Last Blog Before Presentation

Well a year's work comes to an end today. This is my last blog post related to my presentation, for over the weekend I will complete my process paper and on Monday I will present my work. However, I don't view my work as complete. There is so much more that could have gone into it. There is so much that can be done to make the game of football safer, to save lives. Everyday more news comes out about concussions in one form or another. For example, just yesterday a Bleacher Report article was published about some of the comments Patriots Tight End Rob Gronkowski made about concussions while he was on the Jim Rome show. Here's a transcript of what he said:

"Uh, so if we're sitting here and I had choose [sic] would I want a concussion right now or my knee blown out, I'm going to say a concussion. Why would I want to sit there for eight months and not do anything, when with a concussion I'll just wake up and I'll be ready to go again."
Gronk isn't worried about not remembering things later in life because "that happens all the time. I don't even know how I got to my hotel last night."

Sure there is not much information provided in the article but every article matters. Taking bits and pieces from many different articles allows a clearer picture to be shown. In the above article about Gronk, the most important information that should be culled out is that he said "I don't even know how I got to my hotel last night." Sure we all know it may be because he was drunk, for Gronk loves to party. But the context of the situation was centered around concussions, so maybe it is not a stretch to correlate his forgetfulness with the something "that happens all the time."



My thesis project may come to a close on April 6th, 2015, but the passion I have for my topic will never stop. I would like to thank Mr. Correa for all the help he has been of throughout the year. I would like to thank Dr. Kilianski for taking time out his incredibly busy schedule as a neurological resident to be my mentor and Dr. Cook and Dr. Rossetti for taking time out of their schedules to become my judges. I cannot wait to present my findings throughout the year next Monday. I dedicate my project to those affected by CTE and other degenerate brain diseases that have been caused by repetitive head trauma. I dedicate my project to their families. Most importantly, I dedicate my project to Chris Borland, for he has done something nobody in the history of football has ever done and that is walking away from the game of football because of fear of long term effects of concussions on his own accord.

April 1st!

I emailed my proposal to my mentor to take a look at it.

I will email my proposal and process record to my judges later today as I make my final adjustments to it. 

Here is the rest of my script (After LETRR till conclusion):

So you may be asking yourself: why does any of this really matter? I’m not going to be playing football, who cares? Imagine your a kid growing up in San Diego, California. You love football and you can recite the entire San Diego Chargers football lineup. Your favorite player: Junior Seau, your defense’s signal caller, anchor, and captain. The heart and soul of the team. You grow up alongside Seau. He leads your favorite Chargers to the Super Bowl. You cry when they lose. You get angry when he gets traded to the Dolphins. But what do you do when on May 2, 2012 when he commits suicide by shooting himself in the chest. What do you feel when Seau becomes the first hall of famer to be award posthumously, that instead of him up there on stage his two sons are. How do you feel when your favorite wrestler, Chris Benoit kills his 7 year old son and his wife before taking his own life? Or for you cowboy fans, when Hall of Fame running back Tony Dorsett becomes prone to uncontrollable outbursts at his wife and daughters due to CTE. A lot of athletes are role models. How do you explain to your child that their favorite athlete, somebody they look up to immensely, has killed themselves because of a degenerate brain disease in which no actions were taken by their employer to not only prevent such a horrific disease from occurring but also provide support to help cope with the disease? This matters because there is nothing more precious in this world than life itself. 

Mental health is no joke. For far too long, mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety disorders, and bipolar disorder have been thrown under the bus because of the fact that they aren’t  physical in nature. You can’t see what’s going on in one’s brain but you can see somebody with a broken leg. However, the stigma around mental illnesses is just unacceptable. Mental illness is real. You can’t ask somebody if they tried not having the flu but it’s perfectly fine to ask somebody if they tried not being depressed and that they should at least make an effort to be happy. I can’t attribute this quote to any one person but I remember reading this quote that summarizes how it feels to have a mental illness “You know how in school, even if you didn't have assigned seats you kind of sat in the same seat all the time anyway? I always feel like that one day that you walk in and somebody else is in your seat.” Take someone like Boo Williams for example. Everyday he took the same route to work. He’d head down Airline Drive to Stable drive, then he’d make a left and follow the road to the training facility. In 2010, five years after his career ended, Williams found himself retracing that same path - except this time he turned right towards the train tracks. He spent two days sleeping in a cement alcove near the tracks. On day 3, he climbed onto the tracks and laid down, waiting for the train to come and end his life. Luckily, a homeless couple came to his rescue. The depression Williams experienced after leaving the game is painfully common. Some of it stems from struggles with a loss of income, or diminished adulation, or the sudden isolation of no longer being part of a team and the camaraderie it brings. Eddie George, another player who suffered depression after leaving the game of football said, “You want to go ahead and say that you gave the game up and you’re done with it and you’re at peace — and you may be. But there’s a part of you that dies, and part of death for the person that survives is grieving. If you don’t go through that grieving stage, then you’re dealing with some issues. So you got to allow yourself to go through that. You got to peel back the onion. You got to be willing to say ‘OK, this was very real for me. Where do I go now? How do I function? how do I let go? Is there a certain ceremony I need to have to say that this is the end for me and I can move on from this?” When you couple depression with a degenerate brain disease, suicide seems like a very plausible way out for many. I put Robin Williams up on this slide because he probably had the most high profile suicide in recent years. The same people that would cry over Robin Williams’ death would laugh at actress Amanda Bynes series of outlandish tweets. The NFL once fined then Bears receiver and now Jets wide receiver Brandon Marshall $10,500 dollars for wearing green cleats to raise awareness for bipolar disorder, a disorder that he himself has. Why do we shame mental illnesses? Mental health is no joke. 

