While it may be impossible to take violence completely out of the sport, rule changes, technology and public education can help protect football players against concussions.
That was the consensus of a panel assembled by Voice of San Diego to continue the public dialogue about the growing problem of concussions in football and other prep sports.
On Feb. 12, Scott Lewis, Voice of San Diego CEO, moderated a 90-minute chat at Francis Parker School with an array of experts. The public discussion was the latest development in an evolving conversation over what to do about concussions in football at all levels. The issue has been building following the 2012 suicide death of San Diego Chargers linebacker Tiaina Baul (Junior) Seau, who suffered from dementia and depression, and a more recent incident involving a La Jolla High School football player who played after being concussed in a game and is still experiencing serious side effects.
The panel included David Casey Jr., an attorney from the law firm that represented Seau’s family; Jim Laslavic, former NFL player and San Diego Ch. 7 sports anchor; Roger Blake, executive director of the California Interscholastic Federation; and Howard Taras, professor of pediatrics at UCSD.
“This is not an attack on football or on any particular school,” Lewis said. “We’re calling this ‘The Future of Football’ for a reason: Because to save the game, it needs to change, reinvent itself, adapt to new technologies, rules and innovations.”
Lewis noted that players in the past, aware of the risk of general injury, were largely unaware of the risk posed by concussions.
Laslavic, a former middle linebacker, concurred.
“No, I didn’t sign up for this (concussion side effects),” said the 63-year-old Laslavic, who pointed out that football helmets protect players from skull fractures, not from “possibly having their brains scrambled” by concussions.
Casey said the NFL deliberately misled players about the very real health threat that concussions pose.
“Until about six years ago,” he said, “players were told you don’t get any problems from playing football with concussions. There’s a full culture change, which today says concussions have a dramatic impact on players, who didn’t know this was going to happen.”
Taras, who is involved in crafting school policies dealing with concussions, said, “We’re trying to get guidelines in place for concussions so we can get kids back into school.”
Blake, a state schools employee responsible for overseeing athletes in more than 1,500 high schools statewide, talked of the enormity of the task.
“There are 2,000 athletes playing in the NFL,” he said, “and we have 125,000 boys and girls playing high school football. No player ever wants to come out of a game. But traumatic brain injuries have lifelong ramifications if not treated appropriately.”
A concussion is generally defined as an injury to the brain or spinal cord from a jarring blow or fall. The Mayo Clinic says effects are usually temporary but can include headaches and problems with concentration, memory, balance and coordination.
Blake stressed that not nearly enough is known about the medical implications and long-term effects of concussions. But he noted early research with ex-players has found that the mental impairment concussions can cause is worse with people who played longer and started earlier in their lives.
Blake added research into using censors in helmets, which can indicate the severity of hits, could help in diagnosing and treating players for concussions.
Laslavic agreed, suggesting two more preventive items to cut down on concussions: Require anyone younger than the teens to play flag rather than tackle and making practices noncontact, not full contact.
Taras noted the old perception about concussions is that “If you didn’t lose consciousness, it wasn’t a concussion.” He added research is making it increasingly apparent that jolts causing concussions “can set off a cascade of chemical reactions,” leading to serious side effects, including headaches, depression and memory loss.
Taras added helmets do not protect against concussions, as blunt force causes the brain suspended in bodily fluids to strike the skull, causing injury.
Lewis, who has a young son, said he will encourage him not to play football but admitted that later, if he really wants to play, “It might be hard to say no.”
Laslavic, who suffered a knee injury from a now-illegal chop block, said rule changes to eliminate some of the most egregious plays that cause injuries could make the sport safer.
Casey pointed out that players and their families are required to sign waivers to play high school football, which exempts them from seeking court damages except where “gross negligence or recklessness is involved.”
“I don’t see an epidemic of (concussion) lawsuits,” Casey said, suggesting the answer may lie in “educating schools, kids and parents” on safety protocols, including the proper methods of tackling and blocking.