New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees joins hands with PACE to educate youngsters about concussions - NFL News
Concussions and player safety are two of the biggest issues facing the National Football League (NFL) in recent months.
A number of former players and their families have sued the league alleging that the NFL did little to educate them about the harmful effects of concussions and now their lives are ruined due to the head injuries.
In addition to the lawsuits, there is also concern from parents who do not wish to let their children play the game as they fear for their safety.
New Orleans Saints quarterback, Drew Brees, is also doing his bid to help young players who might play the game professionally in the future gain awareness and knowledge about the impact of concussions as well as identify its symptoms.
The quarterback has joined up with the free concussion testing programme PACE (Protecting Athletes through Concussion Education).
Currently PACE provides free concussion testing to 3,300 middle and high schools across the United States.
Speaking about the programme, Brees said:
"Any time you can educate young kids and their parents, especially in regards to concussions and raise awareness, is vital. It's helping them to understand the symptoms and the treatments for concussions and the baseline tests, how you would test to see
if someone did have a concussion, making a comparison to the baseline testing such as in the PACE program.”
Adding further, he said:
"Every young athlete playing in some physical sport should certainly have the opportunity to take the ImPACT baseline tests."
Concussions are dangerous and repeated head injuries can lead to a number of mental illnesses that can greatly impact a player's life if not treated quickly.
Brees was joined in the programme with other big athletes who have suffered from concussions and will join them for a panel discussion about concussions on Tuesday.
According to Dr. Mark Lovell, a neuropsychologist involved with the programme, the arrival of such big sports stars to talk about a serious topic such as concussions is hugely important since youngsters listen and pay attention to their idols.
Brees is still locked in negotiations with the Saints over a new deal and has been spending his time raising awareness about concussions and player safety to young athletes.
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