Nov. 11

Some more news on the Jahleel Addae accident that occurred 2 weeks ago:
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer/jason-la-canfora/24792216/focus-turning-to-pressbox-spotter-in-jahleel-addaes-concussion-probe
Someone is going to get fired over how the Chargers handled the situation, which is good news because there should be no toleration to this behavior.

I was watching the Cowboys v. Jaguars game this weekend and one play in particularly got me extremely agitated. Towards the end of the 3rd quarter, game pretty much in the books, Bortles throws a short pass to WR Allen Hurns in coverage. Hurns catches the ball and is in the process of being immediately tackled when, out of nowhere, Cowboys linebacker Anthony Hitchens delivers an unnecessary blow to the head. Hurns immediately fell to the ground and stayed there for a solid 2 minutes. Hitchens was later flagged for a 15 yard penalty. Reason? "Blow to the head." Am I happy he was flagged for 15 yards and that the referee gave a no BS description of why? Yes, extremely. Should it have even happened in the first place?  Absolutely not. The blow was extremely unnecessary, Hurns was already going down to the ground!

Some important notes from the CDC's overview of concussions in sports:
• Athletes who have had a concussion, at 
 any point in their lives, have a greater 
 chance of getting another concussion.
- this is why a big deal is made about repetitive head trauma. This is also why players who are easily concussed (Ryan Grant, Wes Welker, etc.) have to contemplate retirement because the chance for another concussion just gets higher and higher.
• Young children and teens are more 
 likely to get a concussion and can take 
 longer to recover than adults.
- yet the biggest focus is on the most athletic, healthiest, adults in the world? Not enough is being done to protect the children from the risks of concussions in sports.

Interesting thing I found in TX's Concussion Law:
A student shall be removed from an
interscholastic athletics practice or competition immediately if
one of the following persons believes the student might have
sustained a concussion during the practice or competition:
(1)coach;
(2)physician;
(3)licensed health care professional; or
(4)student’s parent or guardian or another person
with legal authority to make medical decisions for the student.

How often does #4 occur? I believe that the majority of the parents are not educated enough to make a medical decision related to concussions. And I also think parents think that pulling their child out of the game is "weak" and would "embarrass" him/her in front of his/her friends.