It was a 1950's version of Friday Night Lights. A Texas high school football game. As a skinny end, it was my job on defense to stop "power sweeps." Offense -- blocking and pass catching -- were my strong suits, if I had any. But this team was eating us up with their end sweeps. The coach hauled me off the bench and said between clenched teeth a version of, "Get in there and knock down their blocking convoys so our defensive backs can tackle the ball carrier!"
Next play, here they came. A big pulling guard running full-tilt lowered his head as I lowered mine and we crashed into each other helmet-to-helmet. It felt like I'd been hit by a locomotive. Stars danced around in my head, jackhammer-like pain throbbed and I couldn't focus my eyes for a bit. The big guard didn't seem to be in very good shape either.
Time out was called. The water boys and a couple of student trainers came on the field.
"You okay?" and "Yup" was about all that was said. Time in, next play and the game ground on.
That was then, this is now. Some of the equipment, rules and medical awareness have changed. But the ethos of football has not.
All of this came to mind recently while working another in a series of investigative reports about concussions in sports. Not just in football, but in baseball, basketball, soccer, hockey, volleyball, gymnastics and cheerleading. And not just among men and boys, but increasing among girls and women.
The National Institutes of Health has declared that we are in the midst of a "national epidemic" of concussions and other head injuries, especially among the young.
WATCH:
With football, where so many concussions -- many of them undiagnosed and untreated -- occur, the professional National Football League has a heavy responsibility. Coaches and young players look to the league and its players as role models. The "trickle down" effect of what the NFL does and does not do is tremendous, everything from the style of play to the way injuries are and are not treated.
As we get ready to kick off another season, two of the most important people involved with the National Football League this season won't play a single down. Doctors Richard Ellenbogen and Hunt Batjer are preeminent neurosurgeons specializing in concussions. The NFL appointed them to chair the league's Head, Neck and Spine Committee. And unlike doctors who've worked with the league in the past, they strongly believe in the long-term consequences of concussions.
Roger Goodell, the commissioner of the NFL, knows he has a problem. It's becoming apparent that concussions to professional football players could become a threat to the game. That's a strong statement but there is growing evidence about the long-term effects of head injuries to football players -- both past and present -- and a growing recognition that something has to be done -- soon. The NFL's own studies indicate that memory-related diseases are much higher in former football players than in the general population. Last year the NFL instituted new guidelines for when a player could re-enter a game after a concussion. That move was applauded as necessary and overdue. This year the league has produced a poster for locker rooms that says it in black and white. Concussions can lead to "the early onset of dementia."
But then there was the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee, which included the NFL's doctor at the time who didn't agree there was a link between playing football and long-term dementia. After being blasted by Congress, out went the old committee and the NFL's doctor. In came the Head, Neck and Spine Committee, headed by the new Doctors Ellenbogen and Batjer.
I had a chance to sit down with the doctors for their first extensive interview on our weekly program, Dan Rather Reports on HDNet. The NFL asked them not to talk, but they insisted, saying the latest information and research on concussions needs to be out there and the public made aware of the risks
"I'll tell you one thing: Hunt and I have day jobs. We wouldn't be doing this if we didn't believe this," said Dr. Ellenbogen. "We're in this not only for the 2,000 NFL players, but for the 30 million kids who play active sports."
And those kids, it is becoming clear, are increasingly at risk, girls as well as boys. "We have to realize that this cuts across both genders and all sports," said Dr. Ellenbogen.
Both doctors told me they are lining up the best minds they can find to help them with research, from scientists at MIT to the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense, which is doing extensive research on soldiers, bomb blasts and concussions.
They have several goals, such as better equipment (like helmets with sensors) to establishing a massive database on anyone playing football in the NFL, to tracking retired NFL players and educating the public about head trauma. These doctors, with 60 years of combined experience in treating head injuries, say education is the key. And their best advice for any coach or player who suspects a concussion? Get out of the game, immediately. Concussions can be crippling, even deadly. Especially multiple concussions. As Dr. Ellenbogen told me, "When in doubt, sit it out."
"Dan Rather Reports" airs Tuesdays at 8pm ET on HDNet. It will also be available on iTunes on Wednesday.
I have survived 9 Emergency VP Shunt brain surgeries from developing hydrocephalus during my second season with the SF 49ers in 1981 (Super Bowl). I attended the University of Colorado on a football scholarship from 76 - 80, majored in Biology, played Ohio State in the 77 Orange Bowl. I was the 149th pick in the 1980 NFL draft (6th round NY Jets), played 80 & 81 with the SF 49ers. I underwent my first emergency VP shunt brain surgery during the 81 season.
