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Leagues and Governing Bodies

Goodell Sidesteps Question On Concussion Concerns; Mara Lauds Player Education

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell "latched onto" a fan question about quality of play during a visit to Giants training camp yesterday, "not wanting to court controversy" with any comments on concussions, according to Tara Sullivan of the Bergen RECORD. A fan cited his "ongoing concern about concussions" when he asked Goodell where he sees the league in 20 years. However, the fan also "phrased the question to include his opinion that the game’s overall quality of play has deteriorated across recent years." Goodell said, "I would take issue with 'the quality of the game isn’t what it used to be.' I think it’s better than it’s ever been." Giants President & CEO John Mara later said, "We watch hundreds of hours a tape each year, and looking at 2001 and 2002 compared to now ... players use their heads a lot less now than they did back then. They’re just more educated. I think we’ve been at least partially successful in changing the mind-set for player safety. Concussion protocols are in place. That’s our No. 1 goal each year in the competition committee, what can we do to improve player safety" (Bergen RECORD, 8/8).

TIME OUT OF MIND: Giants QB Eli Manning said he does not "think much about" the ramifications of concussions. Manning: "Around the locker room, I haven't heard any players talking about that situation a whole lot" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 8/8). The Bergen RECORD's Sullivan writes the "hardest football conversation this side of Colin Kaepernick is the one most likely to affect the highest percentage of NFL employees past and present, yet it remains one of the most difficult to talk about, at least for those currently in the game." The moment these players "stop and reflect on the permanent damage they could be doing to themselves is the very moment they put themselves most at risk" (Bergen RECORD, 8/8). Goodell last week said the average NFL player lives "five years longer" than the average person and their "lifespan is actually longer and healthier." In Wyoming, Alex Kuhn wrote while that "might be true, it is wildly dishonest." Kuhn: "The quality of life is the key here, if a player can barely remember who they are and/or is fighting severe depression along with suicidal thoughts at a higher rate than the average population. I'd say that's a drastic difference in quality of life between a former player and average person" (NORTHERN WYOMING DAILY NEWS, 8/6).

TRANSPARENT TOM?
 In Boston, Dan Shaughnessy writes under the header, "Tom Brady's Refusal To Discuss Concussions Is Hypocritical." It is "unacceptable in light of his nonstop promotion" of "The TB12 Method: How to Achieve a Lifetime of Sustained Peak Performance," his book set to be released next month. Brady's "evasion is disappointing but understandable." Shaughnessy: "How can Brady promote the TB12 Method (in which the message is effectively 'Do what I do and you won’t get hurt playing football') while simultaneously telling us that his own concussion history is none of our business?" (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/8). But FS1's Jason Whitlock does not blame Brady for not being more open, saying, "The media right now is so irresponsible and so sensational and has the conversation about football and concussions so out of context, they can't handle the truth." FS1’s Eric Davis said, “The best thing for him to do is not talk about it, and the league is happy that he's not talking about it because this is the face of the league. You don't want the face of the league saying that you're not protecting him, that I'm out here with these concussions and you're supposed to have this protocol to make it safer and it's not safer” (“Speak for Yourself,” FS1, 8/7).

FOOTBALL AT THE GRASSROOTS: A S.F. CHRONICLE editorial cites a National Federation of State High School Associations survey as showing that soccer "led the overall growth in boys’ high school sports last school year" as football "shrank." Football is "still hugely popular, but an unmistakable downward trend among young people has coincided with revelations about the ravages of the game." The survey "showed that more modest declines in football participation across the country accelerated" to 2.5% last year. The NFL's "belated, begrudging efforts to acknowledge its long-term devastation on players’ health and to make it safer have failed to convince many." The "question is whether Americans’ attention and money will follow their children away from the game" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 8/8). Dr. Bennet Omalu, a leader in finding CTE in football players, said the recent study on CTE by Boston Univ. researchers "reaffirmed something we have always known, that there is nothing like a safe blow to the head." Omalu: "If you play football, and if your child plays football, there is a 100 percent risk exposure. There is nothing like making football safer. That’s a misnomer" (N.Y. POST, 8/8).

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