The NFL has come a long way when it comes to the handling of players who have suffered concussions. The road as a practical matter started 15 years ago tomorrow.
On October 28, 2009, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith were summoned to Congress to testify about pro football’s approach to brain injuries.
The testimony focused at times on whether the NFL would admit a connection between concussions and future health issues. Although Dr. Ira Casson, then the chairman of the NFL’s committee on concussions, didn’t testify at the hearing (there was a squabble over whether Congress had asked for him to be there), one member of Congress played a prior clip of Casson denying a link between multiple head injuries and brain disorders like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Smith was far more candid on behalf of the NFLPA, saying the union “has not done its best in this area,” and: “We will do better.”
It wasn’t enough to defuse rhetoric from at least one member of Congress. Said Rep. Linda Sánchez during the hearing: "[I]t sort of reminds me of the tobacco companies pre-’90s when they kept saying, ‘Oh, there’s no link between smoking and damage to your health.’”
The hearing forced the NFL to make changes. It started with a new set of rules for returning to action after suffering a concussion, a process that has become the current concussion protocol. Over time, the protocol has been tweaked and enhanced to ensure both that players don’t return until they’re ready — and to do a better job of getting players off the field after they’ve suffered a head injury.
Less than two years after the Congressional involvement, the lawsuits started. A massive class action was eventually settled, creating a fund that awards benefits to players who suffer certain cognitive problems, without requiring them to prove that the condition traces to playing NFL football.
Early on, there were concerns that players would retire prematurely due to concussions. While several cited brain-injury concerns when retiring later in their careers, only 49ers linebacker Chris Borland walked away early in a promising NFL stint due to concussion concerns.
By now, everyone knows the risks. As evidenced most recently by Tua Tagovailoa’s defiant return to play, they all know what they’ve signed up for. And they continued to sign up for it.
People take far greater risks for far less money. And they have the right to do so. Unless and until they can find no one to clear them to play, any and every player who has suffered multiple concussions can keep coming back for more.
That doesn’t alleviate the NFL’s obligation to get players out of the fray, and to properly evaluate them during games before returning. The tension between checking boxes to expedite the process and providing actual health care to players lingers. There’s a chance it always will.
