Clinton Portis, the former star running back with the Denver Broncos and Washington Redskins recently revealed that throughout his NFL career he played through numerous injuries, including multiple concussions.
“The truth is I had a lot of concussions,” Portis told Mike Freeman of CBS. “It was just the way things were at the time. I’d get hit hard and be woozy. I’d be dizzy. I’d take a play off and then go back in. Sometimes when I went back into the game, I still couldn’t see straight. This happened all the time. Sometimes once or twice a game.”
The revelation is yet another in a long list of current and former NFLers who admit to playing through their injuries and getting back on the field despite suffering clear concussion symptoms. Its not something that is going away either, as Alex Smith admitted to playing in game this season when he couldn’t see straight, and Troy Polamalu has also admitted to hiding his concussions from team doctors.
These revelations should certainly be concerning for a league that is currently being sued in a class action suit by former players claiming that the league has purposely downplayed the severity and extent of concussion risks over the years.
Now there have been numerous studies done on the effects of concussions, and while I don’t have the time nor the space to recap all the results here, the reality is that these brain injuries have been proven to have serious long term consequences for the people who suffer them, and that when multiple concussions are suffered the permanent health risks are graver. Many mental illnesses have been linked to previous concussions and the effect they have on the human brain, while not fully understood yet, is certainly not pretty.
Perhaps more concerning is second-impact syndrome which puts players at risk of paralysis, permanent severe brain damage, and even death if they are to suffer a second concussion while not fully recovered from the first. This is something the league can not afford to play around with. The image of a player dying in an NFL game, if it were to occur, would be something that even a league as financially powerful as the NFL is, would effect. The damage to the NFL’s reputation if it was learned a player died an easily preventable death due to second-impact syndrome would be immense; and following such an incident, the sports landscape would never be the same.
That said, its been proven that many NFL players will not pull themselves out of the game after suffering a concussion despite the risks. That is why the league must find a way to try to ensure that players are properly diagnosed, quickly, efficiently, and held off the field if they have a suspected concussion. The effective use of independent doctors on the sideline, of quiet rooms for player testing, and of effective protocols for a player returning to the field is an absolute must for the NFL; and all football leagues. The importance here can not be overstated, it is quite literally a matter of life and death.
While the NFL has started to make progress in these areas; I believe that they have not gone far enough. Further study, and further policy changes are necessary. Lets hope the league can do it, before it’s too late.
And thats the last word.
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