NFL Tells Rooks Not to Hide Concussions:

Cleveland Browns’ team physician spoke at the rookie symposium to warn the incoming players not to hide symptoms of concussions;

At the rookie symposium, Shickendantz said the league cares about the players’ well-being.

“Our only agenda is your health and safety,” he said. “It’s about you, not about us.”

The reality is it’s about everyone. It’s true that players sometimes avoid getting checked out by team doctors because they don’t want to be removed from games, and it’s true that’s a very bad idea. But it’s also true that sometimes players are mistakenly cleared to return to games even when they have been checked out by team doctors, and that’s a bad mistake.

Check out Michael David Smith’s quick take on Shickendantz being the selected speaker.  It will be very difficult to change the culture at the professional level (see money), it needs to begin at the youth level.

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Steve Young Speaks About Concussions:

He may have took the time to address the concussion issue, however Steve Young really said nothing about concussions.  Even downplaying his own concussions during his career.  However he does feel the NFL is on the right path;

“I saw a quote from one of the players who suspected that in 20 years it wouldn’t be football any more,” Young said. “I think that scared everybody.”

However Young believes the NFL is taking proper steps to make sure today’s players won’t be as affected in the future by concussions.

“The league is getting serious about it and they know that it is important,” he said. “Now they have a whole way of dealing with it and there’s a protocol for how it’s handled. I talked to Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady about this recently and both felt very strongly that they’re getting the best care. Once you have a concussion, it is very hard to get back on the field.”

The last comment about getting back on the field is extremely Continue reading →