When we last saw Cam Newton, he was once again at the center of an NFL concussion protocol controversy. After taking a blow to his head during his team’s playoff loss to the New Orleans Saints, Newton was slow to get up and eventually went to the ground as he tried to return to the sidelines. From any objective point…
The NFL and the NFLPA completed their inquiry into what happened when Texans quarterback Tom Savage was permitted to re-enter a game earlier this month after smacking his head on the turf and sustaining a brain injury that caused him to experience a fencing response. Their joint conclusion: The concussion protocol was…
On the same weekend word leaked that the NFL had made numerous changes to its concussion protocol, the league appeared to be extra vigilant in making sure that protocol was being followed. But will the NFL and the NFLPA continue to insist on enforcing those procedures? That remains an open question, even after the…
The NFL and NFLPA announced today in a joint statement that the Seattle Seahawks will be fined $100,000 for failing to properly apply the league’s concussion protocol after a hit on QB Russell Wilson in a Seahawks-Cardinals game on Nov. 9. This fine marks the first time that an NFL team has been disciplined for…
What you see above is Texans quarterback Tom Savage experiencing what’s known as the fencing response after getting his head slammed into the ground, as obvious a sign of a brain injury as there can be. His Sunday should have ended right then and there, and yet just a few minutes later, Savage returned to the game.…
During last night’s game against the Cardinals, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson took a direct shot to the jaw that left most reasonable observers thinking he would need to be evaluated for a brain injury:
The NFL and NFLPA have released a joint statement explaining why Cam Newton wasn’t removed from the game to be evaluated for symptoms of brain damage after taking multiple blows to the head in Week 1. What the statement says, essentially, is that the things that millions of people saw happen to Newton on the field…
So Cam Newton’s brain got pounded multiple times but he didn’t get checked for a concussion until after the game? Don’t worry, the NFL can explain everything (emphasis mine):
In January, the NFL announced that, starting with the 2013 season, all games would be played with an independent neurologist on the sidelines to assist with the evaluation and treatment of head injuries. It looked like the league had done a good thing. It was establishing a new, unbiased procedure to promote player…
