On October 8th SportsLetter referred readers to a GQ article on repeated concussions and memory-related diseases in pro football players. Also mentioned was Congress' intention to hold formal hearings on head injuries among NFL players. Well, those hearings have begun; and as today's New York Times puts it: “how the N.F.L. evolves from here will invariably influence safety at the youth football level.”
While the NFL and Congress sparred over pro football’s influence (or lack thereof) on the way coaches and administrators handle head injuries at the youth level, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell did agree to consider some action by the NFL on this topic. Congress pressed Goodell, for example, “to create public-service announcements to educate the public about the seriousness of concussions.” And, “in a conversation after his testimony, Goodell told Chris Nowinski, co-director of the Sports Legacy Institute and a fellow witness, that he would consider helping that organization educate coaches and players nationwide about the risks of football brain trauma.”
Some numbers cited in today’s article:
*About 400,000 concussions occurred in high school athletics during the 2008-9 school year — more in football than any other sport
*15.8 percent of football players sustaining a concussion severe enough to cause loss of consciousness returned to play the same day, which is considered particularly perilous
*Only 42 percent of high schools have access to certified athletic trainers, let alone the doctors and neurologists employed by N.F.L. teams