The NFL "will impose discipline for future failures to properly follow the league’s medical protocols, including concussion protocol," according to a source cited by Tom Pelissero of USA TODAY. The source said that everyone involved in the protocol -- officials, coaches, players, team medical staff, unaffiliated neurotrauma consultants and ATC spotters -- "are subject to fines or suspensions." This follows the failure to remove Rams QB Case Keenum from a Nov. 22 game "despite obvious concussion symptoms" (USATODAY.com, 12/16).
ERRONEOUS ON BOTH COUNTS: The family of late NFLer Dave Duerson said that multiple scenes from the movie "Concussion" which portray him as disreputable "did not happen." In N.Y., Ken Belson notes Duerson committed suicide in '11 and "was found to have" CTE. His family "is concerned that the film, with major star power and an aggressive marketing campaign, will influence the public’s understanding of the individuals involved in a fraught issue that has jolted the country’s most popular sport." Tregg Duerson, Dave's son, said, "They completely made up stuff. ... They needed a villain, someone to take the fall, and he’s not here to defend himself." But the film's director, Peter Landesman, said, "As we were making a feature film and not a documentary, and it’s not a Wikipedia entry, people go to movies not to digest information and data but to have an emotional experience. The movie is emotionally and spiritually accurate all the way through" (N.Y. TIMES, 12/17).
