By Nick Hensley
FORT COLLINS, Colo. —Imagine a three hundred pound football player running as fast as he can at you, then lowering his helmet and crashing into you. This is an everyday occurrence for most NFL and NCAA football players. With these violent hits happening on a daily basis many injuries are concussions. Football by nature is a violent sport, but where do NFL commissioners and NCAA officials draw the line to protect athletes from serious head injuries?
The NFL and NCAA first recognized that the number of head related injuries were too high several years ago. And at that time the league implemented strict testing for players who have sustained head injuries. If the players could not fully pass the testing, then they could not return to practice or a game until they pass the test. However, having rules and actually following them are two separate things. But for football players at Colorado State University, concussions are taken very seriously.
The NFL and NCAA first recognized that the number of head related injuries were too high several years ago. And at that time the league implemented strict testing for players who have sustained head injuries. If the players could not fully pass the testing, then they could not return to practice or a game until they pass the test. However, having rules and actually following them are two separate things. But for football players at Colorado State University, concussions are taken very seriously.
According to Grant Stucker, a former football player at CSU, “There was always a serious emphasis on the severity of a concussion no matter how minor it could be. There were never any of our coaches that told us to suck it up. It is treated very cautiously and carefully in most levels of football.”
In the NCAA all student athletes are required to take an impact test before they are cleared to play in the upcoming season. The impact test records your quickness to answer questions and your accuracy towards simple questions as a constant. Then once a player suffers a concussion they are asked the same questions and judged on their ability to answer them. If the player does not match the same level of performance as before, he is not cleared to play.
In the NCAA all student athletes are required to take an impact test before they are cleared to play in the upcoming season. The impact test records your quickness to answer questions and your accuracy towards simple questions as a constant. Then once a player suffers a concussion they are asked the same questions and judged on their ability to answer them. If the player does not match the same level of performance as before, he is not cleared to play.
“CSU takes concussions very seriously and never rushes their athletes back on the field especially in a high contact sport such as football,” said Doug Collins who is a sports medicine major and current trainer and equipment manager for the CSU football team.
CSU has been using the impact test for many years and always hold their student athletes health above anything else. Stucker says that, “concussions were pretty normal but not frequent.” This comes as an encouraging statement for CSU fans hoping that their home team doesn’t lose any of its players to concussions.
Currently in NCAA football there are no rules that give athletes suspensions or fines for hitting another player too violently. However, it is a different story for the NFL. Last week three players were fined a combined $175,000 dollars for hitting an offensive player too violently. And the NFL issued a warning to all defensive players that if a violent hit looks intentional; the player will face possible suspension from the league.
Many people feel that the current concussion issue is being blown out of proportion and altering the game so many people love. But on the other hand, players and doctors think you can’t have enough safety rules when it comes to head injuries.
CSU has been using the impact test for many years and always hold their student athletes health above anything else. Stucker says that, “concussions were pretty normal but not frequent.” This comes as an encouraging statement for CSU fans hoping that their home team doesn’t lose any of its players to concussions.
Currently in NCAA football there are no rules that give athletes suspensions or fines for hitting another player too violently. However, it is a different story for the NFL. Last week three players were fined a combined $175,000 dollars for hitting an offensive player too violently. And the NFL issued a warning to all defensive players that if a violent hit looks intentional; the player will face possible suspension from the league.
Many people feel that the current concussion issue is being blown out of proportion and altering the game so many people love. But on the other hand, players and doctors think you can’t have enough safety rules when it comes to head injuries.
Dr. Mike Reeder of Rocky Mountain Orthopedic thinks that concussions are a serious injury. According to Reeder, “concussions are when a player receives a blow to the head, causing the brain to shake inside the skull leading to loss of brain function during the time of injury.” Concussions have many symptoms and have no cure. Symptoms include, but are not limited to: headache, nausea, blacking out, loss of memory, and in severe cases contusions could appear. And the symptoms can last up to several days.
Stucker feels that, “nothing that has to do with the safety of players and student athletes can be blown out of proportion. Obviously the league and the NCAA wants to protect the players as much as they can, and they are just trying to figure out the best way to do that without altering the love of the game.”
Stucker feels that, “nothing that has to do with the safety of players and student athletes can be blown out of proportion. Obviously the league and the NCAA wants to protect the players as much as they can, and they are just trying to figure out the best way to do that without altering the love of the game.”
I thought that this story was really good. It was well written and you had a lot of good quotes and information. I thought you did a good job of focusing on the local aspect and then broadening your scope to include the national angle as well. The only thing that I would say is that the lead was maybe a little too long. Also the question at the end of the lead could have been made into a statement instead of a question. I also really liked the final quote as your kicker. It tied everything together really well.
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