COALITION FOR CONCUSSION-FREE SCHOOLS
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​"In my opinion,
a concussion is a permanent
​brain injury."

Dennis L. Molfese, Ph.D.
"One season
of football

in theory
could give
you
CTE."
Chris Nowinski, Ph.D. 
Washington Post
Editorial Board

9/8/18
“Parents and schools 
are right to reassess 
the wisdom of tackle football 
for children whose young brains 
are still developing.”
​

38 catastrophic football injuries and illnesses this season. 9 College, 29 High School.
6 dead.
5 paralyzed.
A typical year.
Thanks to all who contributed to this effort.@ConcernedMom9 @stefanfatsis @TDTommy33 @PiratesFly @Bachyns@JimH5 pic.twitter.com/op0p5e6WMu

— Kent Johnson (@37919KJ) September 28, 2018

​A Flawed System
Medical Express   9/6/18
 “The fundamental question...
is how can athletes make informed choices
when they're never told
​what the actual risks are?”


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https://t.co/5mHjC1GBxq

— Melanie George (@Melanie__George) August 10, 2018
+
​
"Some people with 
frontal lobe injuries
seem completely normal...
but they actually
have great difficulty
with everyday tasks....
This is called 
the frontal lobe paradox
because, even though
these people seem
unimpaired...
they have 
significant difficulties
in everyday life."
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​Children At Risk
CNN  9/21/18

Deaths on college and high school football fields are a rare -- but reliable -- tragedy @CNN https://t.co/h01DNjfknm

— Concerned Mom (@ConcernedMom9) September 21, 2018
"[A]voiding death 
isn't the only aim; 
traumatic brain 
and spinal injuries, 
exertion injuries 
and other physical consequences 
don't need to kill 
to be devastating.”


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Despite his concussion history, Syracuse sent QB Eric Dungey back into yesterday's game with "blurry vision".
He didn't return to the game after halftime.https://t.co/T7z7ge3MRB@ChrisNowinski1

— Kent Johnson (@37919KJ) September 16, 2018

​Syracuse University 
​Policy
"[T]here is a human obligation
to provide safety
​for all persons
of all ages who participate in its programs.
All members of the University community
are stewards of these relationships
and must recognize the differences of power
​that often exist in them. As members 

of the community,
we all have
​the responsibility

to protect those
​who are in ​a position of vulnerability.
" 
Who Is Responsible?
​
"While athletes should know
​signs and symptoms
and report if they can, asking a kid
who is brain injured
to self report
​is like asking a drunk
​if they are okay to drive."

Kimberly Archie
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"To date, 
education programs 
to enhance reporting behaviors 
have not been successful."
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HOW WE
JUSTIFY
THE RISKS

Dr Kathleen Bachynski

"The problem is that multiple hits
can interrupt the brain’s repair processes.
Over time, the brain’s 'clean-up crew'
may not be able
to keep pace
with the recurring hits
that are inherent to any sport that involves constant collisions,
such as boxing,
​tackle football,
or professional ice hockey."
​

"The nature of injuries to cells are the same between mild and severe concussion in the brain, says Dr Stewart. The only difference is the scale, and studying one can tell us about the other." https://t.co/GapCtcGl6j

— Dr Kathleen Bachynski (@bachyns) September 14, 2018
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It's Time to End Football in High School https://t.co/19BRIAYnp1

— Education Week (@educationweek) September 11, 2018
The Ethical
Educator's 
​Dilemma

Education Week  9/11/18​
"Is sponsoring an activity
that causes disabling brain injury 
compatible with educators' responsibilities
to students? 
Are there compensating educational benefits 
of playing tackle football that justify the risks? 
Does the putative consent of players
or their parents 
relieve educators and administrators
of their duty to protect students from harm? 
The answers to these questions are clearly
​no, no, and no."

​
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​​
​“Youth sports-related injuries

represent a major public health challenge,
and overuse injuries,
which result from repetitive microtrauma
and insufficient rest,
​are a particular and growing concern.
Overuse injuries...
can lead to lifelong disabilities,
and are almost entirely preventable.” 

The Post's View Opinion
High schools are dropping football. Students are safer for it. https://t.co/c6umLS3y0C

— Concerned Mom (@ConcernedMom9) September 9, 2018
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​Hello, OSHA?
Adam M. Finkle & Kevin F. Bieniek

“We present a quantitative risk assessment showing that… the risk of CTE…
would permit the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration to intervene.…
CTE is a public health problem,
​and lawyers and physicians
need to understand that this conclusion
is based on standards of evidence
​at least as long-standing and robust
​as their own."
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​Myelin, Myelin, Myelin
Medical Xpress​  9/20/18

“Executive function
and memory
are particularly dependent
on intact
​white matter tracts."

#Whitematter repair and traumatic brain injury @PNASNews https://t.co/SLabqxvzWB

— Medical Xpress (@medical_xpress) September 20, 2018

​Losing My Myelin
Science Daily  9/4/18

"Detailed scans
of concussed
​hockey players
​found that the protective fatty tissue surrounding brain cell fibers was loosened

two weeks after
​the injury --

even though the athletes felt fine
and were deemed ready
to return to the ice." 

​

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

 ​The Spine 
Collision Sports Cause Extensive Damage 
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What other extra curricular activity produces such human tragedy? These are real boys with families and classmates and futures that are now drastically altered. https://t.co/6eAcunoDSB

— Jim Hoffman (@JimH5) September 4, 2018
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Cerebral Physics 101.
​
"Your brain sits inside your skull
floating in cerebrospinal fluid.
So it’s about inertia.
Every time you run
and come to an abrupt stop,
the brain crashes into the inside of the skull
and reverberates against the other side,
and no matter where you put your head
or what form you use,
that brain slosh is going to occur.
The sport is about colliding bodies
and our brain is attached to our body,
so it’s about inertia."

Chris Borland
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How Does The Brain 
Compensate For Damage?

One method is to "reassign" work
to other parts of the brain.​

"Even as evidence mounts
about the connection between
head injuries and CTE,
the number of colleges
offering football
isn’t shrinking.
In fact, it’s growing."

wbur.org  8/24/18
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"Between these two extremes there may be all degrees of axonal injury. The pugilist usually makes a rapid and complete recovery from a single, slight concussion, but after repeated episodes there is a gradual appearance of permanent sequelae." (Peerless and Rewcastle 1967)

— Stephen T Casper (@TheNeuroTimes) September 21, 2018

The cost 
in suffering & dollars
is
​ethically indefensible.

​
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​Our Educational Values
The Coloradoan 9/21/18

"President of CSU… $775,000.
The CSU football coach… $1.5 million.
[T]hese salaries indicate the importance… of athletic programs,
which receive 52 percent of their budget from fees,
direct and indirect institutional support, and state money.


[O]ne wonders about how the large subsidized cost of the athletic program
fits with universities primary responsibilities: education, research, and scholarship….

361 CSU employees… make less than $30,000…
45… less than $25,000 per year....
​Yet CSU's salary policy ignores their need for a living wage."
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Saltatory Conduction.gif
By Dr. Jana - http://docjana.com/saltatory-conduction/ ; https://www.patreon.com/posts/4374048, CC BY 4.0, Link

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