Journal 3

JENNIFER, LUDDEN. "Concussions Force The NFL Into New Health Policy." Tell Me More (NPR) (n.d.): Newspaper Source. Web. 9 Oct. 2014.

This article was a couple years ago but still relevant to my topic now. It is a discussion about what they are gonna do about the concussions in the NFL. It talks about an example of a severe case when a doctor wrongly diagnosed a player of having a concussion. He played in his next game with a concussion and had damaged his head even more. Just like in the previous article they discuss the long term dangers of concussions and how the long term health affects. A key goal of the NFL is to step up the medical staff and make them more aware of concussions and how to treat them. A new rule was enforced that when a player received a strong blow to the head he has to be consulted and checked out by a specialist. One solution that the article mentioned is still up in the air because of the cost. The solution was to have some type of neurologist on the sidelines at every game to give the players the treatments they need if it is neccessary. The last thing this article mentions is the owner of the team paying for better medical care on the sidelines and improving the equipment.

I think this article can help solve the past options the NFL has tried to do for concussions. It gives me a better understanding of how they were thinking about it in the previous years. The on common factor is that concussions are very serious and need to be treated and prevented in the best way possible. The commissioner has been around for awhile and many people believe he has not done his best to improve anything. This leaves the question up in the air of should hits to the head be fined immensely.This gives me the input I was looking for about the doctors. They are not fully up to date with everything going on. I think the option of having some type of specialist is a very possible idea.

The article gives me a lot of information about what the NFL has tried to do over the last couple years regarding concussions. This is one of their biggest concerns and still is today. I feel like my research can be more focused on options of the NFL. There has got to be a better way to solve all of these problems. I am curious what the players think of everything that is going on. You know that they want to play as hard has they can and not sit out with some minor injury, but this injury could be the end of them. I wonder if players realize that these injuries can affect them later in life with head trauma and even other illness's. There has been multiple cases of NFL players with brain damage once they are dead. Even players committing suicide because their trauma is so bad.Thinking outside the box you can come at this from a lot of ways. The way I see it as is improving every little detail involving head injuries. Put the doctors on the sideline, fix the helmets to perfection, and have the specialists on the sideline in case any important cases.

What kind of rules have been placed in the NFL to protect players? How have fines changed the minds of players leading with their head for a tackle? My next section of research will consist of rules and examples of NFL players being fined. What kind of plausible actions are there for us to take? Does examining the brain after death prove that concussions are life ending? What are the players opinions on the matter?