NFL Will Have “Unaffiliated Neurological Consultants” During Games Beginning Next Season

Andrea Kremer is reporting the NFL will have “unaffiliated neurological consultants” on the sidelines during games next season, evaluating players for concussions. The move had been pushed for by the NFLPA.

There’s no panacea for concussions – Football leads to collisions which are not good for the brain – though this should be a step forward. The culture change has yet to catch on, with players and coaches. The Shanahan/RG3 controversy showed how ineffective self-regulation and team-employed doctors can be. We’ll see how much authority these consultants receive. Will they be able to overrule coaches and pull players from games?

Expect the NCAA to plead poverty, to come up with more stringent marijuana regulations and to allow incidents like this to keep happening.

[Photo via USA Today Sports]

aroundtheweb

20 Responses to “NFL Will Have “Unaffiliated Neurological Consultants” During Games Beginning Next Season”

A.P. Says:
January 31st, 2013 at 5:37 PM

right, and David Stern will stop being a jerkoff in the next hour

sctrojans Says:
January 31st, 2013 at 5:41 PM

NFL Will Have “Unaffiliated Neurological Consultants” During Games Beginning Next Season

Who is hiring and paying them?

VladimirCrouton Says:
January 31st, 2013 at 5:43 PM

How about blood tests so everyone is on a level playing field? Help prevent players from getting bigger,stronger and faster at an abnormal rate. SAFETY!

captain_spalding Says:
January 31st, 2013 at 5:44 PM

Unaffiliated Neurological Consultants

They are more like scienticians.

Babar 2.0 Says:
January 31st, 2013 at 5:52 PM

Who is hiring and paying them?

NFLPA?

ButtersBC Says:
January 31st, 2013 at 5:54 PM

Who is hiring and paying them?

Better lock out the players again if we’re asking the owners to foot this bill

Nada Says:
January 31st, 2013 at 5:57 PM

In high school, I hurt my neck, and our “neurological consultant” shot me up full of morphine and prescribed me a bunch of muscle relaxants. I was a drooling vegetable by the following morning, but man did I feel reeeeeeeeeally good.

Gritty Hombres Says:
January 31st, 2013 at 5:58 PM

If the players pay, the docs will have the ability to override. If the owners pay, the docs will have the ability to say after the game “I advised that he not return to the game.”

Gritty Hombres Says:
January 31st, 2013 at 5:58 PM

If the players pay, the docs will have the ability to override. If the owners pay, the docs will have the ability to say after the game “I advised that he not return to the game.”

YYSA Says:
January 31st, 2013 at 6:03 PM

I made some eggs benedict with some fried panacea on top last weekend. It was the cure for my hangover.

ms621 Says:
January 31st, 2013 at 6:17 PM

“Don’t say ‘take it’. I don’t ‘take it’. I ingest it on orders from my neurophysiologist. In five years they’ll be putting it in the water supply like fluoride.”

Cowboy Mike's Old Original Red Hot Ricochet Barbeque Sauce Says:
January 31st, 2013 at 6:29 PM

None of this matters if the players or coaches make the decision of whether a player returns. Unless it’s just the doctors, these morons will keep killing themselves.

CodenameDuchess Says:
January 31st, 2013 at 7:44 PM

Will they be able to overrule coaches and pull players from games?

I love this. Why does the media think that every coach is fucking Bud Kilmer? RGIII didn’t want to be pulled! Cal Ripkin may have strangled his manager if the guy forced him to take a day off. These are uber-competitive people that want to play through the pain. They are only afraid of losing their jobs to their backups (See Alex Smith) or missing out on bonus qualifications (See Lawrence Taylor in Any Given Sunday). Its not some evil coach forcing these moves, the whole culture is distorted.

CodenameDuchess Says:
January 31st, 2013 at 7:50 PM

And if you think players will look out for their own interests I point you to one Ladainian Tomlinson. The guy knew he was banged up and that Sproles was a better option at that point and the fans and media assassinated him for it. Hell, even other players took shots at him. I cannot think of a reputation getting tarnished quicker than his that didn’t involve sexual assault.

Cowboy Mike's Old Original Red Hot Ricochet Barbeque Sauce Says:
January 31st, 2013 at 8:34 PM

Well stated.

otis sistrunk Says:
January 31st, 2013 at 10:22 PM

these morons will keep killing themselves.

you mean highly paid entertainers who are well aware since they were 12 what they are doing. right?

pollard and ed reed were refreshing voices this week.

don’t change the rules one bit. everyone now knows the dangers, and the only morons will be parents who goad their kids into playing w/out educating them. no excuses anymore for ignorance on the damage the sport does.

i love watching it and betting on it and i’m glad there are guys who willingly trade their future health for a comet ride of fame and fortune

otis sistrunk Says:
January 31st, 2013 at 10:23 PM

i contradicted my self. dudes playing now who have played all their lives may not have known the scientific dangers of being woozy, but going forward, parents and players cannot plead ignorance only admit they are willing to risk it

Some Random Old Dude Says:
January 31st, 2013 at 10:28 PM

Vez, didn’t look like contradiction to me. Dudes playing now may not have had the high-profile confirmations earlier, but anecdotal data like Mike Webster (RIP) have been out there for a while.

Monster is Meth Says:
January 31st, 2013 at 10:29 PM