Fifth-grade football players, most of them just 10 years old, were reportedly offered smelling salts before a Saturday game in late August to hype them up ahead of kickoff. The allegation has spread through a local community Facebook group, where a question about the practice drew nearly 100 responses from concerned parents and residents.
The claim first surfaced in reporting by WKRC, which said children used the ammonia inhalants after being offered them at a team shelter before the game, according to a message sent to the station. The outlet reported that parents were not told smelling salts would be used with their children and were not asked for permission beforehand, per messages it received. WKRC said it contacted coaches and some parents on the team in question, but none spoke about the incident.
What Are Smelling Salts, and Why Are They Controversial
Smelling salts are crystallized ammonia commonly sold online, and they were once a common sideline sight among professional, college, and high school football players, per the same WKRC report. The products deliver a startle response and a jolt meant to sharpen focus, but the long-term effects of repeated or prolonged use are not fully known.
The practice has drawn national scrutiny well beyond youth sports. The National Football League banned clubs from supplying ammonia packets to players, though players may still purchase and use them independently. Sports reporting had previously estimated that 70% to 80% of professional football players regularly used smelling salts on game day for a quick burst of mental clarity, according to the Houston Chronicle, illustrating how visible the ritual became before regulators moved against it.
Federal regulators have also weighed in. The FDA issued a formal warning in August 2024 advising consumers against unapproved ammonia inhalants marketed for alertness or athletic energy, sending warning letters to seven manufacturers. The agency's advisory noted consumer adverse event reports tied to the products included shortness of breath, seizures, migraines, vomiting, diarrhea, and fainting, per MedPage Today. The FDA's only approved over-the-counter medical use for smelling salts remains preventing or treating fainting, not boosting athletic focus, according to WebMD.
A Trainer's Warning About Young Brains
Michael Gordon, head athletic trainer at St. Xavier High School and district board chair of the Ohio Athletic Trainers Association, called the practice a really bad idea for a fifth grader, per WKRC's reporting. He does not recommend smelling salts for anyone with a developing brain, especially youths, and said smelling salts are not recommended for waking someone who has been knocked out. Ammonia inhalants used after a concussive event can cause potential detriment and longer-term damage to a head injury, he said.
A clinical review published in the journal Sports Health found that inhaling ammonia triggers an involuntary head-withdrawal reflex that can worsen underlying cervical spinal or head injuries in athletes, according to research indexed on PubMed. Separately, medical analysis from OSF HealthCare concluded that while smelling salts cause a temporary sensory shock, no strong scientific evidence exists proving they improve athletic strength or performance, with experts attributing perceived boosts largely to placebo or brief arousal cues.
An Oversight Gap in Youth Leagues
The youth football team in question has no governing body, unlike Ohio's interscholastic system. The Ohio High School Athletic Association bans teams from administering anything to players without parental consent, and Ohio Administrative Code rules governing youth activities similarly prohibit authorized adults from providing prescription or over-the-counter medications to minors without explicit written parental consent. Non-scholastic youth leagues, however, often lack a central body to enforce those standards, leaving supervision to volunteer coaches and, ultimately, parents and local police. According to the Ohio Department of Health, Gov. John R. Kasich signed legislation in 2012 establishing Ohio Youth Sports Concussion and Head Injury Return-to-Play Guidelines. Ohio Revised Code Chapter 3707 directs the department of health to create a concussion and head injury information sheet for participants in interscholastic athletics and youth sports.
A local police chief has heard about the alleged incident and said the department will investigate if someone files a report or if there are clear victims, per WKRC. Not everyone in the community Facebook group thread condemned the practice — some respondents defended the use of smelling salts on the children, even as parents and youth sports experts voiced concern about the alleged practice.
A Precedent From Youth Hockey
Cincinnati's situation echoes a dispute that played out in Canadian youth hockey. In February 2025, Hockey Quebec banned smelling salts across all youth games and practices and suspended an under-11 coach for providing them to players, citing safety risks for children, according to Sportsnet. That case marked one of the clearest instances of a youth sports body disciplining an adult leader for distributing the inhalants to children, a step Ohio's fragmented non-scholastic football leagues do not have the infrastructure to take on their own.
Commercial manufacturers themselves acknowledge the products are not meant for children. Packaging from at least one smelling salt brand carries explicit disclaimers warning users to keep ammonia inhalants away from children and to use them strictly as directed during max-effort training, according to the company's own posted warning. Whether that guidance reached the sideline of a Cincinnati-area fifth-grade football game remains an open question as parents and local police continue to look into what happened.
