The NFL is one of the most famous football league championships in the world. Rock Cartwright was a player in the NFL, playing for the Washington Redskins. Yet he reported something worrying that happened to him. During a game, he was walloped by another player, and his head started throbbing painfully. This was the start of a concussion, but despite the pain, Cartwright did not tell it to the medical staff. However, it soon became clear that this was not a single case: Other players like Cartwright have experienced concussions during a game, though none of them told their teammates what was happening. This issue is not simply the issue of one person, rather the alarming number of players who also experienced this when competing in the NFL. In this essay, I am going to analyze the reasons why NFL players are hiding their concussions and what problems concussions might pose for the players if left untreated. Attempts have been made by officials to try to minimize concussion rates and test if players are indeed hiding concussions, but the solutions as of now are not the most practical. So I will also be suggesting solutions that might help with this widespread issue rapidly gaining attention.
There are actually a variety of reasons concerning why players are playing down concussions, all found out thanks to interviews and surveys made by the NFL and AP (Associated Press). One reason is that reporting concussions might lead to letting down the team. Medical staff might require one to sit out for some time to recover, and if one is highly important to the team, such action might lead to the loss of the game, thus letting down the entire team. Others may think giving in to concussions might give their teammates the feeling that oneself appears weak, having to rest because of a simple head injury (though concussions are nothing close to simple). This worry about how others will see oneself is another reason why some people don’t admit having concussions. Other reasons are more practical. For one, there exists the fear of losing a roster spot. Basically, if a player is injured and needs to recover, he/she may lose a roster spot, a role in the game. Losing this, especially losing a good spot on the team, is not beneficial to say the least. Others hide their pain because simply of money. NFL players are professional players, meaning by playing in a game, they earn money. If they had to abandon a game because of a concussion or other injury, they might not be paid the money. However, hiding concussions can have consequences, not with the NFL but with one’s own health.
When looking at concussion effects, most are long-term issues. One big problem is with partial memory loss and memory gaps, such as with dementia and Alzheimer's disease. A player who had a concussion and didn’t treat it will probably have trouble remembering certain actions and events which happened recently. These are memory gaps, where one has a metaphorical “gap” in memory, missing pieces of what was in the recent past. Furthermore, these issues with memory do not affect one for a short amount of time only; it may be permanently present during the course of one’s life. Such tells the dire consequences of concussions that stretch beyond physical injuries. Unlike physical wounds which can heal with help of simple bandages and the immune system, concussions will always be a pain unless properly diagnosed and treated. One NFL player named David Vobora who hid a concussion said “the only thing I remember is coming out of the tunnel at the beginning of the game, and then—a big gap”. And since he didn’t admit he had a concussion at that time, others weren’t aware of his memory gaps and couldn’t help him. This is why the NFL and AP are treating concussions so seriously: If left alone, concussions can cause long-term, memory problems that would affect a person’s whole life. But the real question is, how do we solve it?
The NFL and AP are already taking measurements to ensure concussion rates decrease, but the actions being set out now don’t work very well or are not practical. One attempt of solving the problem is upgrading and reinforcing safety gear, especially for headgear and mouthpieces. This will hopefully reduce the impact on the head that causes the concussions in the first place, but as NFL player Matt Birk describes, “It is a violent game, and collisions are becoming more intense”. Stepping up protection is beneficial, but players are also stepping up their strength and power, becoming stronger and thus making hits hurt more. Another plan of action currently in progress is sticking tabs on players so that if any other players suspect someone else of having a concussion, he/she would be able to report on them according to their tabs. But as aforementioned, players have their own reasons for not admitting concussions, they are not stupid or unresponsible for themselves. I have ideas also for reducing the amount of concussions happening in the NFL that I think will further help them with solving this problem. First of all, we need to make sure every NFL player knows the dire consequences of concussions. If players truly understand the long-term issues they are facing, they will have second thoughts about putting social-status and paychecks in front of the line. The NFL has to tell everyone this, or no one understands the problem at hand. Secondly, we should pass new rules to reduce head collisions as much as possible. Children who play football often have this rule of not using heads for colliding, but after a certain age, head collision will officially be allowed by refs. The NFL should discourage head collisions as much as possible, reducing the chance that someone will even hit someone else on the head in the first place. By issuing these actions, the NFL will make everyone know the severity of the problem and solve the core problem, the issue of head collision. The NFL can also lower the charges for a player having to abandon mid-game, such as losing a roster spot or not giving players money, both of which are reasons why players hide concussions. Hopefully, this will lead to significantly less concussion rates and the increased well-being of NFL players.
In conclusion, concussions are not just personal problems in the NFL, they are massively widespread and spanning across a huge amount of players playing in their leagues. Furthermore, an alarmingly significant amount of players who do get concussions do not admit it to medical staff or their teammates. Instead, they hide their pain. NFL players don’t hide their concussions because of nothing however. Some don’t reveal that they have concussions because they don’t want to let down the team. Others don’t want to act weak in front of their teammates, giving in to a “simple head injury”. Yet others are more focused on the worry of losing roster spots and not getting money for playing because of having to abandon mid-game, which in turn is caused by having concussions. But concussions are not to be resisted and ignored. If left untreated, they can cause dire long-term issues, especially with memory gaps, where one can’t remember certain recent events or actions. The NFL is currently trying to fix this problem by putting tabs on players and upgrading headgear and protection, but these solutions aren’t very practical and effective. My personal suggestions on how to solve this issue go as the following: One, the NFL needs to make sure everyone knows the severe and life-changing consequences of concussions. Two, the NFL should pass more rules to reduce head collisions, thus reducing the core reason for concussions. Three, the NFL should also reduce the consequences of a player not participating in a game, such as their loss of roster spots and not paying them money because they didn’t play. Concussions are a good enough reason to pass those rules. If these actions are taken, I am sure the concussion problem will be toned down significantly in the near future, ending this problem once and for all, protecting the health and well-being of all NFL players.
Comments