The hard-hitting reality...

According to this article on ESPN, next month, the NFL will submit its' findings in regards to how football helmets should be constructed. The end goal is to minimize concussions without simultaneously inhibiting the game at hand. What most ordinary people don't know is that most of the research done is by companies and committees that have a vested interest in the financial well-being of the league. For example, the helmet maker Riddell has a special deal with the league, where no other helmet can be explicitly advertised except for theirs. And while the NFL has established committees like the Committee on Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI), these committees are essentially denying that the problem even exists, with spokespersons using miniscule samples to make broad generalizations, even going so far as claiming that concussions have not been an issue. Maybe they should ask how any of the 10 concussions Troy Aikman had felt (although maybe Troy should deny having had one to prove his point). Or take a look at a 1995 NFL Players Association survey where more than 61% of former NFL players said that they had gotten a concussion at some point in their NFL careers. Last time I checked these people are the ones actually playing the game.

Some helmet makers have chosen not to be relegated to this closed system, and I applaud them for prioritizing integrity over potential economic limitations/opportunities within the league. But the onus is not simply on those in the helmet making industry to initiate change. Players need to come together to prove that concussions are an increasing reality in the hard-hitting game of football. The ESPN article refers to a former NFL Player who has created an organization designed to spread awareness of the traumatic effects of post-concussion syndrome. One would think that more high-profile players who have suffered concussions such as Aikman and Steve Young would help spread the word that research needs to be done that puts the focus squarely on preventative measures from an impartial source. And maybe the NFL can continue to make late hits and helmet to helmet hits a harsher penalty. While nobody wants the NFL to turn into a league worried exclusively about excessive contact and inadequate padding, with the speed of the game constantly increasing, the players' safety needs to be a primary issue, and one that is examined before the players have to suffer the consequences.