This Is The Poster That's Supposed To Save NFL Players' Lives

Our retired football players are getting dementia or just plain dying at an alarming rate, due to all the head trauma they receive during their careers. The NFL's proffered solution is to put up this colorful poster in locker rooms.

While the league dithers on actually changing the equipment (despite a few different helmet technologies that are demonstrably safer), players continue to get concussed. And more worryingly, they return to play too soon, often unaware they've even received a concussion.

So the NFL will attempt to fight ignorance with education. The above poster will be hung in every team locker room, and distributed as a pamphlet to all players. It describes the symptoms of a concussion and the consequences of repeated head injuries, and urges players to inform the training staff. "Other athletes are watching," it warns the would-be role models.

Still, that's an awful lot of words to expect a professional athlete to read and take to heart. But it's a good start. Publicly acknowledging the dangers of concussions, and taking the discussion to the locker rooms can only increase awareness among players, and when it comes down to it, they're the only ones who have their own well-being in mind.

N.F.L. Asserts Greater Risks of Head Injury [NY Times]