It is likely, no probable, that most football concussions, at all levels, go unnoticed and untreated. They are often referred to, or shrugged off, as a "ding." The serious ones, when a player goes woozy and the gait is unsteady, are too obvious to let go without treatment, the extent of which is usually being taken out of the game temporarily and asked to count backwards from ten.
The NFL has paid compensation to veteran players whose physical and mental faculties have declined. Many critics contend that the amounts doled out are not nearly enough to cover the pain of the disabilities. And no amount of money will make up for the suicides of players who have experienced severe concussions.
The League has also instituted a protocol whereby players with suspected concussions are given a series of tests they must pass before playing again. I wonder how many players, excepting those who are demonstrably hurt, actually disclose their distress against the dread of losing their job? Much like baseball pitchers who would never dare admit to a sore arm for fear of being permanently displaced.
Brain damage from football concussions is additive, meaning that cognitive impairment, often to the frontal cortex, accumulates over time, and is seldom due to one blow. The longer you play, the greater the insults to the brain. And once a player suffers a concussion, the next one comes much easier. The brain becomes weakened and susceptible to further injury, much like an alcoholic who has one drink and is quickly drunk.
For years, helmet innovations have improved padding and suspension inside helmets, but concussions and their long-term effects persist. As players continue to get bigger, stronger and faster, the harm from concussions will grow.
It appears that many players, especially defensive backs, see the helmet not as a protective device, but as a weapon that is used to intimidate and drive an opponent out of the game. In recent years, NFL referees were fairly stringent in issuing penalties for helmet-to-helmet contact. There has been a marked decrease in such penalties in the 2014 season.
A "boys will be boys, let them just play, it's part of the game" philosophy permeates thinking in both the NFL and the NHL. Critics of excessive violence and its aftereffects are often met with, "Hey, it's their choice, no one is making them play, they know the risks, most of them are not crippled for life."
Dismissive thinking about concussive harm supports the notion that big-time football, college and pro, is all about the money. Teams sign extended contracts with helmet manufacturers. One vendor has the NFL's teams pretty well sewed up.
Resistance to equipment changes will be lobbied against. Putative experts will rail against improved padding and design innovations and have for years.
In the1950's and 1960's, several college teams, Cornell and Harvard come to mind, used helmets padded on the outside. The design appeared to accomplish two things: It more efficiently shielded the brains of two players coming in contact and it made the helmet less of a weapon. The main argument against the external padding was that the padding caused friction and the helmets stayed in contact longer increasing the possibility of damage. Hmm.
As Vince Lombardi once said, "Football is not a contact sport, it's a collision sport--dancing is a contact sport." No dispute there, and that argues for better-designed head protection and stringent rules-enforcement. But there's big, long-range contract money in play for the manufacturers and the teams in not changing the equipment.
"When somebody says it's not about the money, it's about the money." -H. L. Mencken
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