Hiding of concussions and financial fears: players are culprits – NFL News
Controlling concussions or head injuries is a priority on National Football League’s (NFL) agenda since commissioner Roger Goodell has been at the helm of its affairs.
The office has implemented a number of measures to highlight different perspectives of the problem with some success and a few failings. The process has certainly led to an increased awareness about the concussions and their long-term effects.
For example, the implications of head injuries on players and their families’ lives in post-retirement era have been highlighted. This has also inspired a few supporting voices being heard loud and clearly, exposing some of the previously unknown aspects
of the problem.
One such and drastic in its nature is players’ own choice of hiding concussions. A number of former and current NFL players have for the first time spoken out that a majority of players would probably prefer to hide concussions to keep their chances of playing
without interrupted intact.
A survey by the Associated Press even further exposed the extreme choice of the players, and reasons behind it.
One such is lack of financial security for the players, and their families. If players miss a certain numbers of games and are not compensated during the course, an immediate worry for them is how to keep feeding their families.
Being without an alternative course of the financial stability in the shorter or longer run, players opt for the option of hiding head injuries and keep playing.
Although this resolves their financial worries, it bears long-term sufferings for them. A considerable number of former players, who had kept playing with concussions with or without knowledge of them, suffer all sort of mental problems and other health
issues in the retired life.
So while to some it sounds the players being stupid to compromise on their health, there seems to be a very thin line between the two choices.
Apparently, the league has been taking measures to promote players' safety, but unless and until this culture becomes popular, the issue of hiding head injuries is likely to persist.
Recently, the league office has started positioning an athletic trainer along with teams’ medical staff on the sidelines to assist them in monitoring, assessing and treating players for concussions.
The measure has so far not been gauged for its impact. The question whether they are able to detect players’ head injuries effectively is still to be answered. The number of concussions is reported probably at the same rate as it was before. Indianapolis
Colts wide receiver Austin Collie, for example, has suffered three concussions since 2010, with the latest one reported in August this year.
These are the reported or in fact detected cases, and without guaranteed success in becoming aware of hidden head injuries, the unreported ones will continue on the parallel.
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