No bigger news came out this year that relates to my thesis presentation than the unexpected retirement of 49ers linebacker Chris Borland. Borland is only 24 years old. He was a rookie this year that showed a lot of promise. On March 16, 2015, Chris Borland officially retired from professional football over worries that a prolonged NFL career could lead to long-term effects from head trauma. There is so much to say about this decision. The first point I would like to make is that Borland loved the game of football just as much as anyone else and he gave his all on the field. His decision was purely based on health concerns and nothing else. He’s even paying back three fourths of his signing bonus, only keeping the amount of money that he earned. Borland’s decision matters for a plethora of reasons. First off, it has raised concussion awareness massively. A 24 year old rookie has walked away from the game of football on his own terms because he is concerned about his future health and the longevity of his life. Secondly, it now changes the way players are drafted. Teams are going to want players who are desperate to play the game of football and don’t have a fallback option like Borland. This brings me to my last point, the demographics of the NFL may be changing. Borland is a white male who comes from a middle-class family and has a college degree. For him, there is much to do besides football. He most likely will not suffer the same depression that Boo Williams or Eddie George felt. However, for a lot of NFL players, there is no backup plan. College isn’t seen as a place to receive an education for many athletes. College is simply the platform needed for them to reach the pros. Football is seen as their only option to succeed, so those players will often tolerate the trauma for the paycheck. No decision is right or wrong. It comes down to the quality of life for each individual. That’s why you see lots of former football players like Troy Aikman, Brett Farve, Kurt Warner, Mike Ditka, and so forth saying how they wouldn’t want their sons playing football because since they are well off there is no real necessity for their own child to go through the years of hits and blows that they had to endure. Borland made the decision because he could. For a lot of players that isn’t the case. 

To close, I would like to re-emphasize LETRR, my comprehensive proposal for the betterment of concussion management in the game of football. Through the use of changes and advancements in Legislation, Equipment, Technology, Rules and Regulation, the game of football can become a whole lot safer. I want to ask a question before I conclude my presentation. Everybody in this room has kids or has at least thought about having kids in the future. With all the information that is out there about the long term effects associated with sustaining concussions, would you let your own child play the game of football? Is the game of football worth it? I’m not here to change your mind or persuade you to think one way or the other. I love the game of football. So does Chris Borland. However, to him, the game of football simply is not worth it. 

This concludes my thesis presentation, are there any questions?

7 Days Until Presentation Date

With 7 days remaining, I am onto the final stretch of senior thesis.

I edited my LETRR Proposal and it is ready to be submitted to my judges and Mr. Correa.

I have contacted my mentor that way I can get the mentor profile form completed.

I am organizing all that I need and putting it on my flashdrive.

Here is the script to my final presentation.

Final Presentation Script (Up Until LETRR Part)

Good morning and thank you all for being here, my name is Yousef Nofal and I am a senior at the School for the Talented and Gifted. The title of my thesis presentation is - Concussions and Football: A Hidden Epidemic. 

Is it safe to assume that everybody in this room watched the Super Bowl? Super Bowl 49 became the most watched program in American television history, with an average amount of 114.4 million viewers. That’s more than a third of the entire country. So with a third of the entire country watching, what do we see? An unacceptable handling of an issue the NFL has been trying to quell for years. 

He had 109 receiving yards and the game winning touchdown. You know what else Patriot’s wide recover Julian Edelman may have had? A concussion. As you see in this first clip, Edelman catches the ball down the middle of the field and immediately makes contact with a defender, only to remain upright and continue to “wobble” down the field. What type of contact exactly? An uncalled 15 yard penalty for helmet to helmet contact. Later on that same drive, we see Edelman catch another pass before falling to the ground and having to crawl and be assisted by one of his teammates to get up. Edelman did not come out of the game, allowing him to finish the drive, possibly concussed, and then receive testing. He wasn’t even led into the locker room for an extensive evaluation, just a quick baseline test that relies on honest self-reporting took place. And even this story has some skeptical, for when asked whether or not he took a concussion test on the sideline, Edelman responded by saying, “we’re not allowed to talk about injuries.”

