concussions with football and lacrosse," one mother said.

But another mother said that flying balls and body parts were cause for concern.

"You get hit in the head with the ball, knees, elbows, they can fall," she told 1010 WINS' Hollie Haerr.

In a proposed legal settlement in another case, the NCAA last month said it will toughen return-to-play rules for players who receive head blows. It also agreed to create a $70 million fund to pay for thousands of current and former athletes to undergo testing to determine whether they suffered brain trauma.

(TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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