U.S. Youth Soccer, which has three million players and is the nation's "largest youth sports organization, has asked its state officials not to talk to the news media about concussions in the sport," according to a front-page piece by Andrew Wolfson of the Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL. USYS Chair John Sutter declined to explain why he sent out the April 24 e-mail "encouraging soccer leaders not to talk to the media generally." Sutter in the memo specifically identified HBO's "Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel." The memo said that the show is "working on a story about concussions in young players, especially girls." Kentucky Youth Soccer Association President Tim Turney, whose organization has nearly 39,000 members, said that the request "came from the parent U.S. Soccer Federation and was sent out as a precaution" because of a concussion lawsuit filed last August on behalf of parents and former collegiate players. USSF Senior Communications Manager Neil Buethe said that it "would have no comment because of the litigation." He added that affiliates "were advised to seek their own legal advice." Meanwhile, an HBO spokesperson said that the net "doesn't comment on stories in development." The memo "'strongly encourages' soccer officials to decline other media requests for 'interviews, information, access or permission to film' until 'protocols are developed and new recommendations made'" (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 5/8).
