Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy took a devastating hit from Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison on Thursday night. Immediately, it looked like McCoy was unconscious but he eventually found his way to his feet. McCoy still appeared to be woozy and his play after the hit was absolutely atrocious.
You would have to think that the helmet to helmet hit from Harrison to McCoy resulted in a concussion. Then why didn’t the Browns even check McCoy for concussion symptoms on the sideline? The NFL, who is as safety conscious as possible, should have a big problem with this.
Another figure who didn’t like the way Cleveland handled their quarterback was McCoy’s father, Brad. Brad McCoy sounded off to the Cleveland Plain Dealer and it wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement for the Browns.
“He never should’ve gone back in the game,” McCoy told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “He was basically out [cold] after the hit. You could tell by the ridigity of his body as he laying there. There were a lot of easy symptoms that should’ve told them he had a concussion. He was nauseated and he didn’t know who he was. From what I could see, they didn’t test him for a concussion on the sidelines. They looked at his [left] hand.”
Father McCoy later commented on the situation during a radio interview with ESPN 850.
“After the game, the [public relations staff] made sure Colt’s interview was brief and he couldn’t face the lights in his press conference,” he said. “The TV lights and the stadium lights were killing him. Why would you say he was fine? That makes it even worse.
“Josh Cribbs suffered a groin injury earlier in the game and he was out for the rest of the game. Colt takes a severe hit like that and he’s back in the game a play later? If he took another blow to the head, we could’ve been talking about his career here.”
Cleveland should definitely be punished for their handling of the injury. If it wasn’t obvious enough watching the game live, Brad McCoy’s comments clearly indicate that his son had a concussion and the team did nothing about it.
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