Within the United States we love our football, but something so amazing still has conflicts among it. In the current state of the NFL, one of the main conflicts is based on the Concussion Protocol. The first changes to the protocol were implemented in 2011. It has had minor changes over the years. In 2016, disciplinary action was implemented towards teams that did not follow the protocol correctly. So do you believe the current protocol is a good fit and will continue to protect the players we love?

The current five steps of the Concussion Protocol are as follows; 1: When a potential concussion is identified the player shall be removed immediately from the field, 2: The NFL team physician and the Unaffiliated Neurotrauma Consultant (UNC) will A: review the video of the play B: perform a focused neurological examination, 3: Madden rule: if there is suspicion of concussion, the player will be escorted to the locker room for a full assessment, 4: If the player is diagnosed with a concussion there is no same-day return to play, 5: if the player passes the exam, he will be monitored for symptoms throughout the game.

We from the Cougar Claw would like to thank SBNATION for the information in this article.

https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2016/9/18/12940926/nfl-concussion-protocol-explained

The Cougar Claw decided to interview Ms. Williams, our school health teacher and Mr. Gorder, who works with athletes in the cross country and track department. The Cougar Claw asked them the same questions listed as following; what is your opinion on the current NFL concussion protocol? , In which Ms. Williams replied “I believe it is good the players stay out of play with a suspected concussion.”, What would you suggest the NFL can change on the protocol?, Ms. Williams replied with “I believe the players need a period of time off, and they need to make sure there are not any neurological abnormalities before the player returns.” What is the likelihood a wrongly done protocol can endanger a player’s career?  Ms. Williams says “ If players return to play before the brain is healed they can suffer from second impact syndrome or they can become completely disabled, and cause memory loss later in life.” These were Mr. Gorders responses to the same questions; “It’s about time, there are bugs that still need to be worked out, things are going on the right track.”  “It can be improved, and the players and coaches can enforce it more.”  “If things aren’t followed properly it can affect a players life.”

Overall the concussion protocol is always going to have mixed opinions. The NFL continues to improve this over time. So, can a rule originally implemented in 2009 really be good enough to keep today’s players safe? There will continue to be an endless debate on the entire concussion protocol.