NFL, NFLPA officials visit Cleveland Browns to review protocols – NFL News
Representatives from the National Football League (NFL) and NFL Players Association (NFLPA) made a surprise visit to Browns facilities in the Cleveland on Tuesday to review their protocol.
They also held a meeting with the Browns medical staff to discuss medical procedures as a part of their inquiry into the handling of their quarterback Colt McCoy’s head injury.
The NFL and NFLPA are empowered under the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) to make unannounced visits to a team headquarters to check their facilities and review protocols.
"We made visits pursuant to new procedures in the CBA that are designed to protect our players," NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said in a statement. "We will examine what we learned and take whatever steps that are necessary."
The visit comes after the both organizations announced findings of their initial review that had pointed out at a system failure at the Browns.
Following their initial inquiry the NFL also announced to have imposed a game ban on Pittsburgh Steelers’ linebacker James Harrison over his foul in a helmet-to-helmet hit on Cleveland Browns’ quarterback Colt McCoy.
This was his fifth foul in last three years. He is out of the Steelers’ next Monday night game against the San Francisco 49ers.
The NFL and NFLPA had announced to conduct a review of the Browns’ handling of Colt McCoy’s injury. The player had been sent back after a four-minute stay on the sideline.
NFL initial inquiry said that he was sent back without proper medical testing of his head injury despite that there were indicators pointing it out that the injury was a concussion.
Despite defending them against mishandling of their quarterback affair the team management and coach have come under fire since then. They are of the view that they had allowed the player to be back on the field only after he was
found fit to play.
Browns’ coach Pat Shurmur however refused to answer direct questions on Monday that whether they had adopted standardised measures in player’s injury testing before declaring him to be fit to rejoin his squad on the field. He said
he was told by the team’s head trainer Joe Sheehan that he was ready to go back.
"I feel like we followed the normal medical procedures necessary," Shurmur said. "We followed the procedures to determine whether he was eligible to play."
The review of the issue continues and findings are expected to also put a light on some other issues, including the procedural issues at the league level.
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