Annotated Bibliography On 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.

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

A concussion is an injury suffered in the brain of an individual that can affect and alter a person’s ability to perform not only mentally, but physically as well. The New York Daily News reported on one of the finest cases of how serious the NFL is taking the issue on concussions, the current lawsuit that reached a “$765 million settlement reached between the two sides, 18,000 concussion suffer and the NFL” which states causes for important untold information the NFL refused to report to players about the prospective dangers concussions had for their long-term health, though this was later shot down by a federal judge claiming that it was insufficient sum. An NFL player may succumb from thousands of hits to the head playing football all

In 2007, the NFL finally started to take steps to slow down the rate of concussions in football (Lauren Ezell). Although concussions still occur today, there are specific protocols that were inserted to protect players’ health. This topic is so important to me because I am a big fan of the sport, and I would hate to see my favorite players end their career with disabling conditions. I hope to the see the NFL continually trying to find ways to limit concussions. I believe that one day football can be played without the risk of living the rest of your life with a critical

In recent years, there has been a backlash from all kinds of doctors throughout the world that believe the National Football League or NFL needs to make adjustments to the way they treat head injuries, specifically concussions. A concussion is a brain injury characterized by an onset of impairment of cognitive and/or physically functioning and is caused by hits around the head and neck area. This NFL is under destress because of numerous studies that show concussions can lead to a large amount brain injuries way after the player has played his last game. However, this isn't just a problem the NFL is facing, the real problem is our youth contact sports and head-related injuries. High school athletes are extremely more exposed to concussions than

Firstly, I will be using a bibliography on Dr. Bennet Omalu, the lead scientist in discovering CTE in former NFL brains. This will allow for me to have scientific proof in my argument, and add a sense of humanization to my argument. The second source I will be using is a timeline released by PBS called “The NFL’s Concussion Crisis.” This timeline covers every significant event involving concussions in the NFL starting in 1994, which allows for a solid foundation of facts for me to draw from. Finally, I will be using an article posted by CNN called “NFL announces $100 million concussion initiative.” This article offers a different perspective than my previous two, but helps me come to the conclusion of my paper which is the answer to how things can be

"From what I've researched and what I've experienced, I don't think it's worth the risk” (“Chris Borland”). This quotation from former San Francisco 49er, Chris Borland, exemplifies the concern for the increase in occurrence of concussions in the National Football League. A concussion is defined as “a type of traumatic brain injury caused by a blow to the head” (“NFL Concussions”). The debate on who is truly responsible for the injury’s increasing presence in the NFL continues to be disputed in the league today. Whether the blame is to be placed on the administrative personnel of the league or the players and their actions, change is the one common denominator in the stances taken by both sides. The National Football League is not doing enough

“There are between an estimated 1.6 and 3.8 million sports-related concussions in the United States every year”(“Statistics”) Concussions can lead to death or permanent injury. A concussion is a brain injury that causes long term brain damage. Some football players will hide injuries, so that they can continue to play the game. Rules have been changed to protect the players health, for example if a player is suspected of have a concussion they are not permitted to play without getting checked out. Football concussions have a long lasting effect on physical and mental health. Concussions also affect how the game is played and regulated.

One of the most controversial discussions in sports today is concussions and how the athletes who play sports are being protected. Concussions in the NFL has been a constant argument over the past decade because of not only the number of players who were diagnosed with concussions but also in addition to the number of retired NFL players that reported having depression problems, drug addictions and eventually taking away their own lives by suicide. Football is know to many as “Americas game” and because of this fans live for and look forward to these hard hitting brut athletes that suit up and take the field for battle each week not knowing the facts on how concussions not only ruins the athletes chances of playing again but affects the brain

A research study conducted by Purdue University examined the brains of high school football players. They compared the changes of brains that had been affected by concussions and brains that hadn’t been. Surprisingly, both brains showed an amount of tissue damage (Nader and Reed 1). This further supports the idea for firm concussion regulations, through the fact that concussion symptoms are not always easily recognizable. Many concussions are never diagnosed because their symptoms are so mediocre and unnoticed.

The NFL is big part of many Americans life during the fall and the off season. It’s a multi-billion dollar industry that hosts the most watched 4 hours of television in America. As an athlete who played football for many years, I wanted to ask the question; is the NFL’s new rules and penalties preventing concussions? During the first two weeks of April, I have compiled six different resources relating to this topic. Some, such as Trevor Horn’s article "Tackling seminar teaches new methods, inspires faith in safer football” cover the aspects of how youth and high schoolers are effected by concussions and what role the NFL plays. Other articles talk about research being put towards helping diagnose brain trauma in athletes, and also whether or

“To offer the best care possible, many health-care and sports programs now offer baseline testing to their athletes at the beginning of each season. This ensures there is data on hand that can be used by their doctor to assess their recovery if they experience a concussion” (Rumney and University of Toronto). Players or athletes get this taken care of as a back-up information if they experience or receive a concussion. Concussions in other yet similar contact-sport associations have been on the rise and professional sports are aware of the danger of getting a concussion. “Concussion incidents have been on the rise in recent years and professional sports are now taking a more serious approach to head injuries. Players in the NRL(National Rugby League), Super Rugby and AFL are sent for a head injury assessment if they appear to be concussed and they are not allowed to return to the field if it is deemed they suffered any degree of concussion” (Dutton). Players who are suffering from a concussion will stay out the game for safety

A great majority of kids and adults football careers are ending shortly because of brain damage and concussions. To this day scientist and people in sports are trying to find a way to decrease the number of brain damage and concussions. There been so many head injuries in the game of football. It got real serious over the past 20 years. In the NFL and College football league, players and coaches can know if someone have a concussion because of the technology they have at the game. It’s mandatory for every team in college, and in the NFL to have doctors and the technology they have at each game they have.

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.