Eric Winston Blasts Coaches For Use Of ‘Mild Concussion’ Label
By Phil Watson
A pair of NFL coaches said some not-so-enlightened things about concussions this week, prompting Eric Winston, president of the NFL Players Association, to sound off.
Eric Winston isn’t playing football right now, but as the president of the NFL Players Association, he’s still very much plugged into the doings and sayings around the league.
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After Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera and Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis talked about having players dealing with “mild” concussions, Winston sounded off on social media.
According to Pro Football Talk, Winston took to Twitter and sharpened up his sarcasm:
"“Always good to see the NFL educating their HCs on health/safety. Glad they are taking the lead on serious issues like concussions.”"
Rivera made a statement this week that rookie wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin has a “mild” concussion.
Lewis went a step further, in essence blaming media influence for the amount of time players miss with head injuries, saying media attention on concussions causes them to “linger” longer than in the past.
"“You don’t have a ‘mild’ concussion. You either have one or you don’t,” Winston wrote. “Perpetuating the idea that it’s the media’s fault that concussions ‘linger’ longer just shows how far we still have to go in educating everyone.”"
According to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (and this group would probably have a mildly decent idea about this):
"“A concussion is an injury to the brain that results in temporary loss of normal brain function. It usually is caused by a blow to the head. In many cases there are no external signs of head trauma. …“Even mild concussions should not be taken lightly. Neurosurgeons and other brain-injury experts emphasize that although some concussions are less serious than others, there is no such thing as a ‘minor concussion.’ In most cases, a single concussion should not cause permanent damage. A second concussion soon after the first one, however, does not have to be very strong for its effects to be deadly or permanently disabling.”"
Funny, but it really seems like that opinion should take precedence over a football coach who is annoyed that a player is having to miss practice of game time because he, as they used to say in the old days, “got his bell rung.”
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