CU Coach Takes Stance On One Too Many Concussions

This week, CU football player Will Harlos suffered a concussion during practice, something not uncommon for this player.  Earlier this year Colorado coach Jon Embree said he would not allow redshirt freshman Harlos to continue playing football for the Buffs, if the defender from Somerset, Texas, suffered another concussion.  A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury, or TBI, caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head that can change the way your brain normally works.

Embree followed through on that promise Tuesday when he informed Harlos and his family that he and CU medical staffers consider it unsafe and unwise for Harlos to continue to play for the team.   Embree said Harlos has the option of remaining at CU on scholarship if he medically retires.

Coach Embree understands the severity of brain injuries and their potential impact on the player’s future. His keen understanding of the subject was gained after coaching in the NFL for 5 years.  The league is being sued by nearly 3,500 plaintiffs who claim that it hid information linking concussions and football related head trauma to long-term brain injuries.  Several former NFL stars who had suffered concussions have even taken their own lives in the last several years.

With his first-hand knowledge, Embree decided to draw a line where he would no longer allow a player with a history of concussions to play for him at CU.

"I don't take that lightly," Embree said in the spring. "We have some guys who if they get one more concussion, they're done.  It's not up for debate.  If they want to play, they've got to go somewhere else.  I'm not having it on my shoulders."

Many players, like Harlos, are aware of the dangers of continuing to play with a history of concussions but love the sport too much to give it up. 

" I love football more than I fear for a concussion," Harlos said in the spring.  "It really overcomes it.  I'm not really worried about it.  I just want to come out here and play ball and show these people what I can do." 

Thankfully, Coach Embree took a stance to promote safety for his team players here at CU.  Hopefully, this will set a trend throughout not only college athletics, but even the NFL. 

New Study Calls for Assessment of Traumatic Brain Injury Victims as Potential Violence Risks

In recent findings published in the online journal, Public Library of Science Medicine, British and Swedish scientists found that head injuries can dramatically increase the chances of someone committing violent crime.

In a group of 22,914 traumatic brain injury (“TBI”) victims examined between 1973 and 2009, almost 9% went on to commit acts of violence after diagnosis, which is three times the rate in the general population.  The British and Swedish scientists who carried out the research defined violent criminals as those convicted of homicide, assault, robbery, arson, sexual offences, or illegal threats or intimidation.

Epilepsy was also investigated, as previous studies had suggested it can also increase the risk of violence, but the study found no significant association between it and violent crime.

For the TBI  group, diagnosis before age 16 was associated with a lower risk of violence, as was sustaining a concussion rather than a more severe brain injury.  And individuals whose brain injuries were focal (where the injury occurs in a specific location rather than a more wisespread area) had a higher risk for violence compared with those having more diffuse brain hemorrhagic injuries or cerebral edema.

Author Dr. Seena Fazel from Oxford University, and colleagues wrote: “For traumatic brain injury, absolute and relative risks more clearly suggest that there are certain groups of patients who would benefit from violence risk assessment.  As current guidelines for the assessment of brain injury make no recommendations in relation to the assessment or investigation of violence risk, our findings suggest that these may need review, at least for some groups of patients with traumatic head injury, particularly if they abuse illegal drugs or alcohol.”

Damage to the brain is more than physical; it has behavioral consequences.  According to this new study, a TBI victim has the potential to put another unsuspecting victim in danger of being injured in a violent crime.  Now when a careless driver causes an accident resulting in a victim's TBI, he has potentially created the ripple effect of injuring yet another victim who sustains a TBI.

NFL Sued for Concealing Effects of Multiple Brain Injuries on Players

Seventy-five former NFL players filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court this week, alleging that the league has covered up the harmful effects of concussions for almost 70 years.  

All of the players in the litigation claim they suffered injuries as a result of multiple concussions.  They contend the injuries left them with problems such as dementia, headaches, memory loss, blurred vision, sleeplessness and ringing in the ears.  Some claim the injuries caused depression, anxiety, "explosive mood changes," poor judgment and substance abuse.

The suit alleges that “the NFL knew as early as the 1920s of the harmful effects on a player’s brain of concussions; however, they concealed these facts from coaches, trainers, players and the public.”  The suit also names helmet-maker Riddell, the NFL's official helmet supplier, as a defendant.

The suit claims the NFL commissioned a study in 1994, titled "NFL Committee on Mild Traumatic Brain Injury" that published a "false, distorted and deceiving" report in 2004, concluding there was "no evidence of worsening injury or chronic cumulative effects" from multiple concussions.

The suit alleges that the NFL finally acknowledged in June 2010 that concussions can lead to dementia, memory loss, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).  CTE is a degenerative brain condition that has been linked to the deaths of several former NFL players, including former Chicago Bear Dave Duerson and former Cincinnati Bengal Chris Henry.

Even though this litigation could take years of trials and appeals before any final conclusion, its affect could potentially change the future of the NFL and how players' traumatic brain injuries are assessed and handled.