271 Concussions

The topic I will be discussing in this draft is the debate on whether the National Football League should be held liable for injuries that their employee’s sustained while playing professional football. The injuries that I will discuss are concussion and traumatic brain injuries related to multiple concussions. In years past this injury wasn’t know n to be as prevalent because that game was played at a much slower speed. Players in todays’ game are bigger, faster and stronger than ever. It has been documented that the players themselves willingly know the risk they are taking yet still take the chance at playing the game. Players and player group representatives are now seeking compensation for their player and player’s families.

In the Documentary League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis is about an investigation regarding the serious legal hidden information that the National Football League was keeping from its playing. Thousands of former Football players have claimed that league tried to cover up how football inflicted long-term brain injuries on so many people. This video breaks down and researching the truth on the NFL’s football players concussion crisis.

Safety and equipment have come a long way in football in order to prevent brain injuries. A very important piece of equipment used to prevent brain trauma is the helmet. The helmet has evolved a lot over the years, even more in the past decade. The Helmets main purpose use to be just to stop skull fractures, then they added the facemask to prevent facial injuries. Concussions are more of a recent concern (Hand 1). Overconfidence in the helmets' protective power prompts many NFL athletes to deliver and accept hits that would have killed players of previous generations. Now the helmet is being revolutionized. Helmets aren't only being created to stop skull and face fractures but they are being created to help prevent brain damage such as concussions now. Helmets have gone through testing to see how to design a better preventative helmet. These newer helmets are being designed to reduce the amount of force that is being applied to the head by a hit that is received (Vandantam 2). Virginia Tech football has been monitoring helmet collisions since 2003, courtesy of Dr. Gunnar Brolinson. Dr. Gunnar Brolinson has outfitted the teams helmets with six sensors and a small antenna that records and transmits data to a computer on the sideline. This information collected is crucial because it will help find better ways to design a helmet that will prevent concussions(Goldman 1). Equipment isn't the only important part of football that can help prevent concussions.

Many memories are made in football, but sadly some of the greatest players cannot recall them. The National Football League has been associated with concussions and brain traumas throughout the years, but lately it has been exposed by media and NFL veterans. The league recently “reached a $765 million preliminary settlement with thousands of former players who were suing the league over its treatment of concussions…” (Waldron). Many former players are experiencing the effects of taking hard hits over and over again; they were not properly treated, which makes the injury worse and long term. The concussion issue in the NFL is more prevalent today, because it affects not only the players, but the league as a whole.

The issue of multiple concussions is finally becoming recognized by major sports. The awareness has led to a variety of interventions to help protect athletes. There have been two recent interventions concerning football helmets. First off, Riddell, a company that produces football helmets, has released a new helmet that is supposed to best prevent concussions. This helmet is known as the Revolution Speed. Using advanced technology, the Speed helmets were designed around the head 's center of gravity and include an uneven outer shell to help absorb a hit. The inside of the

It wasn’t until Dr. McKee and other researchers presented evidence of CTE in football players during a congressional hearing with the U.S. House of Representatives, in 2009, that the NFL changed its approach to addressing these findings. Later that year, during an interview with The New York Times, NFL Spokesman Greg Aiello stated “it’s quite obvious from the medical research that’s been done that concussion can lead to long-term problems.” This was one of the first times the league admitted that concussions and brain injuries had long-term impact on players. Admitting that there was a problem was one of the first steps in overhauling their approach to CTE’s impact on football players. Towards the end of that year, there was a shake up

Over the past several years, the NFL has faced numerous lawsuits involving former NFL players and their families ranging from negligence, fraud, and wrongful death conspiracy from related head traumas suffered while playing professional football. Several studies have shown that there are long-term and devastating effects on football players who consistently experience concussions during regular season play and practice. There is

Facts from the article “CITE” examines how the NFL dealt with the issues of concussions over the years. Beginning with Omalu’s discovery of CTE, the NFL strongly resisted to admitting that multiple head injuries leads to impair cognitive functions. The NFL committee was composed of internal NFL doctors who denied scientific studies claiming of the lack of scientific evidence and causation between repeated head injuries and brain damage. The Congressional Hearing in 2009 criticized NFL’s concussion policy and demanded the committee to take

NFL players have finally gone against the NFL corporation. This specific argument went to court saying that head trauma was never in the professional athlete's settlement. Hurley explains “That the settlement did not cover potential victims of a degenerative brain disease that scientists have linked to repeated blows to the head” (Hurley) Professional players are still not agreeing with the NFL and the rules about the concussions. There have been many professional football players who have brought up the argument of concussions with the NFL and they have not won. Despite that, the court argument with Siegel went in the professional athlete's way. Later on, Siegel announced that "Forty-five hundred players sued the league over concussion-related injuries" ("Concussion Dispute") These athletes that have brought this argument back up having thought this was unfair to them. Through the findings and the explanations about the NFL settlement with their athlete's there should be a change to their settlement to be in more favor of the athlete's life since it is at risk. With these risks at state there are many experts trying to fix these

