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A few days ago Jr Seau, former NFL linebacker (19 years) shot
himself in the chest and died. I rarely jump ahead of formal news reports, but the
evidence is suggestive and because it is, awareness is important.
I have pulled some statements from football super agent Leigh
Steinberg's blog. You can read his full blog at How Many Deaths Will It Take? → I wanted to help players, coaches and parents
understand that we are all part of the problem and the solution. Don't get me
wrong. As a sport psychology consultant, I'm a tough guy. I love contact
sports. I love aggressive behavior for both males and females in sport, but I
believe in teaching sportsmanship, good technique and common sense. I also
believe that we need to be aware of the issue and our awareness will keep
players safer. This is not about scare
tactics. It's about protecting are players and our sport.
Leigh's statements are in red.
Normally, speculation as to
causation would be premature, but these are not normal times. The specter of
head injury and the disastrous lifetime ramifications call for emphatic action.
There is a largely undiagnosed health epidemic which has surrounded contact
sports at the youth sports, high school, collegiate and professional level and
it is a ticking time bomb.
What are the long-term ramifications? How many head injuries
are too many? How long should a player sit out after suffering the hit?
The players themselves were in a
state of denial concerning physical health. They had been taught since Pop
Warner to ignore pain - hide injury so as to not lose their starting position
or jeopardize their status on the team. They didn't want to be known as
"training room" players and be stigmatized and isolated from their peers.
Ice hockey is no different; in fact hockey has a reputation
of believing hockey players are tougher than football players. My previous post
here was about SHAME. It contributes to the problem.
In conjunction with the Los Angeles
based Concussion Institute we helped facilitate another series of Concussion
Seminars seven years ago. This time there was concrete data presented by
researchers like Dr. Julian Bailes, Dr. Robert Cantu, Kevin Gusciewicz and Dr.
Robert Hovda that seemed to indicate that three (3) was the "magic number."
Three or more concussions apparently raised exponentially the post-career risk
of dementia, Parkinson's and depression.
A pattern developed in which the
repetitive head injuries produced chronic traumatic encephalopathy, permanent
brain damage. Player's such as the Bears' Dave Duerson developed
depression. Often loss of job and family would occur. And in some cases, suicide. Dave Duerson
shot himself in the chest last year and left a note asking that his brain be
left to science to help solve this problem.
I've worked with 6 youth players in the last year that had
concussions. First step for parents is making sure they see a head trauma
specialist. Your GP may not be the right person.
A cognitive test is given prior to a
season and in the case of concussion is followed by a second test. This is an
objective way to measure the degree of damage and ensure that players are
asymptomatic at rest, on an exercise bike and at practice before they are
cleared to play. This is something that every parent should insist on for their
"collision sport" children. Pro football may be most visible, but the risk is
present in many other sports and at the collegiate, high school and youth
levels. The adolescent brain may take three times as long to recover and it is
still in formation.
Now he is dead at only 43. As Peter,
Paul and Mary sang "How many deaths will it take til we know that too many
people have died." We need to find the answers; they can't just be "blowing in
the wind."
I am an advocate for players and coaches. Players need to be
forthcoming when they are injured. Coaches need to focus on their player's
health. If a coach takes away status of a player because of head trauma, the next
player that has their bell rung will keep silent. We've had 50+ years of
silence. It's time to make some noise.
I'm a sport psychology consultant. I work with athletes and
teams from the pros to youth levels in all sports. I consult in person and via
SKYPE. Please check out my web site. The Mental Game I need some hits. Not the kind to the
head. You'll find interesting programs if you take the time to explore.
By the way, I've had 4 concussions that I know of. One
playing flag football, took one play off. One playing college football, took no
plays off. One playing college soccer; did not leave field. And one from a car accident;
the only one where I didn't continue doing something. They wouldn't let me
drive the ambulance.
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