Concussions

Agreed. It happens more often than the NFL, or any other football league, wants to admit, but not that much.

 

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12043/1209684-66.stm

 

I understand the severity of concussions and whatnot but this is another issue that we are beginning to lose our minds about, especially at the school level.

Any time a kid says he has a head ache any more he is made to take a concussion test before he is allowed to participate in sports. Kids are being held out for weeks at a time with every concussion symptom no matter how mild and whether it has anything to do with an actual concussion.

I'm not saying it is a serious issue, but like every other serious issue that becomes the spotlight and driven by some people with an agenda, it is an issue that we need to come back to earth a little on.

Kids for years and years and years and years played sports without the benefits of concussion tests and somehow survived.

 

Except some did not survive and now we are finding that other survived, but with brain damage.

Damn silly doctors. Trying to protect kids from brain damage. How dare they!

Yes, if a kid is found to have a concussion, he can be out for weeks. They are often forced to sit out a full week after they are symptom-free and with good reason. The danger of brain damage and death from a blow to the head is much higher if the person already has a concussion.

Yet you still see the dangerous extreme of letting athletes go right back in and play all the time, with the latest high-profile example being Colt McCoy. Sure, the NFL suspended James Harrison for the hit that gave McCoy a concussion. But what about the Browns' medical and coaching staffs? They didn't even check him for a concussion and let him go back into the game with one. It was a case of gross negligence that put his health at risk and violated NFL policy, but there was no punishment at all.

And it happens at all levels. Just about a week ago, two rival schools faced off in a girls basketball game with the top seed in the playoffs on the line. Two teammates collided going for a loose ball. One broke her nose and the other complained of a headache. The one with the broke nose was forced to sit until the bleeding stopped, but the one with the headache was allowed to play. After the game, she was suffering from dizziness and nausea as well as the headache, all signs of a concussion. But hey, her team won, so I guess putting her back out there with a concussion was fine, right?

One kid with brain damage is too much. I'm not sure why that is so hard for some people to understand.

 

That's a really tricky thing there, oop -- "One kid with brain damage is too much." Really tricky, and actually somewhat manipulative.

Of course one kid with brain damage is too much. But what are you saying?

One kid with brain damage is enough for every school to require multiple weeks of inaction for a kid who gets woozy on one hit?

One kid with brain damage is enough to make people consider the abolition of football?

What is it? It's a LOT harder to understand than you'd like to believe.

 

Oh, and bringing up the abolition of football isn't manipulative? Give us all a break.

It's not that hard at all. I'm not calling for the abolition of football or any other sport. I am saying that every coach, trainer and doctor at every level make every effort to keep athletes with concussions off the field. And when they fail to do so, the consequences need to be severe.

This is where the NFL continued to fail miserably. The Bears faced no consequences when they nearly got Merril Hoge killed. The Eagles faced no consequences when they let two players back into the 2010 opener with concussions. The same goes for the Browns when they failed to even evaluate Colt McCoy for a concussion when even people watching on TV could clearly see he had one.

Concussions are part of playing sports. All sports. I'd have to dig up the numbers, but the percentages aren't that much lower in soccer than they are in football. We can't avoid them without getting rid of sports. But we can be safer about it.

But we still have people trying to minimize concussions, as you did in your post. That kid who got woozy? Yes, he needs to be evaluated for a concussion. He probably has one and he needs to be done for the day and probably longer.

And we still have people like Zag who think it is a legitimate argument to say that since our parents didn't do enough to protect us from concussions, we shouldn't do more for our kids. We know more than our parents did. That's the great thing about science. It gives us more information as time goes on. We can either be smart enough to use it or we can stick our heads in the sand and fail to protect your children.

Let 'em play. No doubt about that. Life comes with risk. But we can avoid the really stupid risks, like trying to play with a concussion.

 

OoP feverishly advocates player safety and doesn't criticize the league or commissioner.

Or even his own team, which has pretty clearly shown a wanton disregard in the area.

 

Learn to read, Herb. I've been slamming the league and commissioner for weeks on this issue on multiple threads. And on this last post? Who the hell do you think I was criticizing when I said the Bears, Eagles and Browns all got away with gross negligence when their own players had concussions.

Since you are determined to be intentionally dense on this issue, let me spell it out for you. The league, and the commissioner, have failed miserably in this area. Punishing the players for illegal hits is easy. It is high profile and it is the league making a show of trying to deal with concussions. But until they start making the teams face real consequences for failing to protect players with concussions properly, the league's response to this issue is still a joke.

Regarding the Steelers, their response to NFL discipline has been inappropriate. I understand Mike Tomlin wanting to stick up for his players. I absolutely understand the criticism of the league when it basically changed the rules in the middle of the 2010 season. He should still be voicing concerns about erratic enforcement of the rule. But it is time to stop complaining about fines and suspensions for illegal hits. They are part of the game now.

I am still concerned by their handling of Troy Polamalu. He has come back without missing a week more than once from concussions, which is dangerous for anybody, especially someone with his history of head injuries. They are as bad as anybody else in the league, maybe worse. The high-profile decision to sit Roethlisberger for that game in Baltimore a few years back doesn't change that.

That said, I do not know of an incident of the Steelers letting a player return to a game in which he suffered a concussion. Maybe it happened. If I missed one that you know of, please point it out.

The Bears misdiagnosed Hoge and let him play with a concussion. The result? He took another blow to the head, nearly died in the locker room and suffered brain damage. He recovered fairly well and functions close to normally, but even he expects to have major problems down the line.

The Eagles let two players continue to play after suffering concussions in a game in 2010. The Browns did the same with McCoy this season.

 

If you are referring to the Colt McCoy injury, Holmgren was pretty clear about that. They followed all existing procedures. If you want to rip them for following protocol, then add an SCAT test requirement to the list. The Steelers only sat Ben two years ago because there would have been a national shitstorm had they not. And get down off your high horse. You're going to get hurt.

 

So, you can't even come close to admitting you were wrong. Got it. Guess I shouldn't be surprised.

McCoy had a concussion. The Browns' medical personnel missed it and let him back into the game. Incompetence does not excuse their actions.

I should clarify that. Argue the point about the Browns all you like, but you said that I was going on about concussions without criticizing the league. That was dead wrong. The least you could do is admit that you got it wrong for once.

 

They tested for what they have been trained to test for. I could tell my physician my side really hurts, but I don't expect to get a biopsy done right away.

Don't like it? Mandate the SCAT exam as part of the battery.

 

OK, I apologize for saying you wouldn't rip the commissioner or league. Does that assuage the boo-boo on your little ego? Old Herbert will rub it and make it all better.

I am really tired of this commissioner getting praise for false achievements and not getting taken to task for his many failures (and failures to act) since he has held the office.