The Sights of LeBron’s Return to Cleveland
October 31, 2014Who wants to see LeBron James dressed as Flo from Progressive?
October 31, 2014We all suspected this as a likely outcome after the hit Jordan Cameron took last week that knocked him out of the game. We all suspected it after counting them up and realizing this is Jordan Cameron’s third concussion in the past two seasons. This is where things start to get scary in and around football these days.
Mike Pettine was asked about the long-term implications of the piling up of concussions…
“I don’t think it’s appropriate to do it right at this time when it’s still fresh and [he’s] recovering from it,” Pettine said when asked about long-term concerns. “We’ll see how long it takes and the severity of this one. If that’s something we need to address we will.”
In the meantime, even as concussions continue to be a real part of the NFL and football culture in general, I am heartened how the conversation has changed around the issue. Instead of scoffing at head injury questions and playing it off like it’s no big deal, it seems all the way from the player ranks to the coaching ranks, we might see a real shift. For every quote like Mike Pettine’s that doesn’t diminish the real danger, we might avoid one more psycho “ACT LIKE A MAN” coach somewhere else in the ranks of football coaching.
You have to hope, anyway.
I remember reading these quotes from Austin Collie, who also suffered three concussions (that we know of) during his NFL career as he was searching for a new team. When asked about the concussion issue, he was rather… um… dismissive of the dangers.
“I’ll sign a waiver, all right?” he said. “They’re not going to have to worry about me suing. I’ll hold myself to be accountable.”
As if player safety and continued brain health of a guy under contract to an NFL team should just be about not having liability for some potential permanent disability… I mean I’m sure that liability is a big issue, but I’d like to think it’s far from the primary one, at least going forward.
I’m obviously hoping Jordan Cameron is back for the game against the Bengals, and yes there are a lot of selfish reasons for that, but most of all, I hope he’s feeling better. The reports of post-concussion symptoms are scary.