So who knows if Edelman underwent testing. The real question is - why all the secrecy from the NFL? Why are we having to rely on reports from outside observers and anonymous sources to find out if the NFL’s concussions protocol was followed to the letter? Wasn’t this policy created to appease fans’ fears of watching players wantonly destroy their own minds? This year’s Super Bowl was also known for its heavily emotional commercials. Yet, we did not see a single commercial about making the game safer and keeping the head out of the game of football. Death is an emotional subject. Let’s not forget all the players who have lost their lives from CTE or Alzheimer’s. 

Edelman clearly showed symptoms of a concussion. Whether he was concussed or not, he decided that he was not coming out in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl. It all boils down to this point: players like Edelman shouldn’t have to, or even be allowed to, make that choice for themselves because they are not medical professionals.

I have spent the last 8 or so months, give or take, doing research in this field of study related to mild traumatic brain injuries and the game of football. The events I have covered this year, ranging from the suicide of Ohio State Buckeye’s defensive lineman Kosta Karageorge to Hall of Famer and ex-Cowboy star Tony Dorsett’s diagnosis of CTE, have been an eye opening experience for me. For many Americans, myself included, football is more than just a game. However, football is on the decline. Participation at the youth level has seen it’s greatest decline in the past years since Pop Warner began keeping statistics decades ago. In order to preserve the game that us Americans cherish so much, we must draw attention to the concussion crisis and find a way to protect athletes at all ages and levels from the risks that they face.

I have taken on this challenge by creating LETRR, a comprehensive proposal for the betterment of concussion management in the game of football. Football players don letterman jackets, and hopefully will make benefit from LETRR, Legislation, Equipment, Technology, Rules, and Regulation. 

To begin, I would like to show you all a video that epitomizes the necessity for legal changes in youth football. 

I pose a simple question: would you let your 8 or 9 year old son experience what you have just watched?

Legislation is the backbone to ensure that future generations of children will continue to play the sport of football. Therefore, legislative changes are of the utmost importance. What I am set to propose is a classic case of “easier said than done” and that is strict standardization.

What do I mean by strict standardization? Basically, I’m calling for a complete overhaul of current state concussion laws in favor of one more stringent federal law. Concussion legislation varies far too greatly between states, emphasizing a neglect for children’s safety. How come only Michigan requires baseline cognitive testing at the beginning of the school year? Do the other 49 states and Washington D.C. not care about their students safety? In my proposal, I’ve detailed the eight core legislative elements found in concussion legislation and under my proposed federal legislation, all eight of those elements become 100% mandatory for every state. Also, I’ve detailed my other main legislative change: placing age restrictions on football. Up until the age of 12, only flag football should be played, reducing brain strain greatly on adolescent. From 12-13 a transitory period of wrap-up football is played, allowing athletes to learn proper tackling techniques which I will cover later on in my presentation. Lastly, from 14 onward proper tackle football can be played, allowing for a smooth transition from junior high to high school football. 

Moving on through LETRR, the next topic of interest for the betterment of concussion management in the game of football centers around equipment. 

We can dive right into the one piece of equipment that everybody knows has some type of relation to mild traumatic brain injuries and that is the helmet, so let’s not circle around the issue and let’s attack it head on. Modern day football helmets are simply ineffective. Helmets in use today do no protect against concussions at all, they are designed to protect against catastrophic injuries. What I propose is to implement a helmet like MIPS, the multi-directional impact protection system. MIPS helmets have been proven to reduce brain strain by as much as 50 percent, for it’s creative design of a sliding plastic layer eliminates some of the rotational or oblique force before it makes its way to the brain. Some may question: Aren’t you just trading off less concussions for more catastrophic injuries? The answer to that is simply no. Take rugby as an example. The rate of catastrophic injuries in rugby is actual almost identical to the rate of catastrophic injuries in american football. Even with helmets, football players still are at a risk for catastrophic injuries. MIPS helmets will only reduce the concussion rate, no adverse effects will ensue with its implementation. Other ideas that I propose is the mandatory usage of mouth guards. Most people do not know that mouth guards are not even mandatory in the game of football and that a blow to the jaw can cause a concussion. Making mouth guards mandatory to all players with the exception of the quarterback and defensive signal caller will allow the game to be played safer while allowing for communication between players to go about smoothly. Lastly, neck rolls, the big collar like equipment around a players neck that restricts the head and neck from jolting back to quickly, should be mandatory for all lineman, both offensive and defensive for these players undergo the most amount of sub-concussive hits. In recent years, usage of the neck roll has declined due to complaints about its restrictive nature. However, if Eric Dickerson can rush for an NFL single season record of 2,105 yards while wearing a neck roll, that “restrictive” argument doesn’t really add up. 

Technology is every where throughout my proposal. From baseline testing, to equipment technology, to the main focus - sensor technology. Actually, when I heard that UTD was working on a wearable sensor that could  measure the frequency, severity, and direction of hits, I shifted my thesis project from being centered around knee ligament injury prevention to concussion prevention. The amount of data that could potentially be collected from sensor technology will be a crucial component in helping to reduce the concussion rate in the game of football. 

