Teams to consult with neurologists
UPDATED (11:17 p.m.)...
NFL teams are to begin working with independent neurologists on issues related to concussions suffered by players, according to the Associated Press.
The policy, in which the neurologists will work with teams' medical staffs, will be implemented by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell as soon as the details can be worked out, the AP reported.
"As we learn more and more, we want to give players the best medical advice," Goodell said Sunday night on NBC, according to a written transcript provided by the network. "This is a chance for us to expand that and bring more people into the circle to make sure we're making the best decisions for our players in the long term."
The expanded use of independent doctors in the process of diagnosing and treating players' concussions reportedly is one of several measures that Goodell recently told DeMaurice Smith, the executive director of the NFL Players Association, the league was considering.
The implementation of the new measure was reported Sunday by Fox.
The league-owned NFL Network reported last week that Goodell had told Smith the measures being considered by the league included possible equipment improvements; prospective changes to the guidelines about when a player could resume playing after suffering a concussion; potential limitations on the amount of contact allowed in practices and offseason workouts, perhaps to the point that players wouldn't wear helmets during some practices; a prospective system for allowing players to report a teammate's concussion symptoms; and a possibly expanded role for non-team-affiliated doctors in making decisions about the playing status of players.
Some of those possible measures reportedly were being discussed by members of a committee headed by former NFL coach and broadcaster John Madden.
The committee is to make recommendations to the league's competition committee.
According to the NFL Network's report last week, Madden's committee has not yet taken a formal position on whether to require less contact in some practices, a move that some concussion experts have said would curtail the amount and severity of head injuries suffered by players.
Other possibilities being discussed by the committee, according to the report, include placing further limitations on the use of a blocking "wedge" by players on a kickoff return, and further restrictions on hits on players who are deemed to be in defenseless positions during games.
Pittsburgh Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin, a member of Madden's committee, has proposed a possible rule that would limit the amount of work that a player could do in offseason practices in accordance with the number of plays in which that player participated the previous season, the NFL Network reported. The idea would be to limit a player's workload and potential exposure to hits that potentially could accumulate over time.
The committee also includes coaches Andy Reid of the Philadelphia Eagles, Norv Turner of the San Diego Chargers and Mike Singletary of the San Francisco 49ers, along with former Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren. Committee members meet via conference call every few weeks, according to the NFL Network, and Madden has been in regular contact with Goodell and Atlanta Falcons President Rich McKay, the co-chairman of the competition committee.
The dialogue comes with several high-profile players, including running backs Brian Westbrook of the Eagles and Clinton Portis of the Washington Redskins, grappling with the effects of recent concussions.
An Associated Press survey of 160 NFL players, five from each team, released last week showed that 30 said they had hidden or played down the effects of a concussion. Half of the 160 players said they'd suffered at least one concussion playing football, the AP reported, and 61 said they missed playing time because of a concussion. Thirty said they were more concerned about concussions than any other injuries, the AP reported.
Goodell and Smith told a Congressional committee last month that they would share medical information with the committee to aid its inquiry into the rate and severity of brain injuries being suffered by players. Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, asked during the hearing for the league and union to share the data.
"We want to make sure our game is safe, and we're doing everything we possibly can for our players now," Goodell told Conyers and other committee members, adding that the league had made significant rule changes and was educating players about the possible effects of concussions.
An NFL-commissioned study released this fall found that 6.1 percent of retired NFL players age 50 and above reported receiving a diagnosis of dementia, Alzheimer's disease or other memory-related disease, compared to 1.2 percent for all comparably aged U.S. men, and 1.9 percent of players ages 30 to 49 indicated they'd received such a diagnosis, compared to 0.1 percent for the general population. The 37-page study was conducted by the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research and its findings were based on a telephone survey of 1,063 retired NFL players conducted last November and December.
The researchers wrote in the study that assessing rates of dementia through a phone survey can be problematic, and concluded that "further research on this issue is warranted."
By
Mark Maske
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November 22, 2009; 9:57 PM ET
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