May 18, 2013

Goodell: McCoy Hit Helping Change NFL Concussion Protocol

June 11, 2012 by 23 Comments

In his latest Monday Morning Quarterback, Sports Illustrated’s Peter King has a one-one-one with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, wherein they discuss the infamous Colt McCoy-concussion situation from 2011.

With regard to the league’s Athletic Trainer Concussion-spotting program (ATC), the NFL also plans on furthering the use of a tablet that could possibly be implemented as an additional means of analyzing a player who may or may not have sustained a head injury. When asked if the McCoy situation would have been different had this process been established last season, Goodell had the following:

[McCoy] was examined, but they were focusing on his hand, because that’s what he was complaining about. There are two or three injuries on that one play that happened in different places … I have to go back and look, but I’m quite certain we had the ATC spotter when the Colt McCoy hit happened. What was happening though was the doctors were in looking at him [at his hand, not his head], so the ATC spotter said, ‘Well, he’s being evaluated, so that’s fine.’ What was the fallacy in it is that they were evaluating the wrong thing. What we’re going to do now is to say regardless of whether you see them being evaluated, you are to speak to them and you are to tell them that there is head-to-head contact and here’s the play and look at it. You would have seen the Colt McCoy hit and would have said, ‘Forget his thumb now. Let’s focus on if he had any type of injury to his head.’ … He would not have gone back in after three or four plays. One of the things we’re learning about concussions is sometimes the symptoms don’t occur for several minutes. We don’t know about the brain. It may just not be apparent for some period of time and that’s another complicating factor to this.

Just last week, McCoy told SI’s Dan Patrick that he did not recall the James Harrison hit that would subsequently end his season. Goodell and King would go on to discuss the ramifications of the recent death of Hall of Fame linebacker Junior Seau as well as veteran linebacker and John Carroll University alum London Fletcher stating that there should be mandatory mental evaluations for all retired players.

[Related: Colt McCoy: So You're Saying There's a Chance]

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  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com Craig Lyndall

    Holgrem and Shermer are evil and incompetent and hate players’ brains!

  • Humboldt

    Credit is also due of course to Brad McCoy for pushing this issue in the media and putting pressure on the league to improve its protocol.  Am disheartened by how harshly he has been criticized by Holmgren (as well as on this blog and elsewhere) for being hands on about his son’s cognitive health.

  • Mike E

     So you would be okay with your dad criticizing your boss publicly over mishandling a situation?  I understand he’s concerned over his sons health, but he is a pro and an adult, he can handle his biz.

  • Humboldt

    Yes, if I suffered a serious head injury and was immediately placed by my employer in a situation where I risked permanent brain damage I would absolutely want my father, the media, medical thought leaders, and all reasonable human beings to criticize my boss publicly.

    Thankfully this is generally how the situation played out after McCoy’s injury, and changes have been swiftly implemented by the NFL to provide better protection and oversight for player safety.

    And yet people like you insist on calling Brad McCoy “meddling” and a “nuisance”.  I just don’t get it…

  • Mike E

     I believe that the situation would have worked out the same had Brad McCoy opened his mouth or not.  This is just my opinion, but I feel that the changes would have been made regardless. 

    I hope that you do not sustain injury at work btw!

  • Humboldt

    Good lookin’ out brother. I work in a medical center that treats TBI so am highly attuned to this issue.

    I think your argument about the situation playing itself out w/o Brad McCoy’s public statements is debatable. But the question of whether he should have gone to the press or not is, to me, beyond debate.

  • Mike E

     Heard, I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree on this one.  Go Browns!!  Booo concussions!!

  • C-Bus Kevin

    Given that you work in a facility that deals with TBI on a regular basis, I’d be curious to know whether you have a hard time watching the games in the first place.

    I’m certainly no brain surgeon, but I know that the way I react to watching football has changed in the last 3 to 4 years. I used to tune in for the “jacked up” segment on the four letter network, but now, when I see a big hit, I mostly cringe and occasionally feel guilty for supporting the institution.

    I guess I’m saying that given what we know, enjoying watching footbal requires a mental exercise that requires us to temporarily ignore health consequences.

  • The_Real_Shamrock

    See the football team accomplished something that set a new league standard!!!

  • Harv 21

    I identify with that. Last week caught part of the boxing movie “Cinderella Man,” which I loved when I first saw it. The movie is still great, but the graphic head shots now make me cringe and wonder if recent events are the start of a sea-change in how we view these sports. Given the popularity of ultimate fighting, maybe not.

  • Humboldt

    This is a great question Kevin, and one I’ve struggled with. I grew up in Cleveland and played football through high school. Was a QB, so never was totally enamored with the physical part of the game and appreciate the athleticism and strategy much more than jarring hits.

    Anyhow, I’ve been researching and treating Alzheimer’s disease and following the TBI-early onset dementia link for years (this is actually something we’ve documented since the world wars). The more I’ve learned, the more ambivalence I’ve felt about watching football, which is, by far, my favorite sport. I catch every Browns game on TV, but feel pangs of anxiety whenever I see a concussion or a hard hit – it makes me absolutely sick to my stomach.

    That said, there has been some real progress in recent years, both in terms of rule changes to protect players (banning wedges, etc), safety protocols (see above), and public attitudes towards TBI. I think the fan base is slowly accepting that fundamental changes will be needed to phase the head out of the game as much as possible. It still disturbs me how much ignorance still remains, even in Cleveland where we fetishize TJ Ward’s TKO on Jordan Shipley, criticize Brad McCoy, etc., but I believe it is qualitatively getting better w/ a long ways to go. Roger Goodell, for all his faults, deserves some credit. Contrast the NFL with the NHL, which – irrefutable data on head injuries and brain damage notwithstanding – still sanctions and encourages two men bashing each other in the head on the ice.