The last part of my proposal deals with rules and regulation. Ask yourself this question. How come we never hear about concussions in rugby even though those players play with no pads and are generally deemed as tougher than football players? That’s because rugby players know how to tackle properly. One team in the NFL has publicly made it known that they are a rugby-style, shoulder tackling team. That team: the Seattle Seahawks, the NFL’s best defensive team. Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll has released a 21 minute instructional video the details the many different types of tackles that his team utilizes from the basic Hawk Tackle (the teaching points being: eyes through the thighs, wrap and squeeze, and drive for 5 - which is pushing the ball carrier back five yards when necessary) to the Hawk roll tackle in which the tackler rolls himself and the ball carrier after contact. Making implementation of Seahawks tackling mandatory throughout the NFL will force lower football leagues like the NCAA to implement it as well. At the same time, implementation of Seahawks tackling will eliminate spear tackling, a dangerous “tackling” method in which a player uses their body as a spear and their helmet as the tip. I also call for an alteration in current penalties for helmet to helmet collision. I propose changing the current penalty from 15 yard to 20 yards for a straight on helmet to helmet collision between a defender and the ball carrier. If a pass is thrown to a receiver and the receiver has full possession of the ball momentarily before the hit, than a helmet to helmet collision that causes the receiver to drop or fumble the ball past 20 yards from where the ball was initially thrown will result in a penalty that places the ball at the spot of the foul. If the pass is within 20 yards, a penalty will result in which 10 yards will be added from the spot of the foul. By changing the way tackling is made and enforcing harsher penalties for improper tackling, the game of football will without a doubt become much more safer. 

LETRR in its entirety (minus photos and citations)

Abstract - What is LETRR?

        I have titled my thesis project as “Concussions and Football: A Hidden Epidemic.” To most, this title is troublesome. Everybody knows about concussions in football. However, the extent and depth of knowledge that most people have about the subject is so minimal. The concussion crisis is a silent epidemic that has been going on for far too long. This sentiment is what I have been working on for the past nine months - halting the concussion crisis before it turns into a full blown disaster. The way that I have chosen to tackle this problem is with LETRR, a comprehensive proposal for the betterment of concussion management in the game of football. The five letters stand for: Legislation, Equipment, Technology, Rules, and Regulation. Improvements and change in one particular area or another will help the cause, but a complete overhaul of the game of football as we know it may be the best solution to an unsolvable problem. Injuries, more specifically concussions, are a part of the game of football. There is not a perfect solution to fix the problem. The key concept that I am trying to make clear is that the status quo is not acceptable.  Awareness of the problem needs to be heighten for it seems as if the majority of Americans have no problem with the game of football, culminating in the “football players know what they are getting themselves into” defense. This argument is inherently flawed because of the fundamental fact that nobody truly knows what is being dealt with. The brain is the most arcane and important part of the human body. Concussions have been a part of the game of football since its inception and will remain in the game until its denouement (another issue that must be addressed). However, it is never too little, too late to stand up and say enough is enough. That’s what LETRR is all about: an acronym, an idea, a proposal for the overall betterment of the game of football that we all know and love.

Legislation

Why is legislation so crucial? A young athlete’s brain is still developing, thus the effects of a concussion are amplified and produce more detrimental damage compared to a head injury in an older player. Young athletes’ lives are at stake, thus legislation is of the utmost importance. What I propose is called “Strict Standardization” - the complete overhaul of existing state concussion laws in favor of one federal law with strict and stringent rules. The biggest problem with existing legislation is that it differs vastly between states, emphasizing neglect that many states exhibit in their concussion laws. On the following pages, I have provided a data table from The Journal of Law, Medicine, and Ethics 42:3 that showcases the alarming differences in just the content of concussion information that is provided to youth football players. Variation in legislation does not just stop there. The amount of material in the bills themselves is greatly varied. Mississippi, the last state to pass concussion legislation, “boasts” a mere three page law, while Texas’s law is fairly detailed with nine pages.  However, I see the greatest problem with the core legislative elements in concussion legislation. There are eight core legislative elements. Every state (including Washington D.C.) requires medical clearance prior to return to play and requires distribution of educational materials to either students, parents, or legal guardians. Every state, except Wyoming, requires removal from play if an athlete sustains a concussion (and it is bewildering as to why Wyoming does not follow such a fundamental rule). However, the other five core legislative elements lag behind in implementation. Only one state (Michigan) requires baseline testing of student athletes, twenty-six states require coaches to be trained in concussion management, twelve states have concussions laws that extend beyond school football and into youth-sport organizations, three states require concussion data collection, and only four states require classroom accommodations for concussed students (return to learn) (Cook, King, and Polikandriotis 286). Why skip out on the safety of America’s future? Take concussion data collection for example. Collecting data and making the information readily available can help determine the best methodology for the distribution of educational material, the need for mandatory coaches training, the benefit of baseline testing, the best accommodations needed at school, practice, and home, and the number of athletic trainers or other properly concussion trained medical personnel who respond to sports-related injuries at the practices and games. Importantly, data can also be used as the foundation to not only establish the extent of the concussion problem in youth athletics, but to help elucidate the mechanisms of injury and the effectiveness of preventative interventions. Instead of letting each state set its own guidelines, one federal law that makes the eight core legislative elements mandatory will do wonders in keeping the game far more safer than it has been in previous decades. Along with this change, age restrictions should be in placed. What is the point of letting eight and nine year old children tackle, like as seen on Friday Night Tykes? Instead, I propose flag football until the age of twelve years, allowing much less brain strain on young adolescents. Then a transitionary phase takes place from ages twelve to thirteen in which athletes play wrap-up football, while at the same time learning the proper tackling techniques that I will cover later in this proposal. From age fourteen onward, tackle football can be played, allowing a smooth transition from the last year of junior high to high school. Setting laws on one of America’s most famous pastimes will be no easy feat. However, in order to stop the growing epidemic of concussions in football, drastic measures must be taken - drastic measures that will save youth athletes from drastic consequences.

