Two more states, New Jersey and Virginia, are weighing legislation relating to sports and concussions.
In the Garden State, Sen. Richard Codey (D-Essex) Monday introduced a bill that mandates that licensed athletic trainers take 24 hours of continuing education in sports medicine as a condition of their biennial license renewal. And four hours of that education would have to relate to concussions and brain injuries.
http://blog.nj.com/hssportsextra/2010/02/new_bill_targeting_concussion.html
But the proposed law drew criticism from the Athletic Trainers Society of New Jersey, which complained that it had not been consulted on the legislation. The group said that trainers are already required to take 75 hours of continuing education during a three-year period in order to retain their licenses.
Then in Virginia, a House of Delegates subcommittee Thursday passed a bill that will make the state Board of Education develop guidelines to identify and treat concussions in student athletes.
http://www2.wsls.com/sls/news/state_regional/govtpolitics/article/bill_on_student_athletes_concussions_advances_in_house_of_delegates/83790/
That bill was sponsored by Sen. Ralph Northam (D-Norfolk), and now will go to the full House of Education Committee. Northam is a pediatric neurologist.
The legislation mandates that student athletes who are suspected of having a concussion be benched during practice or a game, and get approval from a licensed health-care professional before coming back to play.
It will be interesting to see what each state comes up with for the definition and risks factors for concussion.
Luger Who Sustained A Concussion On Olympic Luge Track Warned Officials Of Its Dangers
Much has been written about the luge track at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver where a Geogian luger was killed last week. And The New York Times has a worthy follow-up story in its sports section Friday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/19/sports/olympics/19luge.html?hp
An article headlined “Luger Warned of Track Before the Games” reports that luger Werner Hoeger lost consciousness and suffered a concussion during a trial run at the Whistler Sliding Centre in November.
That’s the same luger track where Nodar Kumaritashvili was killed last Friday, after slamming his back into a steel pillar.
Hoeger after his Nov. 13 accident repeatedly wrote and e-mailed international luge and Canadian officials, telling them that the track wasn’t safe, according to The Times. Obviously, officials didn’t heed Hoeger’s warning.
The International Luge Federation said Thursday that it will issue a report on the Georgian luger’s death at the end of next month. Changes were made to the luge track after last week’s fatal accident.
For a very detailed account of Hoeger’s back and forth with officials over the dangerous track, read The Times’ piece.
Notice is a major element to any claim for negligence or wrongful death. Looks like the Canadian officials had that.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/19/sports/olympics/19luge.html?hp
An article headlined “Luger Warned of Track Before the Games” reports that luger Werner Hoeger lost consciousness and suffered a concussion during a trial run at the Whistler Sliding Centre in November.
That’s the same luger track where Nodar Kumaritashvili was killed last Friday, after slamming his back into a steel pillar.
Hoeger after his Nov. 13 accident repeatedly wrote and e-mailed international luge and Canadian officials, telling them that the track wasn’t safe, according to The Times. Obviously, officials didn’t heed Hoeger’s warning.
The International Luge Federation said Thursday that it will issue a report on the Georgian luger’s death at the end of next month. Changes were made to the luge track after last week’s fatal accident.
For a very detailed account of Hoeger’s back and forth with officials over the dangerous track, read The Times’ piece.
Notice is a major element to any claim for negligence or wrongful death. Looks like the Canadian officials had that.
Snowboarder Pearce’s Head Injuries Don’t Deter His Rival
Snowboarder Kevin Pearce, a would-be contender for gold medal in the Winter Olympics, is still recovering from the brain injury he sustained while practicing a halfpipe Dec. 31, The Washington Post reports. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/08/AR2010020803197.html
Despite Pearce’s brain injury, a competitor who will benefit from Pearce’s absence, Shaun White, an Olympic gold winner, seems to be making his routines even more dangerous. White has added even more dangerous maneuvers to his performance, including one that caused him to hit his head in a scary crash during practice at the Winter X games. White undeterred, repeated the same stunt in the competition and won it.