I sustained numerous concussions from tackling people, with one of the most severe at age 13 during my 3rd year of Pop Warner, where I was knocked unconscious and hospitalized.
Despite owning an Orange Bowl and Super Bowl ring, my 10 year old son will never play.
For a look at post NFL (or post football) life, go to the following links:
NPR: A Brain, A Life, Battered by Football
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=114059228#commentBlock
Sac News and Review Cover story
http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/content?oid=1317643
George Visger Interview on KCAA Sports Parade 071210 Regarding NFLPA Poor care of retired players
www.kcaaradio.com and go to the Sports Parade...
Visger Rules – Recommended changes to NFL Rules 071810
http://davepear.com/blog/2010/07/george-visgers-concussion-rules/
George Visger
Brain Damaged Wildlife Biologist/Motivational Speaker
Visger & Associates
SF 49ers 80 & 81 (Super Bowl)
Survivor of 9 NFL Caused Emergency VP Shunt Brain Surgeries
Benefactor of ZERO NFL Benefits
Knowing little on the topic in this article, I sincerely welcomed your input. Thanks for your informed post.
Is priority on building up the person, like John Wooden's approach, or is it making it big through hook or crook? Is safety a prime consideration, and not merely because the player is an "investment" much like a piece of machinery? Do these athletes even know how to take care of self, on the pitch, outside it and beyond? If it only boils down to money, then sports becomes irrelevant.
Sports is a philosophy, a way of life, raison d'etre if you may. There IS much more to it than merely entertaining crowds. It is a means of expression, and a way to lift the people's aspirations. You only need to look at soccer's effect on the masses to understand such a phenomenon. Much more than money, the safety of the players should be among the highest areas of concentration. Tactics MUST include life and living. A good read.
It is the unreported effects of drug usage and the NFL and other sports continue to ignore it.
Force is a product of speedXstrength so when those multipliers increase the resulting force of impact goes up exponentially.
Additonally equipment improvement will make things worse, not better.
For several reasons:
1) The false sense of security it provides players
2) The increasing use of the equipment as weapons.
3) and most importantly the total lack of the equipment to actually address the causes of brain injuries.
Concussions are caused by the impact of the brain against the interior of the skull. It is the speed of that movement that determines the severity of the injury. Absorption of impct will only reduce injuries if it can cushion and slow the DEceleration, as in an air bag in an automible crash which does so by dispersing the force of impact.
The size and speed of players is what needs to be addressed first and foremost.
As a result of all this attention, coaches are better educated about teaching proper technique and helping kids avoid traumatic head injuries. The biggest issue right now is that of "secondary trauma," which is the "next" blow to the head that occurs before proper healing can take place from an earlier injury. It is this secondary injury, often not al that severe, that often creates some of the most serious health risks.
Locally, we are instituting a screening process whereby baseline responses to various "simple" questions are established before practice begins, so the same questions can be asked when any suspicion of head injury occurs. This can provide some immediate feedback to the athletic trainers and coaches about the potential severity of a blow to the head. This is not a panacea by any means, but it is a step in the right direction.
The following link is for a transcript of a 2000, McNeil Lehrer report that focused on Brandon Schultz, who suffered severe long term consequences from a football injury when he was 16. All of my players and parents have the opportunity to watch this in video form. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/health/jan-june00/concussions_1-26.html
The fact is that NFL players are nothing more than revenue makers for the team owners and so long as there are more young men willing to put their health in jeopardy to play professional football all is well. So long as the gladiators don't complain or take action, there is NO problem!
Football is not alone with the risk of brain injuries. Boxing, especially professional boxing ranks high on that list as well. Pro boxers should not be allowed to slug it out 10,12 up to 15 rounds. They should also be encouraged to wear head gear as do the Olympic boxers. Again because boxing is putting profits in someone's pockets, the issue of participant injury/safety takes a back seat to the potential of making money! Not a new concept. The interests of the capitalists always takes precedent over the interests of the working class. Only when we demand change, will we see a more humane approach.
Amateur sports should be wimped down to allow every one to win.
It is not fair for one team to win more than any other. We need to have equal but mediocre sports through out the nation. Level the playing field.
When I was a kid we didn't have video games like Wii and Madden. Now that we do, who needs the real thing? Think of all those multi million dollar salaries that can pay for more entitlement programs.
Restaurants too. Ban them. Everybody has ovens, stoves and microwaves. Who needs to dine out, wasting gas, and commercial space that could be better used as parks.