Opening up a daylong summit at the White House on Thursday regarding youth concussions in sports, President Barack Obama said more research should be done on the topic to find the long-term impacts it has on the nation's youth.

The summit was filled with various representatives and officials from the professional sports industry, as well as couches, medical professionals, parents and young athletes, The Associated Press reported.

The daylong event was an effort by the president, who is a well-known sports fan and father of two daughters involved in athletics, to increase the national awareness and raise discussions over the topic.

"We want our kids participating in sports," Obama said in his opening remarks. "As parents though, we want to keep them safe and that means we have to have better information."

Obama also noted that the NFL, National Institutes of Health and other organizations have donated millions of dollars and their support to the research of finding solutions to the issue and improving safety in sports.

According to The AP, the NCAA and Defense Department pledged $30 million in a joint research effort while the NFL committed to giving $25 million during the next three years to promote youth sports safety.

Obama added that the national attitude toward sports need to change by beginning to take these problems seriously.

"We have to change a culture that says, 'suck it up,'" the president said.

Roughly 250,000 kids and young adults are sent to the emergency room each year to be treated for brain injuries that are brought on by sports or other recreational activity, according to the White House.

The NFL recently settled concussion claims from thousands of its former players by paying $765 million, pending a judge's approval. The players cited several problems that ranged from headaches to Alzheimer's disease.

Another class-action lawsuit was filed by former professional hockey players against the NHL in regards to head injuries the players received.