The NFL Concussion Protocol

I chose to talk about the NFL Concussion protocol and the issues, which are still a major problem that have increasingly gained relevance over the past few years. Concussions can have lasting effects on players both during their play and after their careers are over. Concussions have been known to cause temporary loss of proper brain function, as well as severe headaches, amnesia, vomiting and depression. Long lasting effects may include epilepsy, memory problems, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), language impairment and several other issues caused by brain dysfunction. An example of this is with ex- NFL lineback, Junior Seau who committed suicide in 2012. After his death, his brain was examined and tested positive for CTE, which is …show more content…
There was one instance in 1993 when Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman took a knee to the head in a game and upon being asked about the game he claimed he had no recollection of it (6). In 1994, when the commissioner at the time, Paul Tagliabue, was asked what he thought of concussions, he said “On concussions, I think is one of these pack journalism issues, frankly…There is no increase in concussions, the number is relatively small…The problem is a journalist issue.”(6). In 1997, the NFL created new return to play guidelines for players to be taken out of the game if they become unconscious or have the symptoms of a concussion 15 minutes after the injury (6). It is apparent that when concussions first started to become a noticeable problem in the NFL, nothing had been done about it. It was something that was brushed under the table. In 2000, the MTBI (Mild-traumatic brain injury) committee criticized the 1997 return to play guidelines for having a lack of research to support it and in 2005, released a statement saying that return to play doesn’t increase injury risks (6). They stated that, “Players who are concussed and return to the same game have fewer initial signs and symptoms than those removed from play. Return to play does not involve a significant risk of second injury either in the same game or during the season”(6). Today, …show more content…
For the individual player, his success is measured based off of his performance, while the team success is based off of collaborative effort. When money and success are the incentives, things such as player safety and well-being will get placed on the back burner. As I stated before, I believe that the NFL should impose higher fines for illegal hits in order to get the point across to teams and players that their safety is most important. If the league goes after the players’ money it will give them more incentive to play the game safely. This effect can be seen with the Dashon Goldson incident when he hired a tackling coach after being heavily