As brain research continues to bring disturbing light to the trauma that concussions causes, not only during the initial injury, but also to the serious consequences of serious brain diseases years later, it is noteworthy that veteran Aaron Kampman suffered a serious concussion recently only to have his rookie replacement suffer one as well in his first NFL start


NFL commissioner Roger Goodell meets with former Packers player Willie Wood during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on legal issues relating to football head injuries.

In Congressional hearing held a few weeks ago a committee holding the hearings on this issue expressed frustration with the stonewalling they experienced when NFL Commissioner Goodell answered questions by saying a medical expert could give a better answer than he could, yet did everything in his power to keep Dr. Ira Casson, chairman of the NFL's committee on concussions from testifying.

Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., played a clip of a TV interview in which Casson denied evidence of a link between multiple head injuries in NFL players with brain disorders such as dementia and Alzheimer's. After showing the clip Sanchez said that reminded her of tobacco companies denying a link between smoking and health damage in the 1990s.

New NFL Players Association leader DeMaurice Smith, said the union "has not done its best in this area. We will do better."

Goodell did say it's a "priority for the owners and players to take better care of our retired players," but Congresswoman Maxine Waters, whose husband is a former NFL player cut him off, demanding specifics.

"We've heard from the NFL time and time again -- you're always 'studying,' you're always 'trying,' you're 'hopeful,"' Waters said, pointing a finger in Goodell's direction. "I want to know what are you doing ... to deal with this problem and other problems related to injuries?"

When Goodell said talks between owners and players are in the early stages, Waters said it's time "for Congress to take a look at your antitrust exemption" and that she thinks it should be removed.

When Waters was done grilling Goodell, she walked to the back of the hearing room and greeted Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown with a hug. Other former NFL stars present included former Packer great Willie Wood, who sat in his wheelchair, a few rows behind the witness table.

Several retired players testified at the hearing, including former fullback Merril Hoge, who said a series of concussions cost him his career. After his first concussion, he said he never saw a neurological doctor and was cleared to play five days later.

Gay Culverhouse, former president of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, said NFL team doctors are not advocates for the players and called for an independent neurologist to be on the sidelines.

Dr. Robert Cantu, co-director of Boston University's Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, said there is "growing and convincing evidence" that repetitive concussive and subconcussive hits to the head in NFL players leads to a degenerative brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy. His colleague at the center, Dr. Ann McKee, showed the committee images of brains of dead football players with CTE.

This is a serious issue that is not going anywhere but more into the consciousness of the public. Let us all hope that the Packers are not a team that stonewalls on this critical issue and continues to act with great caution before hurrying players with head injuries back on to the football field.

Note: much of the information in this post is from excerpts from articles in Sports Illustrated

This really is something that needs to be figured out. We all love a good hit, but football is really getting to the point where it's becoming too violent to the health and bodies of these players. Everything about their equipment, the rules and safety precautions really need to be revolutionized from the ground up. Otherwise, it's only a matter of time until a player dies on the field. When you watch some of these hits, it's a miracle it hasn't happened yet.

The tricky thing is, a lot of this is a byproduct of the fact that players are bigger, faster and stronger than they've ever been before, and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. It's amazing what phenomenal athletes these men are.

It's also that these players have a ton of pride and they don't want to be off the field. The extent to which these guys play with injury is amazing. So many players treat it no differently than they would an ankle sprain - they want to suck it up and get back out there - for themselves and for the team. That's noble, and probably expected, for any other kind of injury but head injuries need to be different. Players SHOULD feel free to tell their coaches they feel woozy without it affecting their job security. That may be the case for a guy like Kampman, but what about Brad Jones?

It's a messy process and a lot needs to change, but it's not going to happen over night. The process is like looking into a sausage grinder - looks very messy and it is, but hopefully the result that comes out the other end is worth while.

Interesting article as a follow up to this topic

Tough-guy culture in NFL on playing hurt is changing
Ex-players, even fans, hope erring on the side of caution takes priority

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

By Michael Sanserino, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

When Tunch Ilkin entered the National Football League in the 1980s, players were expected to compete while hurting.

"It was considered a badge of honor," Mr. Ilkin, a former Steelers offensive lineman who does radio commentary for their games, said. "We celebrated that."

Mr. Ilkin, 52, started his career in the wake of Steelers greats like Jack Lambert, Joe Green and Mike Webster -- players noted in football lore for being invincible ironmen.

"They were tough guys," Mr. Ilkin said. "They played hurt, they played sick, they played through all types of injuries. That was the standard. When I came into the league and looked at them, I said, 'That's the way to do it.' "

But players like Mr. Ilkin and former Steelers safety Mike Wagner hope that is changing, and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's decision to sit out the Steelers' game Sunday against Baltimore might be proof.

But when players are cautious in dealing with injuries such as a concussion -- which has short-term effects but long-term consequences -- some fans, as well as teammates, have questioned their toughness. Where in the past players took it upon themselves to play through the pain, today's athletes are much more informed, and much more careful, about injuries.

Still, many fans expect football players to be invincible.

