President Obama today will host a White House summit on raising "awareness of sports-related concussions among young athletes" and filling in the "gaps in scientific research into brain injuries." The Obama administration is "highlighting new commitments to address concussion concerns," including a $30M study by the NCAA and Defense Department, $25M from the NFL to promote youth sports safety and a National Institutes of Health project to "measure the effects of repetitive concussions" (WSJ.com, 5/28). The sessions will include "athletes, parents, coaches, experts and other interested parties" (AP, 5/15).
Obama "will not, however, call for new regulations or legislation aimed at requiring the use of specific helmets or restricting certain sports for young children" (N.Y. TIMES, 5/29). The NCAA/Pentagon project will create a database to "comprehensively track the natural histories of concussions." The "goal is to produce research on concussion risks, treatment and management by studying how concussions evolve over time" (CBSSPORTS.com, 5/28).
