Litigation

NFL Looks at Concussion History of Draft Hopefuls

By Michael Kaplen

NFL draft hopefuls are undergoing more thorough examinations for head injuries this week at the annual scouting combine in Indianapolis. All 329 invited players will be given a baseline brain activity exam, the ImPACT test, and will most likely face more questioning than previous draft classes about their concussion histories. In past years, it was up to individual teams to conduct such tests.

By examining everyone at the combine, the league will have a more standardized way of evaluating players and potentially collecting data about repeated hits to the head.

This is promising news to those who have been examining the issue of concussions in professional sports.  These players may have had multiple concussions before entering professional football and the one additional concussion they receive while in the NFL may be the game ender, but without these baseline exams and their access to their prior concussion history, it is often difficult to make an educated decision. 

However, I still stick to my statement, When in doubt, keep them out!

Full post as published by Brain Injury News and Information on February 27, 2010 (boomark / email).