Concussions: Are players enemies of their own – Part Three
After the confirmation that increasing number of players attempt to hide their head injuries, the National Football League (NFL) has an added responsibility to monitor both, the players and their team’s staff, for concussions and take measures to avoid any
lapse in their reporting, assessment and treatment.
The responsibility assumes more significance for the league’s office in the face of criticism and legal fight by its former players, who have accused the office of negligence, fraud and mishandling of the injuries.
More than a dozen lawsuits, filed by a large number of former players and their families’ members, are in pending before various courts in the United States.
A decision on them could possibly jolt the whole process and structure of monitoring and assessment of the head injuries.
It is, therefore, a high time for the league, and especially its commissioner, Roger Goodell, to act immediately and vigorously.
A majority of the players have accused the league office of hiding information around concussions, labelling the injuries as dementias and other diseases and allowing excessive pre-game use of painkillers.
The NFL has denied all these accusations and said that the players’ safety has always been its paramount priority throughout the history.
It is probably the best time for the office to respond to these accusations practically by introducing strict monitoring system that detects any possibility of fraud either from players or their teams to hide their injuries and compromise on their safety
by continuing playing the game.
It is one of the rare disclosures from the NFL players about their choice of compromising on self safety.
The league office must and should act to control the damage done, prevent it happening in the future and compensate the players that have already suffered those injuries and are still playing.
The NFL should also act to address the reasons behind the compromise on the players’ safety by hiding their head injuries.
It along with the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) should come with a policy or system that ensures some sort of regular income source during the phase of players’ recovery from those injuries so that the matter of feeding their families is resolved and they
do not hide their injuries.
The news of hiding concussions by the players has shocked almost the entire football community. Still, there is nothing much said by the league office.
There is an impression it is a matter of the players’ choice to disclose their head injuries, which is wrong. After pinpointing of the financial reasons behind the players motivation to compromise on their safety, there should not be a second thought about
it.
It is confirmed that the players’ financial hardships make them to take such a dire step as to hide their concussions in spite of the fact that they know the long-term effects and sufferings.
A number of the league’s players have based their cases in their respective lawsuits against the NFL on the post-concussions sufferings they and their family members have been through.
There should be no second opinion on this from either side. It is again the responsibility of the league office to assume its leading role in tackling the problem before it spreads further.
The office can prevent it happening at all in the future by placing a vigorous monitoring system to detect flaws and offer alternative remedies to the choice.
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