Equipment and Technology

Helmets. Those are the first pieces of football equipment that comes to mind when people associate concussions with football. It makes perfect sense - a helmet covers the brain, a blow to the brain can cause a concussion. So instead of circling around the issue, why not attack it head on? Modern day football helmets are ineffective (“Study Shows Helmets in Use Not Made to Prevent Concussions”). They are big and bulky, allowing for the transmission of a great amount of force when used as a weapon to bring down or run over an opponent. Modern day helmets give players a psychological belief that they are invincible, leading to more reckless decisions on the field. One sentiment that is widely shared between former NFL players, including Super Bowl champion Hines Ward, and some members of the medical community is the reinstatement of old school, leather style helmets (Smith, “Hines Ward: If You Want to Prevent Concussions, Take the Helmet off”). Justification for this decision is evidenced by data taken from a study on head, face, and neck injury occurrence in youth rugby. The results of the study counteract the argument that by giving up the helmet a huge influx of catastrophic injuries (skull fractures and such) will occur. Statistically, that is just not true. Out of the 1841 injuries that were recorded in the study, only two were deemed to be catastrophic. One of those two injuries was due to improper tackling technique (McIntosh, McCrory, Finch and Wolfe 192) . Catastrophic injuries already occur in the game of football. The change to a more lightweight helmet would not only reduce the concussion rate in football, but also have either minimal or no effect at all on the occurrence of catastrophic injuries in the game. Removing the helmets of today will force players to make safer decisions on the field and tackle properly. Plainly, players will start feeling the immense stress they put their brains under. Bulky helmets were just hiding this pressure all these years - hiding but still causing damage. Thus, I introduce MIPS, the multi-directional impact protection system. MIPS helmets are the best of both worlds, offering more protection to the brain while maintaining the same degree of security against catastrophic injuries. MIPS helmets have undergone extensive evaluation and testing. The data collected has produced very impressive results - a reduction in brain rotation by as much as 40 to 50 percent (Foster, “The Helmet That Can Save Football”). There is no more time left to just sit around and hope that the concussion crisis will fix itself. It is time to start the implementation of MIPS helmets in football. To begin, there must be comparable concussion data to justify a transition from regular helmets to MIPS helmets. This is where legislation is crucial (the interconnectedness of LETRR is very pertinent to its success). If legislation can pass that mandates all states to collect concussion data (as I proposed earlier) , than clear evidence can be seen in the reduction of concussions before and after the implementation of MIPS helmets. Implementation will begin at the elementary, middle, and high school levels because of the relative ease in securing an equipment contract compared to the battle of fighting off sponsors in the NCAA or NFL. After a set period of time, whether it be a year to three, it is expected that MIPS helmets will show a significant decrease in the concussion rate. At this point, an offensive strategy must take place. Persuading higher division leagues, like the NCAA, NFL, or CFL will be simple because said leagues will be under intense scrutiny if nothing is done to alleviate the concussion crisis when a clear cut solution has been proven to be a success. While a helmet change is of the greatest necessity, other more minor changes should be made as well. One of these changes is making mouthguards mandatory. Most people do not even know that mouth guards are not mandatory in football. The reason why mouthguards are not mandatory in football is because players complain that they are uncomfortable and interfere with breathing and communication between teammates. The reason why the NFL is not making mouthguards mandatory is because doing so would mean that they are admitting guilt for something they should have done sooner. Making mouthguards mandatory keeps the players safer and counteracts the argument that they are detrimental to a player’s ability because if everybody has to partake in the mandate, then no player’s skillset has deteriorated relative to another’s. To allow the game to flow just as smoothly, an exception to the rule should be made to quarterbacks and defensive signal callers, that way clear communication can still be taking place. The other change I am proposing is specific to certain positions. All offensive lineman and defensive lineman must wear neck rolls due to the high amount of sub-concussive hits that they receive. Neck rolls restrict the head and neck from jolting too quickly, minimizing the chances for a concussion. Throughout the year, I have incorporated technology into equipment because there is only just one piece of technology that I have been focusing on and it is located within helmets. However, this one piece of technology is so crucial that I had to dedicate a whole section on its behalf. That piece of technology is a wearable sensor implanted within helmets to measure the frequency, severity, and direction of impacts in order to know whether or not a concussion has occurred and use the data collected to learn how to prevent such blows from occurring in the first place. Implementing this sort of sensor technology will be crucial in the collection of more advanced concussion data and will be a monumental step in finding ways not only to reduce the rate of concussions but also possibly prevent concussions from occurring. Without technology, there would be no MIPS helmets. So while it may seem as if technology is being glossed over in this proposal, it is a critical factor associated with the betterment of concussion management in the game of football.

