WASHINGTON — Bravery. Perseverance. Loyalty. These attributes that athletes play to prove are also part of a high school and collegiate sideline culture that has often kept players from speaking up when an unseen injury—like a concussion–occurs.
The dangers of ignoring the signs of concussions and returning to play before healing have gained national attention over the past five years. Individual states have adopted laws to ensure that concussed players on school teams at all levels get evaluated by medical professionals.
Before the 2010 football season got underway in Tennessee, the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association and the NCAA mandated that all of their schools follow or establish a concussion procedure that prevents athletes suspected of a concussion from returning to the game before being evaluated by a medical professional.
Now, Congress is considering legislation to create a national mandate.
The House Committee on Labor and Education met Thursday to discuss a bill, sponsored by Committee Chairman George Miller, that would require a schoolany player suspected of a concussion to be cleared by a medical professional before returning to play.
Athletic directors on both secondary school and collegiate levels say Tennessee’s rules followed precautions they were already taking. Some are even going a step beyond.
For the past five years, students at Ensworth School, a private school in Nashville, have taken an exam before the season begins to establish a baseline score of their mental abilities. Until they achieve their pre-concussion score, athletes must sit out from all games and practices. Because, as athletic director Ricky Bowers knows, getting a second concussion before the first has healed can do the most damage.
“The baseline test is so important so that we can know if the first concussion has occurred,” Bowers said. “That’s something that wasn’t around in the 70s and 80s when coaches just didn’t know any better.”
Making sure all coaches know better has been a top priority on TSSAA director Bernard Childress’ agenda this week as he traveled across Tennessee meeting with athletic directors. Although not every school can afford to test students, each is provided with education on how to recognize a concussed player who needs to be sent away for a medical evaluation.
Most school teams cannot afford a medical professional at their sidelines, so the players must take the rest of the game off, which, Childress says “is exactly what we want.”
David Williams, vice chancellor of university affairs and athletics at Vanderbilt University, said the NCAA did not give a protocol but asked each school to develop one. His is simple: If a player is so much as suspected of having a concussion, they will sit out for at least 24 hours.
“It’s not a matter of whether or not you can live with the pain,” said Williams. “We have to ere on the side of caution at all times.”