As we hinted to on Monday Kobe Bryant has as concussion to go along with the broken nose;
In addition to a broken nose, Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant suffered a concussion in the third quarter of the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday when Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade fouled Bryant across the face.
The 16-year veteran visited Dr. John Rehm, an ear, nose and throat specialist, on Tuesday morning where his nasal fracture was confirmed. Bryant was experiencing other symptoms related to the nose injury and was sent to neurologist Dr. Vern Williams, who diagnosed the concussion.
We have listed Kobe as the 7th concussion of the season for the NBA…
The Concussion Blog 
FYI Kobe was cleared to play tonight. Apparently the neurologist evaluating him determined, after Kobe passed all the procedural evaluations, that his “concussion-like symptoms” were a result of injuries to the neck musculature (i.e. whiplash) and not a concussion.
I wondered having seen the initial foul about his symptoms being a result of something other than an actual concussion. Just like TMJ injuries can mimic concussions symptomatically, a broken nose can do the same.
Who knows, this may be a star getting cleared earlier than he should, but maybe not. If the neurologist truly believes it was merely “whiplash” causing the symptoms he should make a specific statement saying “While in this case it was determined that Kobe Bryant did not actually suffer a concussion the protocol that was followed served its purpose of making sure a thorough evaluation was performed to ensure that was in fact the case.”
You should continue to look into this story. There have been multiple references to Kobe Bryant “spending much of the last week in quiet, dark rooms to help alleviate the symptoms” in both print articles and interviews with beat reporters.
Now I don’t know if the “much of the last week” refers to the time from the All Star Game on the 26th until the 29th when he was diagnosed with “whiplash” and not a concussion or if it continued past the 29th.
If Bryant is still suffering symptoms and finds that they are lessened by being in quiet, dark places, doesn’t that indicate he is actually suffering from a concussion as well and not simply “whiplash”? I’ve never heard any doctor direct a whiplash patient to sit in dark rooms.
I think the NBA is skirting it’s own protocols on this one.
Just found a link to a story from after yesterday’s game against the Heat. http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-lakers-heat-20120305,0,3166502.story?track=rss
“These have been silent nights with no lights in Kobe Bryant’s dwelling, the darkness surrounding him as he pushes through a whiplash injury and recovers from a concussion and broken nose. ………
He revealed Sunday that he was still physically affected by it and was ‘letting the brain rest as much as possible.’ ”
He’s claiming to still be suffering effects, but somehow he’s cleared to play. All these kids are going to see are articles about “how tough Kobe Bryant is shaking off a concussion and continuing to play great”. When it comes to stars the NBA is always hypocritical.