The NFL has been under fire recently for failing to address the serious problems players have had with concussions. A concussion is a potentially serious injury, yet the league has been unwilling to force teams to treat their injured players with due care: a player who has “had his bell rung” is often encouraged to return to play, which drastically increases the chance of further — and more serious — injury. Alan Scharz reports:
[. . .] the league will soon require teams to receive advice from independent neurologists while treating players with brain injuries, several people with knowledge of the plan confirmed Sunday.
For generations, decisions on when players who sustain concussions should return to play have been made by doctors and trainers employed by the team, raising questions of possible conflicts of interest when coaches and owners want players to return more quickly than proper care would suggest.
As scientific studies and anecdotal evidence have found a heightened risk for brain damage, dementia and cognitive decline in retired players, the league has faced barbed criticism from outside experts and, more recently, from Congress over its policies on handling players with concussions.
This is good, not only for current NFL players, but also for college and high school football players, as the professionals set an example to younger players about how to play the game and how to cope with injuries. You can’t just “walk off” a brain injury, and the NFL has to set the precedent of treating concussions as the serious injuries they are. Gregg Easterbrook has been calling for the NFL to show leadership on this issue for quite some time, most recently in his column last week:
The league’s position is that individual clubs set their own medical policies, but that is a transparent cop-out. Most teams will sit a player with a concussion so bad he can’t remember what he had for lunch. But as soon as the player recovers enough to recall the playbook, he may be cleared to resume competition — and may be pressured to do so. Yes, there is an assumption of risk to performing in the NFL, and players know the sport is dangerous. But going on the field with an elbow that hurts is very different from competing with an injured brain. Players recovering from concussions shouldn’t be allowed back on the field until after extended rest. It should not be the player’s decision to make — that is management evading its responsibility, as well as a form of pressure on athletes who are expected to be macho about knowing no fear. The NFL should prohibit concussed players from returning until they have had a mandatory recovery period, or been cleared by neurologists unaffiliated with the league, or both.
This is especially important because NFL behavior sets the tone for college and high school players — and there are 500 of them for each one in the NFL. When high school or college players see NFL athletes rushing back onto the field soon after concussions, or pretending to the trainer to be fine in order to be sent back in, that’s the behavior they emulate. If the NFL instead sent a message that all concussions should be treated seriously and conservatively, college and high school players would imitate that.
In addition to being more careful about treating injured players, the league should also change two pieces of equipment that could help to increase player safety in the area of concussions:
The league should mandate helmets with concussion-reducing designs — the Riddell Speed (successor to the Revo), the Schutt Ion and the Xenith. None are panaceas, but all are likely to lessen concussion incidence or severity. If the NFL set an example by allowing only helmets engineered against concussions, the NCAA and eventually high schools would follow.
The league should mandate double-sided mouthguards — which are much more affordable for high schools than advanced helmets. Boxing has long required double-sided mouthguards, exactly because they reduce concussions.