Before the game against the Ravens, receiver Hines Ward said his teammates were "50-50" on whether Mr. Roethlisberger, who sustained a concussion Nov. 22 against Kansas City, should play. Mr. Ward added: "I could see some players or teammates questioning, like 'It's just a concussion. I've played with a concussion before.' "

But Merril Hoge, an ESPN analyst whose career as a Steelers running back was derailed by multiple concussions, said Mr. Roethlisberger, Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner -- who also sat out Sunday after sustaining a concussion the week before -- and the coaches should be praised.

"It was historic," Mr. Hoge, 40, said.

The high-profile injuries occurred as NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell re-evaluates the league's concussion policy.

Mr. Goodell and Mr. Hoge testified before Congress in October on the NFL's handling of player concussions. Several former players have had severe cases of depression and dementia that some researchers have tied to repeated head trauma.

But Mr. Ward's comments reminded several former players about the pressure most NFL players have to live up to their tough-guy images.

The problem, Mr. Hoge said, is when players take it too far.

"Football is a tough game for tough people. It's macho," he said. "All those things are true. But it's not stupid."

Mr. Ilkin remembers a game where he had a concussion, sat out a few plays and re-entered the game. Eventually, a Steelers doctor had to tell coach Chuck Noll not to let Mr. Ilkin play.

"There's not a whole lot of wisdom in that," Mr. Ilkin said, "but that was just the culture."

Mr. Wagner, 60, recalled a similar incident. After heading to the sidelines with an injury, he went back into the defensive huddle. Team trainers then took him to the locker room, removed his jersey and took his helmet away to keep him from going back on the field.

X-rays taken the next day revealed that Mr. Wagner had three fractured vertebrae.

Warren Sapp, an NFL Network analyst and former NFL player in Tampa Bay and Oakland, said he wishes his peers had the information and medical treatment players receive today.

"If it ain't broke, wrap it up and go -- that used to be the mentality," he said.

But, Mr. Sapp, 36, said he always took control of decisions that affected his health.

"When I deemed I wasn't healthy enough to play, I didn't play," he said. "I didn't give a damn what the doctors said."

For Mr. Ilkin, Mr. Wagner and Mr. Hoge, the pressure to play was enormous. But all say, for the most part, it was self-induced.

"Nobody made us do this," Mr. Ilkin said. "Nobody said, 'Oh you're OK. Just go play.' It was our choice."

During his rookie season with the Cincinnati Bengals, linebacker Reggie Williams, a Dartmouth alumnus, wanted to prove to his players that he could be an Ivy League graduate and a tough guy. After dislocating his thumb on a play, Mr. Williams popped it back into place inside the huddle, not missing a down.

"Then," he said, "I proved I was one of the guys."

He played for more than a decade in the NFL in a career that took him to two Super Bowls.

But many of those years were marred by injuries, and Mr. Williams, 55, is now fighting to save his right leg from amputation. He has had about 20 knee operations, and, depending on how intense the pain is, he said he would do it all over again.

Roland A. Carlstedt, chairman of the American Board of Sport Psychology and a licensed clinical and board-certified sport psychologist, said two groups of athletes are prone to play with an injury:

• The first group subconsciously adopts "repressive coping." These athletes have high pain thresholds, high self-esteem and perform well in high-pressure situations.

• The second has a personality trait called neuroticism, where the person is full of self- doubt.

An athlete from the first group plays injured because he thinks he is invincible. An athlete from the second group plays injured to convince himself that he is invincible, Dr. Carlstedt said. He said the decision to sit Mr. Roethlisberger is a testament to the attention concussions have received.

John Heil, a clinical psychologist at Psychological Health Roanoke in Virginia, said fans can still consider NFL players as tough, even if they are more cautious with their bodies.

"Everything has its limits," Dr. Heil said. "If you're sitting in a chair and your slobbering on yourself, you're not a tough guy anymore."

I don't understand why teams don't mandate the newer helmets and mouthguards that are made to prevent concussions -- at a very base level, why let a player risk missing playing time?

Brains are overrated. Just rub some dirt on your skull and get out there.

The real answer is improved helmet technology. The NFL needs to re-invest some of its profits in research and development just like every other industry. The helmets should all be wired so that real game time impacts can be measured and recorded, so that better helmets can be developed.

The other change that is needed is to eliminate head hunting. Ever since the Darryl Stingley incident I've viewed the head hunting as a sign of a poor football player. What it says to me is that they can't cover you so they are going to try to knock you unconscious to get you to drop the ball. A good coverage CB or safety don't need to go after your head, they'll keep you from getting it through good coverage skills.

It seems like the nfl had it backward in that they would call these ticky-tack contact penalties more than five yards down the field, but allow the devastating head shots.

Maybe they are starting to wise up.

I watched an episode of NFL on Showtime and they had John Riggins as a guest. One of the issues he talked about, other than putting down the Redskin ownership, was that today players make contact from the waist up vs. when he played it was from the waist down. He gave the example of running back not even using thigh pads.
Thinking about his statement, it could be relavent to the amount of concussions that we are seeing now. That doesn't mean players didn't have them when Riggins played because they did and they played through it.
It's just that playing high may be bringing on additional concussions.