Concussion, depression and the NFL

FYI, Alan Schwarz' continuing work on this issue has been the most important sportswriting done this year but since it's about a boring topic like concussions and gets pretty technical at times, it isn't getting the notice it deserves compared to, say, Tiger Woods' conga line of hookers.

Regardless, this is going to have a pretty profound effect on football. Not just the NFL, but football, from pee-wee leagues to high school to college to the pros.

Great work, Alan.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/20/sports/football/20nfl.html?_r=2&ref=sports

Here is a story by Schwarz that ran yesterday about the NFL suspending its study of concussions, which was drawing criticism for conflicts of interest and other issues.

 

If the NFL really gave a crap, it would have done something a long time ago. Oversized men violently colliding repeatedly. The men suffer head injuries. Whoda thunk it?

It's about the almighty dollar. That's not saying that it's right - that's just the way it is, sadly.

 

You realize you're responding to posts made two and a half years ago, right?

 

My bad. I probably shouldn't have resurrected such an old thread. That kind of stuff always happens when we dig up old ones. I just think this merits an ongoinmg discussion.

 

No worries. I'm glad you resurrected it. Alan Schwarz deserves a shout-out for his continuing great work on the issue. Plus we miss him at the ballyard.

 

No, I didn't realize. The point still stands, though. Better late than never, eh?

 

Agreed on Schwarz's work on the subject. I hadn't been reading it, but I am now.

 

echoing above sentiments: this is an old issue over which the NFL's new regime apparently decided it had enough bad pub.

here's a sidebar from a Mike Webster series our paper did almost five years ago: former Raiders lineman Curt Marsh, one of a scant few ex-players on permanent disability, goes to a doctor every year to make sure his amputated leg didn't grow back....

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05073/471027-66.stm

 

So strange reading the comments from Courson, who was killed when a tree fell on him. Also odd to try to describe how he died, but the guy really was a strong voice standing up for former players.

 

Not sure all the new rules will make much of a difference because what it comes down to is that players want to play, and in the cut-throat business that is the NFL, they're more willing than ever to lie about being ready.

I did find Kurt Warner's recent take interesting. He said, in essence, that being courageous isn't about playing when you're not healthy, but rather being able to stand up and tell your teammates, "Hey, I'm not gonna risk my long-term future by coming back too early from a concussion." Of course, while that makes plenty of sense, I doubt many players will change their mind-set, and the majority of players don't have the job security of Warner to make such a stand.

 

I think you leave a "not" out of the Warner quote.

The rules are a step in the right direction, but they aren't enough. What it really takes is medical personnel on the sideline who are actively looking for symptoms when a player takes a hit that might give him a concussion. Most of the time, it is hard to hide the symptoms, but you have to be looking with the thought of protecting the players rather than just trying to get them back out on the field as soon as possible.

You are right in saying that the new rules aren't enough, though they should have been in place long ago. The culture has to change. The current players need to hear these stories about former players far more often. The NFL needs to be working with these former players and having them visit every training camp to make sure the current athletes know exactly the risks involved. It is one thing to know it in theory. It is another to meet a guy who used to be a powerful physical specimen and now he is lucky if he can remember his own name.