NFL: Still a headbangers ball
Commissioner Roger Goodell sent out new league guidelines aimed at protecting players who suffer concussions -- which you can read here -- and they call for some concrete changes in the way teams handle concussed players. The new policy, however, does not set a minimum period of inactivity for any player who has been diagnosed with a concussion.
I'm pretty sure league officials will say the decision to add an independent neurologist or neurosurgeon to the medical staff of each team with the power to keep injured players off the field puts the decision in the right hands, but it really doesn't. The evaluation of a concussion requires input from the player involved -- who is the only one who knows if he has a persistent headache or is experiencing dizziness -- so the new policy still leaves open the possibility of a player hiding the effects of the injury to stay on the field.
That's why Goodell should have mandated a minimum two-week sideline period for anyone diagnosed with a significant concussion. It wouldn't be great for business, but it would have been the right thing to do.
> 
Comments
So Pete,
How long were you been sidelined?
Posted by: Anonymous | December 3, 2009 2:40 PM
However-many independent neurologists to cover 32 teams and who-knows-how-many woozy players is a nice step but a tiny one. No one even knew about Jamal Lewis, though, until he reported it the next day (Monday) on his own. Additionally, even though Hines Ward retracted and apologized to Ben Roethlisberger when he initially said the QB should have played against Baltimore, his comments about faking being okay shouldn't be just forgotten out of hand.
What I find disturbing is Roger Goodell is dragging his feet on mandating a specific mouthpiece for all players when that has been shown to reduce concussions in the first place.
The NFL seemed to act with extraordinary efficiency to enact -- and enforce -- the Tom Brady Rule even when someone inadvertantly is grazes him in the most benign manner.
Concussions are serious stuff. The NFL does all of this feel-good crap about "playing 60 minutes" and with breast cancer awareness. How about something that could be passed down to the college, high school, and age group ranks that would actually be doing something?
(And before anyone gets all huffy and puffy with me saying breast cancer awareness is nothing more than feel-good crap, let me point out my family wanted to support it to the point of ordering Raven items that adorned pink. The cap John Harbaugh was wearing wasn't available even though it was available for selected other teams. Another cap was ordered and was back-ordered several times. We received a sorry-but-you-won't-be-charged respionse for other items. With some of the proceeds [supposedly] going to breast cancer research, we WANTED to be charged and, of course, receive our items.)
Peter, I'm glad you weren't referring to The Who performing at halftime at this year's Super Bowl as being "still a headbangers ball." Haha.
Posted by: waspman | December 4, 2009 2:05 PM
I played football from age 8 until age 22.
I was taught, from a young age, to lead with my head when making a tackle.
In other words, hitting heads was simply a part of the game.
It sounds like things haven't changed, in reality, in spite of the changes to the rules.
Posted by: logiopath | December 5, 2009 9:28 AM