Rules and Regulation

Tackle like a rugby player. This sentiment has been stressed heavily by Seattle Seahawk’s head coach Pete Carroll. Yes, the Seattle Seahawks. The same team that won Super Bowl XLVIII and has been known over the past few years to boast the NFL’s best defense. Wait, hold on a minute. Does that mean football can be played both safely and effectively? The answer is yes, a million times yes. Implementing Seahawks tackling, which is really just a “rugby-style” shoulder tackling method, is a no brainer. Coach Carroll has released a 21 minute instructional video showing the way his coaching staff teaches tackling (“Seahawks Tackling”). It is not like this has been hidden away in secrecy from every other football organization in the world. Coach Carroll started implementing his rugby-style tackling system back in USC during his time as head coach. The video has been distributed to 14,000 high school football programs and 8,000 youth football programs through the Hudl video network (Farnsworth, “Pete Carroll Tackles a Serious Issue with Instructional Video”). NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has praised Carroll’s work and hopes that players, coaches, and parents at all levels of the game take the time to watch it. Yet, implementation is nonexistent. In order to start the wave of change, the NFL must enforce this shoulder tackling method. All 32 teams must undergo mandatory offseason training in order to learn the tackling techniques. From there, all levels of football, especially the NCAA, will have to implement Seahawks tackling as it will be the tackling technique used at the highest level of football. With the implementation of Seahawks tackling, spear tackling, a dangerous method of “tackling” in which a player uses their body as a spear (head out, arms by their side), will be no more. Spear tackling is illegal in all sports in which tackling is a part of the game - except American football. The combination of making spear tackling illegal and teaching proper tackling techniques will not only reduce the concussion rate in football but also reduce the rate of catastrophic cervical spinal cord injuries. To emphasize, proper tackling techniques are at the forefront at making the game of football safer. So much “branching out” can be done from implementing rugby-style tackling. The head will be taken out of the game in favor for shoulder to thigh contact. To discourage reckless tackling even more, the severity of penalties related to incorrect tackling must become harsher, specifically, incidents that revolve around helmet to helmet collisions. With the onset of proper tackling techniques, helmet to helmet collisions will become non-existent. Thus, if a helmet to helmet collision occurs, it will be hard to deem it as accidental. What I propose is changing the current penalty from 15 yards to 20 yards for a helmet to helmet collision. If a pass is thrown to a receiver and the receiver has full possession of the ball momentarily before the hit, than a helmet to helmet collision that causes the receiver to drop or fumble the ball past 20 yards from where the ball was initially thrown will result in a penalty that places the ball at the spot of the foul. If the pass is within 20 yards, a penalty will result in which 10 yards will be added from the spot of the foul. With these rules and regulations put in place, the game of football will continue to thrive without becoming “watered down”. Dr. Bennett Omalu, a leading neuropathologist in the study of CTE, recalled a discussion he had with an NFL doctor while reviewing the Mike Webster CTE case. Omalu states that the NFL doctor told him, “Bennett, do you know the implications of what you are doing? If 10 percent of mothers in this country would begin to perceive football as a dangerous sport, that is the end of football.” (Brinson, “Frontline PBS doc ‘League of Denial’ Examines NFL Concussion Problem”). With the implementation of  proper tackling techniques, the game of football will, without a doubt, become much more safer, which, in turn, will revitalize endangered youth football leagues around the globe. So, let us not destroy the game of football and the lives of its athletes. Let us preserve both.

Epilogue

At the beginning of the school year, I did not know what to expect from this thesis project. I mean, what was I planning to spend the next 9 months of my life researching, studying, analyzing, and presenting about? I love sports and I want to go into the medical field. However, what am I truly passionate about? What provides me with a sense of fulfillment? That is the question that I had to ask myself before I started my thesis project. I honestly do not know the method in which the answer came to me but it eventually did. I wanted to change the landscape of something I loved because I wanted to preserve what was so special to me. Change. Change is a lackluster word. No, I wanted to leave behind a piece of work that would uproot the game of football as we know it but still leave behind the parts needed to keep the machine running. What I have proposed has the possibility to save tens of thousands of lives. Even after the presentation of my work, I will continue advocating for better concussion management in the game of football. I walked into this thesis course with the thought that the end goal was just to present my work. Instead, I leave this course with the realization that I have presented much more than just the work I have accomplished. I leave this course presenting a burning passion of mine that will only burn brighter each and everyday until progress is made to make the game of football safer and the lives of athletes longer.

