Congressman Cohen Questions College Football Leaders About Head Injuries Standards
Thisis the third in a series of hearings on this issue that have been held by theHouse Judiciary Committee. The first two focused on head injuries in theNFL. Today’s hearing examined theeffects of concussions and other physical injuries on youth, high school andcollege players.
As amember of the House Judiciary Committee, Congressman Cohen has participated inall three hearings at the invitation of Chairman John Conyers (D-MI). Also attending today’s forum held in Houston, Texaswas fellow Judiciary Committee member, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX).
Afterthe forum concluded, Congressman Cohen issued the following statement:
“Footballis a rough sport. There’s no denyingthat. But we need to make sure we’redoing everything we can to mitigate the dangers. Today’smeeting shed light on the fact that no college football conference hasdeveloped any meaningful policy to protect players from the damaging effects ofconcussions or other physical injuries. The lack of any strong standard that colleges, high schools or youthteams could follow has lead to a vacuum in responsibility and accountability bycoaches and trainers to their players.
“Whilethe NCAA has a minimum standard for protecting a player’s health, I believethat individual conferences should demonstrate leadership and hold coaches andtrainers to a higher standard in order to protect college athletes. Common sense dictates that there be should bea uniform standard to decide when a player should be taken off the field aswell as when that player should be cleared to resume play. Such example, if oneexisted, would no doubt be followed by other football programs from pee-weeleagues to high school.
“Whilesome have questioned if Congress should be involved in this process, the safetyof young people should be protected. TheNFL has now held hearings on this issue, which indicates a shift in its stanceon head injuries and has instituted new policies aimed at protecting playersand creating Project 88 to help retired players who are suffering the long-termeffects of these hard-hits, which often include Alzheimer’s and dementia.”
AdditionalBackground
Thisis the third hearing that the House Judiciary Committee has held on the issueof head injuries in football. Lastmonth, the Committee held a field hearing in Detroit on this issue. Just days before, the NFL announced a numberof changes in League policy that were aimed at reducing head injuries andproviding for the long-term care of retired players who may have been injuredas a result of concussions. To learnmore about that hearing, click here.
Lastweek, Time Magazine published an extensive article on the need to enactstandards for head and physical injuries. To read more of that article, click here.