According to the Washington Post:
“Pearce, who was considered one of White’s biggest rivals and was expected to contend for a gold medal, suffered a brain injury Dec. 31 while doing halfpipe training. His injury has brought a round of second-guessing the dangers of a sport whose star practitioners, with White at the forefront, are continually pushing boundaries.”
Pushing the envelope for thrills, ratings. Where have we heard this theme before? Was it NASCAR, now officially a contact sport? http://www.tbilaw.com/blog/2010/01/nascar-vows-to-return-to-roots-as.html At least the NFL isn’t giving up the “roughing the passer” penalty.
The first major tragedy was in the Luge. See our blog on the death of Georgian Luger,Nodar Kumaritashvili at http://www.waiting.com/blog/2010/02/olympics-marred-by-luger-death-before.html Sport, thrills and prevention in the industrial age will be a subject of today’s blog at http://tbilaw.com/blog
Despite Pearce’s brain injury, a competitor who will benefit from Pearce’s absence, Shaun White, an Olympic gold winner, seems to be making his routines even more dangerous. White has added even more dangerous maneuvers to his performance, including one that caused him to hit his head in a scary crash during practice at the Winter X games. White undeterred, repeated the same stunt in the competition and won it.
According to the Washington Post:
“Pearce, who was considered one of White’s biggest rivals and was expected to contend for a gold medal, suffered a brain injury Dec. 31 while doing halfpipe training. His injury has brought a round of second-guessing the dangers of a sport whose star practitioners, with White at the forefront, are continually pushing boundaries.”
Pushing the envelope for thrills, ratings. Where have we heard this theme before? Was it NASCAR, now officially a contact sport? http://www.tbilaw.com/blog/2010/01/nascar-vows-to-return-to-roots-as.html At least the NFL isn’t giving up the “roughing the passer” penalty.
The first major tragedy was in the Luge. See our blog on the death of Georgian Luger,Nodar Kumaritashvili at http://www.waiting.com/blog/2010/02/olympics-marred-by-luger-death-before.html Sport, thrills and prevention in the industrial age will be a subject of today’s blog at http://tbilaw.com/blog
Super Bowl Coverage And the Concussion Issue
Better late than never. The NFL seems to have finally figured out that its sport’s future depends on protecting its most important asset, the players. It may be a little naive, but from this perspective, it seems that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell really gets it. Concussions involve brain injury. Brain injured players aren’t very good players and have lots of problems after they retire.
With the Super Bowl just hours away from starting, Goodell told “Face the Nation” Sunday that the league was still studying ways to make the game safer and cut down head injuries in particular.
Goodell said that the so-called “three point stance,” where players square off with one hand on the ground, could eventually be barred, according to a New York Times story on his interview with Bob Schieffer. The article was headlined “Commissioner Stresses New Culture of Safety.” http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/08/sports/football/08nfl.html?ref=sports
On the “Face the Nation,” Goodell said that for years “the culture” at the NFL was that concussions weren’t serious injuries.
“I think we have changed that culture and made sure that people understand they are serious and they can have serious consequences if they’re not treated seriously,” he told Schieffer.
On Super Bowl Sunday both The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Washington Post weighed in on the concussion issue.
In an editorial, http://www.philly.com/inquirer/currents/83742022.html
The Inquirer cited a Time magazine issue with a cover story on “the most dangerous game,” pro-football, which The Inquirer said “has crippled retirees mentally and physically.”
Young players sustain 140,000 concussions a year, and half of them return to the field so soon they may suffer permanent braind damage, The Inquirer warns.