LETRR continuation

Here is the rest of the "Rules and Regulation" section of LETRR:

To emphasize, proper tackling techniques are at the forefront at making the game of football safer. So much “branching out” can be done from implementing rugby-style tackling. The head will be taken out of the game in favor for shoulder to thigh contact. To discourage reckless tackling even more, the severity of penalties related to incorrect tackling must become harsher, specifically, incidents that revolve around helmet to helmet collisions. With the onset of proper tackling techniques, helmet to helmet collisions will become non-existent. Thus, if a helmet to helmet collision occurs, it will be hard to deem it as accidental. What I propose is changing the current penalty from 15 yards to 20 yards for a helmet to helmet collision. If a pass is thrown to a receiver and the receiver has full possession of the ball momentarily before the hit, than a helmet to helmet collision that causes the receiver to drop or fumble the ball past 20 yards from where the ball was initially thrown will result in a penalty that places the ball at the spot of the foul. If the pass is within 20 yards, a penalty will result in which 10 yards will be added from the spot of the foul. With these rules and regulations put in place, the game of football will continue to thrive without becoming “watered down”. Dr. Bennett Omalu, a leading neuropathologist in the study of CTE, recalled a discussion he had with an NFL doctor while reviewing the Mike Webster CTE case. Omalu states that the NFL doctor told him, “Bennett, do you know the implications of what you are doing? If 10 percent of mothers in this country would begin to perceive football as a dangerous sport, that is the end of football.” (Brinson, “Frontline PBS doc ‘League of Denial’ Examines NFL Concussion Problem”). With the implementation of  proper tackling techniques, the game of football will, without a doubt, become much more safer, which, in turn, will revitalize endangered youth football leagues around the globe. So, let us not destroy the game of football and the lives of its athletes. Let us preserve both.

Epilogue

At the beginning of the school year, I did not know what to expect from this thesis project. I mean, what was I planning to spend the next 9 months of my life researching, studying, analyzing, and presenting about? I love sports and I want to go into the medical field. However, what am I truly passionate about? What provides me with a sense of fulfillment? That is the question that I had to ask myself before I started my thesis project. I honestly do not know the method in which the answer came to me but it eventually did. I wanted to change the landscape of something I loved because I wanted to preserve what was so special to me. Change. Change is a lackluster word. No, I wanted to leave behind a piece of work that would uproot the game of football as we know it but still leave behind the parts needed to keep the machine running. What I have proposed has the possibility to save tens of thousands of lives. Even after the presentation of my work, I will continue advocating for better concussion management in the game of football. I walked into this thesis course with the thought that the end goal was just to present my work. Instead, I leave this course with the realization that I have presented much more than just the work I have accomplished. I leave this course presenting a burning passion of mine that will only burn brighter each and everyday until progress is made to make the game of football safer and the lives of athletes longer.

 I have citations throughout my proposal and I have my works cited page already made. Now I am working on completing my presentation and finishing up my script. My final presentation is 12 days from now. I will be tweaking little things here and there and will begin rehearsing my presentation.

LETRR Proposal Progress continued

Last blog I left off in the middle of my Equipment and Technology proposal. Here is the rest of the work from that section.

"Making mouthguards mandatory keeps the players safer and counteracts the argument that they are detrimental to a player’s ability because if everybody has to partake in the mandate, then no player’s skillset has deteriorated relative to another’s. To allow the game to flow just as smoothly, an exception to the rule should be made to quarterbacks and defensive signal callers, that way clear communication can still be taking place. The other change I am proposing is specific to certain positions. All offensive lineman and defensive lineman must wear neck rolls due to the high amount of sub-concussive hits that they receive. Neck rolls restrict the head and neck from jolting too quickly, minimizing the chances for a concussion. Throughout the year, I have incorporated technology into equipment because there is only just one piece of technology that I have been focusing on and it is located within helmets. However, this one piece of technology is so crucial that I had to dedicate a whole section on its behalf. That piece of technology is a wearable sensor implanted within helmets to measure the frequency, severity, and direction of impacts in order to know whether or not a concussion has occurred and use the data collected to learn how to prevent such blows from occurring in the first place. Implementing this sort of sensor technology will be crucial in the collection of more advanced concussion data and will be a monumental step in finding ways not only to reduce the rate of concussions but also possibly prevent concussions from occurring. Without technology, there would be no MIPS helmets. So while it may seem as if technology is being glossed over in this proposal, do not forget that technology in general is always glossed over and taken for granted on a daily basis. However, the aid that is brought on to the table by advancements in technology is colossal. Technology will no longer be the “unsung hero”, but instead a critical factor associated with the betterment of concussion management in the game of football."

 I'm now working on the last section of my thesis project, rules and regulation. Here below is the work I have accomplished for that section.

