NFL Knees Continue Jerking on Concussions

The NFL’s ramped up campaign to get tough on concussions and head injuries met its first blowback controversy last week in the form of Hines Ward’s negative comments about Ben Roethlisberger not playing against the Ravens after experiencing post-concussion headaches.

The Ward interview brought to the public the sport’s cultural issues with heeding the warnings of medical risk, as did a recent survey of 160 players, in which about a fifth of them responded that they have either hidden or played down the effects of a concussion. Such findings make the league look ineffectual, if not totally hapless, in their mission to drive home how serious head injuries are in the long term.

So the league took quick action this week. The problem is that they didn’t take enough.

⇥In the latest step by the league to address a hot-button issue, commissioner Roger Goodell sent a memo to the 32 clubs Wednesday saying a player who gets a concussion should not return to action on the same day if he shows certain signs or symptoms.⇥⇥Those include an inability to remember assignments or plays, a gap in memory, persistent dizziness, and persistent headaches.⇥

⇥⇥The old standard, established in 2007, said a player should not be allowed to return to the same game if he lost consciousness.⇥

⇥⇥Wednesday’s memo also says players “are to be encouraged to be candid with team medical staffs and fully disclose any signs or symptoms that may be associated with a concussion.”⇥

“Encouraged”? That’s awfully feckless for a commissioner known for being heavy-handed. Really, the only thing that looks to have been changed here is an emphasis on not lying to doctors, which is really quite pointless. Those lying already know what the doctors need to hear to have them removed from action. More strenuous testing or penalties imposed for lying might yield a better result.

If anything, this sounds like the second Hines Ward Rule imposed within the span of a year. Only this time, the NFL doesn’t sound like they’re committed to enforcing it.

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