271 Concussions

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).

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

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.

These lawsuits represented over 2,000 former players claiming that the NFL didn 't teach them the dangers of a concussion. On August 29, 2013, over a year after the lawsuits were filed, there was an agreement between the NFL and the players; the NFL agreed to pay $765 million to pay for medical examinations, compensation for the concussed athletes, and research towards concussions. Just as the NFL thought the lawsuits were over, on January 14, 2014, the agreement was declined by a federal judge because the judge believed that $765 million was not enough money (“NFL Concussion”). These lawsuits over the issue of concussions prove that the athletes have experienced a multitude of medical issues that resulted from multiple concussions. These former athletes are working hard to ensure that young athletes do not have to suffer like they do.

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

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.

That is when the first person had to retire due to post concussion syndrome. His name was Al Toon and played for the New York Jets. After he retired, some others started to retire because of the same post concussion syndrome. This made Paul Taglibaue create a committee called the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee in 1994. In 2002, Dr. Omalu had identified the first CTE in the brain of Mike Webster, who was a football player. “Omalu was the first doctor to identify CTE in a football player, “ (Library, 2016). Then in 2005 and 2006, Omalu had identified CTE in more football players. Once this started to happen more frequently in 2007 the NFL came up with new guidelines based on these concussions. In 2010, Goodell, the commissioner at the time, told all teams that there were going to be suspensions to people who violate playing rules that put the safety of others at risk. This was mainly about the hits that are taken to the head and neck. In 2014 alone, 14 players sue the NFL over these concussions. “In 2015 the judge lets the agreement of 5 million dollars per retired player for serious medical conditions associated with repeated head trauma.”(Library,2016). Through out these years many suicides happened due to CTE, such as Terry Long, Andre Waters, Dave Duerson, Ray Easterling, Junior Seau, Belcher, and Freel. These are only some, but there are many others who have given up their life because of the head trauma they got by playing football. The NFL

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

An investigation published a year ago by the New York Times discovered that concussion research from the National Football League (NFL) was left incomplete almost to the point of being misleading. The Times also reported, data that the NFL used in 13 peer-reviewed articles, that supported the

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.

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.

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.