Junior Logan Carmean was on the verge of finishing his first football season against the Fayetteville Purple Bulldogs when he lined up for what was supposed to be an easy onside kick. As the ball was kicked into the air, it fell right into Carmean’s hands. Three opponents, converged upon him and hit him in the head.
“All I remember is blacking out and feeling sick to my stomach,” said Carmean. “Coach Haney said that I told him I was okay, so they didn’t bother giving me a concussion test.”
Carmean finished the game, but he doesn’t remember it. The whole week was a blur. He forgot what classes he was in and what he was doing in them. The next day his injury was obvious when he failed the test.
“I couldn’t even say the months backwards,” he said.
Junior football player Paul Willamson also suffered from a concussion last season in a sophomore spring practice.
“I came up and made a hard tackle on a guy and got up dazed and confused,” he said. “I didn’t really know where I was, how I got there, or how I got my pads on for about 10-15 minutes.”
According to Williamson, sophomores had not received their new helmets, so they were practicing in worn out ones. Williamson was removed from full contact practice for a week.
Moments like these are what make parents and viewers question player safety. Helmet-to-helmet penalties are being enforced in the National Football League(NFL), National Collegiate Athletes Association (NCAA), and high school. They’re enforced so strongly, that in high school and the NCAA, they’re penalizing players whose helmets come off, by sending them to the sideline for one play, unless the helmet is pried off.
The high school football program has started informing parents and players on how head injuries can be prevented, by simply following the rules. The coaches and staff created a parent/player meeting where they show a video on how to prevent head injuries and concussions. The coaches went through concussion training this offseason. The medical staff is also well trained and equipped on the sideline of every game.
“We are trying to do everything to prevent concussions,” said Coach Greg Simpson. “The helmets now are way more protective than when Coach Taylor played in his leather one.”
According to The New York Times, Alan Schwarz states that former Chicago Bears star Dave Duerson shot himself in the chest, so his brain could be tested in order to determine if illnesses he had been suffering from were a result of head injuries.
Boston University researchers found that Duerson had the same trauma-induced disease found in 2o other deceased players called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).
CTE is a disease of the brain usually found in athletes, due to repetitive brain trauma. This disease is usually found in boxers, but researchers have recently discovered CTE in retired professional football players according to the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy.
This disease progressively triggers degeneration of brain tissue, which causes memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, impulse control problems, depression, aggression, and eventually, progressive dementia.
“I still think about it every now and then, but you can’t think about getting hurt. You’ll end up hurt trying to avoid it,” Williamson said. “I just try to tackle without leading with my head.”
