The Gordian Knot

I spoke to high school football coaches across the country whose players have been shot and killed - this is a story about how they cope with those losses, and continue fighting for the lives of their kids. https://t.co/dBxkNYWrCv pic.twitter.com/SCkB8nLZP7

— Natalie Weiner (@natalieweiner) November 13, 2019

“But what Grant ​
and his peers
​have found out
​the hard way
is that even ​
as it offers them
structure and incentive,
football alone
​is not enough
to protect their charges.
At least 67 boys and men
25 years old and under
identified as current or
former football players
have been shot and killed
in 2019 so far.
Of those, 32
​were under 18;
the youngest,
Washington, D.C.’s
Karon Brown, was 11.”

"Because self-preservation is so often associated with violence, it is easy to see that a disturbance or disorder of brain mechanisms has the potential of releasing violent behavior, even when the circumstances do not call for it" (Mark and Ervin, 1970). pic.twitter.com/qAnEI84WJ3

— Stephen T Casper (@TheNeuroTimes) November 15, 2019

,
​“If you’re involved in a sports team
that has a culture
of domination, manhood,
physical strength,
​and a willingness to sacrifice your body
for the team, then
​your involvement
in sports is likely
to increase
your participation
in violence
​on and off the field.”
Jay Coakley, Ph.D.

This demographic trend raises big questions: “Football in Marshall, as it is across America, is increasingly dominated by black players, whose families are generally poorer and prioritize the opportunities for college scholarships that the sport provides.” https://t.co/84UpZt2yjS

— Dr Kathleen Bachynski (@bachyns) November 16, 2019

---

“Taylor still helps coach...and aggressive play is often encouraged.

“Take all your anger out on the other team,” said Darius Brightman, a coach of 11- and 12-year-olds on that team. “You hit and then you hit. I think you all play better when you hit.” cc @prof_goldberg

— Dr Kathleen Bachynski (@bachyns) November 16, 2019

On consent to participate:

"Structural inequality shapes capacity to consent. If society systematically denies access to opportunities other than sport, am I really consenting to sacrifice my body when I accept a scholarship or is that choice informed by constraint/coercion?"

— Nathan Kalman-Lamb (@nkalamb) November 19, 2019

"Zuehlke is currently in a Sioux Falls hospital recovering from a traumatic brain injury that left him in a medically induced coma last month." https://t.co/UDyiiZmOdm

— Concerned Mom (@ConcernedMom9) November 14, 2019

“When I think about what her brain was doing inside of her skull at the time, with the injury she already had, it actually makes me feel sick,” said her mother, Kerri Payne. “It’s just a sport. You have to compare that to your child’s life.”https://t.co/SJ7PmMTpb2

— Concerned Mom (@ConcernedMom9) November 22, 2019

Could anyone have done anything to prevent this from happening? Is anyone doing anything to prevent it from happening again? https://t.co/sXSYwOps16

— Stephen T Casper (@TheNeuroTimes) November 12, 2019

“Braeden’s family is mourning his passing. He died because adults didn’t care, and weren’t prepared. The shame will stay with the school forever, and his death stains Kansas. This must never happen again.” https://t.co/3Uxuhr4B7o

— Dr Kathleen Bachynski (@bachyns) November 15, 2019

Your Tax Dollars
​At Work

2) Who creates the policies for athlete safety? FHSAA & FL Legislature are pointing at each other. So, who holds schools & districts accountable? No one! Who investigates if safety procedures in crises were followed? There truly aren’t any in FL bc NO ONE will take responsibility

— Laurie (@lahriegirl) November 15, 2019

Can football coaches who spread doubt about the reality of sub-concussive brain injury be trusted to implement safety measures intended to mitigate subconcussive injury?

("Subconcussive" simply means that the brain is injured but there's no diagnosis of concussion.) https://t.co/wJsbrMl75M

— Kent Johnson (@37919KJ) November 14, 2019

Big Business: Number of Georgia high school football coaches making six-figure salaries has doubled in five years https://t.co/7asmBNyZJx

— Greg Ransom (@GregRansom) November 27, 2019

In school and recreational football, grown men recruit and train children to hit one another over and over again.
Should these coaches and administrators be held accountable for the injuries that inevitably result?

— Kent Johnson (@37919KJ) October 30, 2019

Sponsored By
 Company Doctors

Do we know nothing of company doctors? - "The company doctor is back. It's a tradition with roots in the 1800s, but the practice fell from grace in the 1930s and 1940s, when critics complained that the doctors were mainly serving the employers' interests." https://t.co/8ie6PkyRaD

— Concerned Mom (@ConcernedMom9) November 13, 2019

There is a gigantic industry of men and women profiting off the brain injuries of children & teens who participate in tackle football ..