Rules and Regulation

Tackle like a rugby player. This sentiment has been stressed heavily by Seattle Seahawk’s head coach Pete Carroll. Yes, the Seattle Seahawks. The same team that won Super Bowl XLVIII and has been known over the past few years to boast the NFL’s best defense. Wait, hold on a minute. Does that mean football can be played both safely and effectively? The answer is yes, a million times yes. Implementing Seahawk tackling, which is really just a “rugby-style” shoulder tackling method, is a no brainer. Coach Carroll has released a 21 minute instructional video showing the way his coaching staff teaches tackling. It is not like this has been hidden away in secrecy from every other football organization in the world. Coach Carroll started implementing his rugby-style tackling system back in USC during his time as head coach. The video has been distributed to 14,000 high school football programs and 8,000 youth football programs through the Hudl video network. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has praised Carroll’s work and hopes that players, coaches, and parents at all levels of the game take the time to watch it. Yet, implementation is nonexistent. In order to start the wave of change, the NFL must enforce this shoulder tackling method. All 32 teams must undergo mandatory offseason training in order to learn the tackling techniques. From there, all levels of football, especially the NCAA, will have to implement Seahawk tackling as it will be the tackling technique used at the highest level of football. With the implementation of Seahawk tackling, spear tackling, a dangerous method of “tackling” in which a player uses their body as a spear (head out, arms by their side), will be no more. Spear tackling is illegal in all sports in which tackling is a part of the game - except American football. The combination of making spear tackling illegal and teaching proper tackling techniques will not only reduce the concussion rate in football but also reduce the rate of catastrophic cervical spinal cord injuries.

Proposal Work Process

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/think-nobody-knows-how-to-tackle-anymore--seahawks-prove-that-wrong-002156881.html
^for reference purposes


I've been hard at work on my thesis proposal but I have been keeping up completely with the entire Chris Borland story that is going on right now. Hopefully I will have time to discuss more about in a later blog.


I have continued working on my proposal. Here is the work I have accomplished for the Equipment and Technology section of my proposal so far. I will post the rest of it when I finish the section next class.

Equipment and Technology

Helmets. Those are the first pieces of football equipment that comes to mind when people associate concussions with football. It makes perfect sense - a helmet covers the brain, a blow to the brain can cause a concussion. So instead of circling around the issue, why not attack it head on? Modern day football helmets are ineffective. They are big and bulky, allowing for the transmission of a great amount of force when used as a weapon to bring down or run over an opponent. Modern day helmets give players a psychological belief that they are invincible, leading to more reckless decisions on the field. One sentiment that is widely shared between former NFL players and some members of the medical community is the reinstatement of old school, leather style helmets. Justification for this decision is evidenced by data taken from a study on head, face, and neck injury occurrence in youth rugby. The results of the study counteract the argument that by giving up the helmet a huge influx of catastrophic injuries (skull fractures and such) will occur. Statistically, that is just not true. Out of the 1841 injuries that were recorded in the study, only two were deemed to be catastrophic. One of those two injuries was due to improper tackling technique. Catastrophic injuries already occur in the game of football. The change to a more lightweight helmet would not only reduce the concussion rate in football, but also have either minimal or no effect at all on the occurrence of catastrophic injuries in the game. Removing the helmets of today will force players to make safer decisions on the field and tackle properly. Plainly, players will start feeling the immense stress they put their brains under. Bulky helmets were just hiding this pressure all these years - hiding but still causing damage. Thus, I introduce MIPS, the multi-directional impact protection system. MIPS helmets are the best of both worlds, offering more protection to the brain while maintaining the same degree of security against catastrophic injuries. MIPS helmets have undergone extensive evaluation and testing. The data collected has produced very impressive results - a reduction in brain rotation by as much as 40 to 50 percent. There is no more time left to just sit around and hope that the concussion crisis will fix itself. It is time to start the implementation of MIPS helmets in football. To begin, there must be comparable concussion data to justify a transition from regular helmets to MIPS helmets. This is where legislation is crucial (the interconnectedness of LETRR is very pertinent to its success). If legislation can pass that mandates all states to collect concussion data (as I proposed earlier) , than clear evidence can be seen in the reduction of concussions before and after the implementation of MIPS helmets. Implementation will begin at the elementary, middle, and high school levels because of the relative ease in securing an equipment contract compared to the battle of fighting off sponsors in the NCAA or NFL. After a set period of time, whether it be a year to three, it is expected that MIPS helmets will show a significant decrease in the concussion rate. At this point, an offensive strategy must take place. Persuading higher division leagues, like the NCAA, NFL, or CFL will be simple because said leagues will be under intense scrutiny if nothing is done to alleviate the concussion crisis when a clear cut solution has been proven to be a success. While a helmet change is of the greatest necessity, other more minor changes should be made as well. One of these changes is making mouthguards mandatory. Most people do not even know that mouth guards are not mandatory in football. The reason why mouthguards are not mandatory in football is because players complain that they are uncomfortable and interfere with breathing and communication between teammates. The reason why the NFL is not making mouthguards mandatory is because doing so would mean that they are admitting guilt for something they should have done sooner.