Concussions

The NFL is finally stepping up to the plate in trying to deal with concussions. On a personal note, this matter hit close to home as my son missed most of his football season due to a post-concussion syndrome. It was devastating but it was the best thing for him to sit out and recover. The NFL, on the other hand, has been sweeping the issue under the rug for years. More and more studies are showing that early dementia is also becoming an issue in these players. A few years ago Ted Johnson of the Patriots fessed up about his ordeal with concussions and he was treated like a pariah. Now the NFL is being very aggressive in keeping players out with any symptoms. Great. They are also assigning independent neurologists to evaluate their rehab. Great. The problem is that this is all dealing with the symptoms and not the cure. The reason there are so many concussions is that the style of tackling and running and blocking has changed. They all lead with their heads! Watch any game and what you see are human missiles. We need to change the rules. What the hell happened to the spearing rule years ago? That was to protect against tackling with your head due which could lead to paralysis but that is exactly what these guys are doing on every play. My hope is that there are better helmets developed in the future but this is still a band aid approach. From the kids on up there needs to be better teaching of a new way to play the game or else nothing really will change - except more and more players being DETECTED with concussions and nothing more.