According to Vincent E. Schaller from Philly.com he feels the problem should be solving the problem of concussions, not blaming football for the cause. Some Orthopedic surgeons are taking a stand recommending that members of their profession avoid team sponsorships, standing on the sidelines, and even performing sports physicals for high school and college players. Dolphins wide receiver Brian Hartline said, “With the defenseless receiver rule, now you have defenders making the conscious decision to go very low on a play when tackling. I would much rather have a bang-bang hit to my head than have someone dive at my knee. The improvements to the helmets have skyrocketed over the years, but the protection to the knees has not evolved at all. Jeff Miller, the N.F.L.’s senior vice president for health and safety policy, said, there is a direct link between head injuries and football. However, the N.F.L spent millions of dollars in research and to USA Football, a formerly obscure nonprofit, to promote safe tackling and reassure jittery parents that football’s inherent risks can be mitigated through on-field techniques and

Josh Weinfuss expressed that to precede to come back to practice or play, not exclusively should the team doctor clear the player, yet the Independent Neurological Consultant with mastery in concussions should likewise assess and clear the player to come back to practice and play. They likewise have a specialist who has some expertise in cerebrum wounds that strolls around the sidelines amid NFL amusements who disregards if a player ought to backpedal into the diversion or not. The NFL website composed that, "what's more, the NFL and the NFL Players Association cooperate to ensure players by delineating infractions and disciplines for uncalled for player lead, perilous plays or erroneous utilization of security gear. The alliance likewise orders the correct support and testing of playing fields to lessen the danger of damage." Riddell a long-lasting protective cap supplier for the NFL has delivered another cap called the Speedflex which could decrease cerebrum harm fundamentally was presented in 2014. Will Carrol composed that what's so exceptional about this head protector and how it contrasts from different caps is the set pattern in the front. It's known as a cantilever, it enables the head protector to have greater adaptability while keeping up a general firmness. The thick cushioning behind the zone that is moves a considerable measure doesn't enable it to move much, however sufficiently only in a territory where players can take huge hits. The effect from either side likewise permit more flex in the protective cap to scatter the hits inside before the drive gets to the head. The issue is likewise that the chinstrap that is utilized to ensure the protective cap is bolted on the player's head hasn't been changed for more than 70

Science says concussions are inevitable; 96 percent of all NFL players and 79 percent of all football players test positive for brain disease (Source: Frontline League of Denial 9/18/15 Concussion Watch Article). Prior to 2002, the NFL’s approach to preventing, treating, and managing concussions and CTE was very different than it is today. My essay will explore what some of those differences were and whether or not changes in the NFL are improving the outcomes and quality of life for current and former NFL players.

A recent study of college football players has shown that those who participate in high contact sports and have had a concussion before have a 300% higher chance of having another one in comparison to athletes that have never had a concussion before (Jolicoeur et al, 2007). The NFL and NCAA have enacted several rule changes in order to minimize the occurrence of concussions. These new rules, like many before them, have come under the scrutiny of the very athletes that they were meant to protect. The NHL and NHL Players Association in 1997 together created a program in order to get a better understanding of concussions and how to prevent them (Burke et al, 2011). According to Covassin (2008), athletes who have had more than one concussion take a longer time to recover with each concussion that they suffer from.

Football can be a very dangerous sport. And although those who play the game believe that they are being protected by the helmets that they wear, the truth is that this may not be the case. In a recent study released by the American Academy of Neurology it has been found that “protection against concussion and complications of brain injury is especially important for young players, including elementary and middle school, high school and college athletes, whose still-developing brains are more susceptible to the lasting effects of trauma”(Science Daily, 2014). The study also found that standard football helmets worn by the majority of players on the field today, only reduce the risk of traumatic brain injury by 20 percent compared to not wearing a helmet at all (Science Daily, 2014).

There has been extraordinary improvements of helmets from the old leather to the modernized-plastic football helmets along with the face mask and energy- absorbent padding. In addition, the concern over preventing concussions, have led to helmet changes, impact testing methods and reconstruction of injuries during play helping to provide insight on concussions(4). Helmets have been successful in decreasing the risk of traumatic brain injuries, but there is much concern over concussion; therefore, scholars argue the importance of technology development to address concussion(5). As the author(s), David Viano and David Halstead discusses, there is room needed for understanding the types of collisions associated in youths and the impact condition addressing collisions. There are many variables to consider addressing concussion and where they occur.