The NFL needs to step up concussion prevention measures

The National Football League provides incredible lives for thousands of men every year. Since the creation of the league, legions have been made financially secure or given the tools to find success. Yet, when these gladiators pass into retirement, the public and NFL seemingly forget they existed, moving on to the next generation of greats.

Unfortunately, there are massive health issues crippling the players from years past. In the last five years, we have seen the suicides of Junior Seau, Ray Easterling and Dave Duerson. All three were found to have chronic traumatic encephalopathy, better known as CTE. The disease is a buildup of abnormal proteins, ultimately destroying a person’s ability to regulate emotion and remember events.

The issue is not only about aging players. Jovan Belcher, a former Kansas City Chiefs linebacker who killed his girlfriend before taking his own life in the Arrowhead Stadium parking lot in 2012, was also found to have CTE. Belcher was 25 years old at the time of his death. Chris Henry, a former Cincinnati Bengals receiver, passed away in 2009 after dying in a motor vehicle accident. Henry, 26, also had CTE.

Other well-known players are suffering right now with symptoms associated with CTE, including Tony Dorsett, Jim McMahon, Dorsey Levens, Jamal Lewis, Joe DeLamielleuerre, and many more.

In recent years, the NFL has taken steps to reduce concussions. Players suspected of a head injury must come out of a game and be evaluated with concussion protocol. Those who do not pass must remain out for the remainder of the contest and then go through a battery of tests before being cleared to play down the line. While these are positive decisions by the NFL, more needs to be done in terms if equipment.

Helmets have been made better over the years, but leaps need to be made. The technology is waiting to be discovered, and perhaps already has been. In the 1988 and ’89, Buffalo Bills safety Mark Kelso sustained four concussions, according to Kevin Kelps of Crain’s Cleveland Business. In hopes of elongating Kelso’s career, and life, Bills trainer Ed Abramoski gave Kelso an protective layer for the top of his helmet, now known as a ProCap.

The look of the ProCap was awkward, but the result is undeniable. Kelso played four more seasons and only had one concussion, coming when he was kneed in the head by a man 100 pounds heavier. Steve Wallace of the San Francisco 49ers and Randy Dixon of the Indianapolis Colts also wore a ProCap successfully, but nobody has since.

So why didn’t others wear it?

“With football players, aesthetics wins out over safety every time,” Kelso said Tuesday night.

The ProCap was not, and is not, the perfect answer. Research conducted by Penn State labs stated that the device could lead to terrible neck injuries, a claim both Kelso and the manufacturers dispute. Nevertheless, the ProCap shows there are other alternatives. In the 20 years since the ProCap went into extinction, helmets have remained generally the same.

The NFL players association should demand the players are given better helmets for the well-being of its members. If the NFLPA won’t do it, the NFL should be on the warpath in the constant pursuit of better equipment, not just pay the notion lip service.

About Matt Verderame

Matt Verderame, 26, is a New Yorker who went to school at the frozen tundra of SUNY Oswego. After graduating, Verderame has worked for Gannett and SB Nation among other ventures.

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