Flag football is just as physically demanding but without the inherent dangers of tackle football for younger children.
Not sure if a state should ban it though. Schools should be allowed to make the decision and parents be adequately informed of the dangers and indemjify the school against any liability.
Of course all sports have some risk but no reason not to mitigate the risk where possible.
Similar debates rage in the UK over children’s rugby allowing scrums. Anyone who has played rugby and been in a scrum that has collapsed will know how dangerous it is. Rugby can still be played without the scrum element.
What ever mandated coverage we have for those with other mental illnesses seems sufficient to me. No reason to suddenly make things more mandatory for the guy who wears a dress vs the guy who wears a tinfoil hat.
The game of rugby evolved from the scrum. It was started by a schoolmaster who forced “his boys” to scrum as a lesson on the futility of everyone pushing a ball in different directions. Without the scrum, it’s just another frivolous ball game.