— Greg Ransom (@GregRansom) November 1, 2019

This piece illustrates how the football industry continues to view brain injury as a more of a marketing problem than a public health one—a disconnect, I think, that explains an awful lot: https://t.co/5afeyhyuV9

— Patrick Hruby (@patrick_hruby) November 9, 2019

"One AFL doctor handed out anti-inflammatories like lollies - they were kept in a giant jar - just to keep players going. They were given strong painkillers, causing long-term damage. Some, even today, remain addicted." https://t.co/ZCGEuGwc4b

— Concerned Mom (@ConcernedMom9) November 15, 2019

---

One aspect of the NCAA's 2016 medical care rules was to limit the role coaches have in hiring, firing and supervising sports medicine staff, including athletic trainers. But it's apparent that some schools still haven't got the message. @OTLonESPN 1PM ET https://t.co/ew1j09Xoup

— Paula Lavigne (@pinepaula) November 26, 2019

Kehoe Paradigm
A profitable product that seems dangerous cannot be declared dangerous until scientists sponsored by the industry reach a consensus that there is conclusive, evidence-based evidence that the product is dangerous.
□□⚕️□□

— Kent Johnson (@37919KJ) November 27, 2019

Sports Med Doc: "The only people that have exhibited the... changes in their behavior or have this dementia-like effect have been PRO athletes." WRONG

>100 college football players
>20 HS football players.
>50 CTE+ died by age 34

If you are going to talk to the press, keep up.

— Chris Nowinski, Ph.D. (@ChrisNowinski1) November 21, 2019

Willing young doctors are identified by industry, groomed to promote products, and then rewarded with a public platform and status in their professional organizations.
Imagine that.
□⚕️□ https://t.co/aZXYOWmNY7

— Kent Johnson (@37919KJ) November 8, 2019

"Also scientists who do risk assessments, who build in assumptions that essentially guarantee that only the highest levels of exposures will be found to be dangerous." @drdavidmichaelshttps://t.co/MJAE0KATnF

— Silvio Funtowicz (@SFuntowicz) November 26, 2019

I'm livid about what we are doing to kids in this country. People need to start connecting all of these dots and voting for some broad sweeping changes. Practice and pay for compassion. Stop exposing them to harms.

— Stephen T Casper (@TheNeuroTimes) November 19, 2019

We CAN Change

We have far better causal knowledge of the material processes producing brain disease in repetitive impact athletes than Semmelweis had of the material causes which recommends hand washing by doctors. AMA doctors & NFL scientists/PR flacks are a disgrace. https://t.co/pdajqhnPrV

— Greg Ransom (@GregRansom) November 19, 2019

"Firstly the concept of ‘Look after your brain’ must be promoted in health education." https://t.co/JCRsE7FWa2

— Concerned Mom (@ConcernedMom9) November 19, 2019

The dialogue was started a long time ago by courageous and grieving parents who don't want any more families to suffer. It was joined by public health experts, brain specialists, engaged community members and media members unaffected by football's financial might.

— Jim Hoffman (@JimH5) November 10, 2019

Parents’ Perspectives Regarding Age Restrictions for Tackling in Youth Football https://t.co/fjLoD0hvXi - The majority (61%) supported age restrictions for tackling, and an additional 24% indicated they maybe would support age restrictions. Oops!!! @DickGottfried @mikebenedetto82

— NFLCSFacts (@NFLObjectors) November 20, 2019

Wow--81 percent of responding pediatricians say no tackling. That seems like a more significant story.

— Jim Hoffman (@JimH5) November 18, 2019

“My children will not play tackle football. Evolution went through a lot of work to protect our brain.” @DrDonVaughn, @DrSoniaBatra, @TravisStorkMD, and @DrAndrewOrdon weighed in on our #TackleCanWait PSA on @TheDoctors:https://t.co/zKvuo47OZd

— Concussion Legacy Foundation (@ConcussionLF) November 25, 2019

The public health perspective is clear: these predictable and preventable injuries are a call to action to make changes. Exposing children to repetitive brain trauma is not unavoidable. It’s a choice made by the adults in charge of youth sports—a choice that can be changed. https://t.co/rYP4A9delg

— Dr Kathleen Bachynski (@bachyns) November 20, 2019

​​​​If we truly wish
​to prevent unnecessary suffering,
facts & data
are not enough.

​Industry influence is so pervasive
many of us have internalized
the false narrative
at the center ​of this Gordian knot.

​​Teaching kids 
to hit other kids
will not stop
​the violence.

"His school’s hallways and common areas are his recruiting turf. Smrekar calls football “a numbers game,” which is why he encourages students who may not have any football experience to give the sport a try." @37919KJ https://t.co/h94LdBhmG7

— Concerned Mom (@ConcernedMom9) November 15, 2019

"These guys that are struggling now may not die for 30 years. We can't wait 30 years until we get some answers," Hayley said.https://t.co/6BMYygyC4m

— Concerned Mom (@ConcernedMom9) December 1, 2019

Medical historians 
tell us this is not a new problem.

Yet underage collision sports
are as popular as ever.

If work expands 
to fill the available time,
how much time 
do we have
to fix the public health crisis
caused by
recurrent brain trauma 
in school sports?

Perhaps it's time 
for a new plan.​

​Please contact us
to learn how you
can help transform
​our public schools
into concussion-free zones.

​Email info@saferoptions.org
to become a member today.
 

By Dr. Jana - http://docjana.com/saltatory-conduction/ ; https://www.patreon.com/posts/4374048, CC BY 4.0, Link

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