Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Two Perspectives: Part Two

An upcoming article in Sports Illustrated talks about the culture in the NFL about fines for helmet-to-helmet hits.

NFL players were required to watch a film:
In the meeting rooms of all 32 teams last week, players saw a four-minute video produced by the league and narrated by NFL executive vice president of football operations Ray Anderson, who is in charge of discipline. The video showed nine big hits. Six were plays that involved helmet-on-helmet contact or defenders launching themselves at defenseless receivers, the kind of plays that will result in discipline from the league office. The other three—including a decleating shot across the middle by Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis on Jets tight end Dustin Keller—were examples of hits that were within the rules because players did not launch themselves or strike their targets in the head or neck.

It's probably inaccurate to say all the players heard the entire presentation. Many of them were too busy catcalling the video—and the message.

With respect to Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, which has been linked to repetitive head trauma:
"I can say confidently that this is a distinctive disorder that you don't develop in the general population," McKee said. "In fact, I have never seen this disease in any person who doesn't have the kind of repetitive head trauma that football players would have."

These thoughts were not shared by all:
The Players Association was angry about what seemed to be an attempt to make the game safer. "The skirts need to be taken off in the NFL offices," said union president Kevin Mawae on ESPN Radio.

One retired player stated:
Watching in the NBC viewing room in New York City, studio analyst Rodney Harrison, known as much for his vicious hits as for his overall strong play at safety, said after one of them, "Thank God I'm retired."

Two Perspectives: Part One

Interesting articles in the recent press:

First, we have an essay by Carl Ehrlich, former Harvard football captain, on the suicide of his friend and opponent, Owen Thomas, from Penn.

Carl clearly shows his knowledge of the situation:
Concussions and other brain trauma on the football field do not cause someone to commit suicide. What they do cause are metabolic alterations that can lead to depression and contribute to changes in a person’s outlook and decision-making — with the most disastrous and undoubtedly complicated cases perhaps ending in suicide.

And also, the effects of hear trauma:
To be around recently concussed football players is to know that this is serious brain damage. Their eyes seem glassy. They have trouble retaining short-term information. They appear tired and glum.

Having played football for the past 10 years, I’ve seen what a compilation of brain traumas can do to a person.

However, he feels the focus should be in identifying depression:
This should be the jumping-off point for changing the culture around depression and sports. If concussions can lead to depression and depression can lead to suicide, then even old-school football needs to be as vigilant in identifying and treating depression as it is with concussions.

We must create an environment where a football player — or any athlete — can walk into a training room and tell someone that something is wrong and that, no, this injury doesn’t just need ice or a rubdown.