He wants to play this sport and I support him 100% because if nothing else, he will have to deal with victory and defeat with his team. He will have to play as part of a team working with others. He will be hit, knocked over, and stand back up playing on, pretending as if the air hadn't just been knocked out of him. Life is full of failures and times we get knocked on our ass. Those that really make it are simply tenacious and can deal with defeat, work as part of a team, and can deal with true adversity that is pain staking, may it be in their education, career, business... The pain and combative component of football, lacrosse, wrestling, boxing, ice hockey is good for a young man.
Boys raised by over protective mothers and absent fathers, typically is the suburban yuppie areas end up being... well lets just say they play other sports like soccer or tennis where there is less concern of getting hurt and “violence.”
I'm not sure that basketball isn't a better vehicle for raisng a tough young man. I went to a small school where just about everybody played multiple sports. There's no pain to compare with the first day of basketball practice for a bunch of fellows just coming off the comparatively light conditioning demands of football.