    Anyhow, short answer: yes, I still love football but am mindful of the risks inherent in the game that I love and aware of the ethical quandary that puts me in. We all have a certain moral responsibility to advocate for player safety at every level, and continue trying to change the minds of people with regressive views on this issue, even on blogs like this.  

  • Humboldt

    This is a great question Kevin, and one I’ve struggled with. I grew up in Cleveland and played football through high school. Was a QB, so never was totally enamored with the physical part of the game and appreciate the athleticism and strategy much more than jarring hits.

    Anyhow, I’ve been researching and treating Alzheimer’s disease and following the TBI-early onset dementia link for years (this is actually something we’ve documented since the world wars). The more I’ve learned, the more ambivalence I’ve felt about watching football, which is, by far, my favorite sport. I catch every Browns game on TV, but feel pangs of anxiety whenever I see a concussion or a hard hit – it makes me absolutely sick to my stomach.

    That said, there has been some real progress in recent years, both in terms of rule changes to protect players (banning wedges, etc), safety protocols (see above), and public attitudes towards TBI. I think the fan base is slowly accepting that fundamental changes will be needed to phase the head out of the game as much as possible. It still disturbs me how much ignorance still remains, even in Cleveland where we fetishize TJ Ward’s TKO on Jordan Shipley, criticize Brad McCoy, etc., but I believe it is qualitatively getting better w/ a long ways to go. Roger Goodell, for all his faults, deserves some credit. Contrast the NFL with the NHL, which – irrefutable data on head injuries and brain damage notwithstanding – still sanctions and encourages two men bashing each other in the head on the ice.

    Anyhow, short answer: yes, I still love football but am mindful of the risks inherent in the game that I love and aware of the ethical quandary that puts me in. We all have a certain moral responsibility to advocate for player safety at every level, and continue trying to change the minds of people with regressive views on this issue, even on blogs like this.  

  • C-Bus Kevin

    While I have less medical expertise than you, I feel we’re on just about the same page. I watch even though I know, or have a pretty good idea, that the players are at great risk on every play.

    I just wonder about the future of the game, because despite equipment and rule changes you simply cannot legislate head trauma out of football.

  • C-Bus Kevin

    I hope I’m not offending you if you are an ultimate fighting fan, but I’m of the opinion that ultimate fighting is largely supported by people that just like violence.

    Someone can talk my ear off all day about technique and terminology, but all I see is two dudes beating the hell out of each other. The only things that are missing are the bar and the semi-attractive, overly-tattoed girls they’re fighting over.

    I think ultimate fighting is the last refuge of the lizard part of our brains. Apparently, a lot of people like it, but I find it repulsive.

  • eastsidehunky

    Harrison is and always has been a dirty player…he did the same thing to Massaquoi and Cribbs in 2010. It’s all BS about “tough player”. He’s a thug but then again he plays for a team that tolerates a rapist and had another LB who got shot in his bubble butt with no consequences. It’s the culture of the Squeelers

  • Humboldt

    Good points. MMA is abject brutality under the veneer of a professional sport.

    If not a “sea change” as Harv mentions above, I do predict the sport will die a slow death as public sentiment continues evolving (btw, this could also happen to hockey if the sport does not ban fighting).

    I would challenge Craig and the editors of this site to take leadership on this issue rather than running soft stories on MMA and thereby supporting the misinformed belief that it is an acceptable sport.

  • Harv 21

    not offending me as I’m not an MMA fan (do know nice, decent people who are), but must say that there is something about it, exactly like boxing, which is as enjoyable in a primal way to me as building a fire and staring at it. It’s not the brutality, it’s the reaction to brutality, the bravery to withstand it and fight back. Best as I can explain it. But the head hits are now different, for me.

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com Craig Lyndall

    This isn’t the place for this conversation, but I couldn’t disagree more. I put fighting sports in a different category because they have and will always exist and they are known risks as opposed to side risks in football. Maybe someday they’ll ban the sport altogether, but it feels more morally pure to me because everyone knows what they’re getting into. Head injuries in football certainly don’t need to occur on the giant traumatic plays in which they seem to occur on a more frequent basis.

  • Humboldt

    “it feels more morally pure to me because everyone knows what they’re getting into.”

    I’m sorry Craig, this is simply utter nonsense, and that’s me using my polite voice.

    I hope you’ll create space for this debate on the blog since you don’t seem to want to do it here.

  • Humboldt

    “it feels more morally pure to me because everyone knows what they’re getting into.”

    I’m sorry Craig, this is simply utter nonsense, and that’s me using my polite voice.

    I hope you’ll create space for this debate on the blog since you don’t seem to want to do it here.

  • mgbode

    why? we’ve had these discussions before. some oppose, some enjoy.  the end.

  • maxfnmloans

    i just wanted to see how far right a post could be

  • Garry_Owen

    There is only one reason to ever know how to do those things to another human being:  To kill them.  They teach this stuff in the military for just that reason.  There is no other reason to know how to do it.  None.  Self-defense isn’t in it.  It is offensive (in the tactics term – as opposed to defensive).  Yet, we’ve fabricated a reason: fame and money.  It makes me sick, too.  The next step is clearly gladiatorial games.  (Which certainly begs the question whether football was the first step.)