And Washington Post columnist Leonard Shapiro complained that the Super Bowl pregame show and telecast made no mention of the concussion issue. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/07/AR2010020703736.html
It is an interesting question, whether football is really the most dangerous sport. Boxing will always be on the top of my list even though it involves far fewer participants. The goal of boxing is to cause a brain injury to one’s opponent. Much of the impetus behind the growing movement to forbid return to play on the day of a concussion comes out of concern for the “second impact syndrome.” In second impact syndrome, the brain’s ability to regulate cranial blood pressure is impaired by the first concussion. When a second concussion occurs there can be a resulting catastrophic increase in intracranial pressure, ICP. It was such injury that caused Zachery Lystedt’s brain injury. Well how does one reconcile no return to play rules, when the injured person continues to box?
With the Super Bowl just hours away from starting, Goodell told “Face the Nation” Sunday that the league was still studying ways to make the game safer and cut down head injuries in particular.
Goodell said that the so-called “three point stance,” where players square off with one hand on the ground, could eventually be barred, according to a New York Times story on his interview with Bob Schieffer. The article was headlined “Commissioner Stresses New Culture of Safety.” http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/08/sports/football/08nfl.html?ref=sports
On the “Face the Nation,” Goodell said that for years “the culture” at the NFL was that concussions weren’t serious injuries.
“I think we have changed that culture and made sure that people understand they are serious and they can have serious consequences if they’re not treated seriously,” he told Schieffer.
On Super Bowl Sunday both The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Washington Post weighed in on the concussion issue.
In an editorial, http://www.philly.com/inquirer/currents/83742022.html
The Inquirer cited a Time magazine issue with a cover story on “the most dangerous game,” pro-football, which The Inquirer said “has crippled retirees mentally and physically.”
Young players sustain 140,000 concussions a year, and half of them return to the field so soon they may suffer permanent braind damage, The Inquirer warns.
And Washington Post columnist Leonard Shapiro complained that the Super Bowl pregame show and telecast made no mention of the concussion issue. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/07/AR2010020703736.html
It is an interesting question, whether football is really the most dangerous sport. Boxing will always be on the top of my list even though it involves far fewer participants. The goal of boxing is to cause a brain injury to one’s opponent. Much of the impetus behind the growing movement to forbid return to play on the day of a concussion comes out of concern for the “second impact syndrome.” In second impact syndrome, the brain’s ability to regulate cranial blood pressure is impaired by the first concussion. When a second concussion occurs there can be a resulting catastrophic increase in intracranial pressure, ICP. It was such injury that caused Zachery Lystedt’s brain injury. Well how does one reconcile no return to play rules, when the injured person continues to box?
Connecticut Considers ‘Concussion’ Bill To Protect Student Athletes
Connecticut is the latest state to be weighing a law that would protect student sports players from the after effects of concussions.
Democratic lawmakers in the Nutmeg State have proposed the legislation, according to The Hartford Courant. http://www.courant.com/sports/other/hc-concussions0126.artjan26,0,93453.story
The law’s slogan is “When in doubt, sit it out.”
So far two states, Washington and Oregon, have already passed laws protecting student athletes from the effects of concussion. California has similar legislation pending.
The proposed Connecticut law mandates that student athletes who are believed to have suffered a concussion wait a day until they return to play their sport. The law also requires that coaches be educated about concussions.
The Connecticut bill is being sponsored by State Sen. Majority Leader Martin Looney of New Haven and Sen. Thomas Gaffey of Meriden.
Democratic lawmakers in the Nutmeg State have proposed the legislation, according to The Hartford Courant. http://www.courant.com/sports/other/hc-concussions0126.artjan26,0,93453.story
The law’s slogan is “When in doubt, sit it out.”
So far two states, Washington and Oregon, have already passed laws protecting student athletes from the effects of concussion. California has similar legislation pending.
The proposed Connecticut law mandates that student athletes who are believed to have suffered a concussion wait a day until they return to play their sport. The law also requires that coaches be educated about concussions.
The Connecticut bill is being sponsored by State Sen. Majority Leader Martin Looney of New Haven and Sen. Thomas Gaffey of Meriden.