Concussions

Ask The Question No One Wants To Ask

Over the weekend, Tottenham GK Hugo Lloris was unlucky in a fairly common play involving Romelu Lukaku of Everton:

Lloris was knocked out cold, and it took some minutes for his muddled brain to clear enough for him to get back on the field.  ESPNFC.com had a good article on it, as Tottenham and AVB in particular took some heat over the incident.

As the nephew of a woman who suffered a severe head injury in the aftermath of a car accident (once safely in the ICU, the power was lost to her respirator, emergency generators failed to come on and staff didn't/couldn't provide timely enough help) I don't see any good news in the world of concussion research.  Not that the causes are the same (though it's a bit tough to separate the accident trauma from the respirator failure...) but the end result sure is.  Brain injury is a life-altering event for everyone around the injured person.  Taylor Twellman is quoted in the SI piece as saying that this is the one common injury that can take away your life...and he's right.  My grandparents spent the last 25 years of their lives caring for her 24/7.  My parents and sister and I spent every holiday at home because my aunt was all but incapable of travel, and even now my parents don't spend holidays away despite their grandkids living in Boston and Philly.  Not to ask for pity, it simply is what it is, but that injury has had a ripple effect unlike any torn ACL or broken bone through four generations of a family.  Brain injury is terrifying.

This article on SI.com's planet futbol describes the scene around Lloris that day, and offers some comparative examples from recent EPL action.  It editorializes that the EPL is playing ostrich, and taking risks with player's livelihoods and lives. 

Two dads who actually had their kids' best interests in mind show that success can be had without overdoing things...see if you recognize these names: Tom Brady, Sr. & Archie Manning.  Not only did these guys not rush their rather successful sons into early-stage competitive situations, they actually put the physical well-being of the kid first.  Read a nice blurb on how to be a good dad here.  Here's some concussion information that might reinforce what these two guys just intuitively sorted out 30 years ago (click here) - thanks to John Ulrich for passing that article on.

What we don't know about TBI, concussions, repetitive injury and the healing process is staggering.  The past few years have shown us that we know little, like shining a small flashlight in a giant cavern- we know the field goes well beyond our best attempt to bring light to it.  I don't know where this will all end up...the news that no helmet offers any real help in preventing concussions is discouraging enough.  But I'd offer this; nothing nothing nothing is worth risking damage to a person's brain.