As a long weekend full of football gets under way, the National Football League is on the defensive over the long-term effects of concussions. There's increasing evidence that multiple head-pounding produces brain disease akin to Alzheimer's, but official recognition has been a long-time coming. Yesterday, the co-chairs of the NFL's committee on brain injuries resigned and some new rules were instituted. As of this weekend, independent neurologists will advise team doctors, coaches and players on how soon, if ever, players who've been knocked silly can return to the game. Has the NFL been in a state of denial? What's the message for college football and parents whose kids play football in high school?
Football and the Cost of Concussions
Credits
Guests:
- Alan Schwarz - New York Times - @alanschwarz
- Robert Stern - Co-Director, Boston University's Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy
- Andrew Kline - former player for the St. Louis Rams
- Andrew Brandt - ESPN - @adbrandt
- Ann Killion - San Francisco Chronicle reporter covering Bay Area sports