The Concussion Blog

Appearing in the USA Today ‘The Huddle’ written by Steve Coogan was an article directed toward concussions in the NFL.  Famed sports agent Leigh Steinberg has begun writing an column for a paper in LA Times rotation.  The very first article points out the concussion issue using Troy Aikman as the center point.  Here is an excerpt via the USA Today article;

“Where am I?” he asked. “Did I play today? How well did I play? Did we win? Are we going to the Super Bowl?”

I answered the questions and his face brightened. Five minutes later, he looked at me in confusion and asked the same questions again and I answered before he smiled.

But five minutes later he asked the same questions once again as if we had never talked. I became terrified at the toll a concussion took on the tender thread separating sentient consciousness from dementia.

What makes this interesting is that Steinberg is willing to discuss the head injuries of Aikman, yet Aikman is extremely hesitant to even bring it up.  To me Aikman and Steve Young are people that should be on the awareness front.  Even if they are “perfect” an back to normal, this makes them even more important.  A lot of the press and news slants to the “scary” or “problem” side of concussions, yet the vast majority of people who sustain a concussion or concussions live normal functioning life that is not indifferent from the general population.

Concussions are an inherent part of sports and the sport of football has a greater risk, so players that have been forced out should speak up.  This is my plea to Mr. Aikman and Mr. Young please don’t hide the fact you were hurt, talk about it freely and explain how you are better.  If you need a vehicle for this you are more than welcome to use this blog as your mouthpiece.