Sep 16, 2012; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Brady Quinn (9) on the sideline during the third quarter against the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Bills beat the Chiefs 35-17. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-US PRESSWIRE
The NFL has tried to buckle down and protect players. One of the biggest areas of concern from the NFL has been player concussions. While the NFL is making an honest effort to protect their players, we need to admit that it is not working.
Players will not pull themselves from the game and they will always attempt to pass off the injury as just being shaken up. Training staffs can closing monitor signs from the sidelines and attempt to pull players for evaluation, but the reality is that players can hide the symptoms in some cases and the training staff will never know if they aren’t self reported.
The latest case is Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Brady Quinn who admitted to playing with a concussion. Despite grabbing the wrong helmet on the sideline and having tunnel vision, Quinn made his way back on the field to toss an interception to the Raiders.
Quinn knew he was endangering himself by going back onto the field but he simply wanted to keep playing.
“That’s why I tried to stay in the game, because it was the first opportunity for me in a while,” Quinn said. “I tried to play through it, and that’s my fault for not being smart about it.”
As hard as the league tries, they need to admit that they won’t be able to find every concussion that is suffered during a game. They are making an honest effort, but some will always slip through the cracks and the players will not report the injuries on their own.