Imagine you were playing in the biggest football game of your life, and you get hit hard during a play. As you start to stand up and get ready for the next play, you become dizzy and your vision starts to blur. Your teammates ask you if you are okay and if you need medical attention, what would you say? Would you give up playing in the biggest game of your life, or would you try to continue when you know you are injured? This is the dilemma that many players in the National Football League find themselves in whenever they play the game they love. For years now, the National Football League has been the victim of multiple lawsuits and allegations that accuse them of not properly protecting their players from concussions. But rather than placing all responsibility on the league and its executives, the responsibility falls on the shoulders of the players, the violent nature of the game, and the players' unawareness of the dangers of concussions. I argue that the NFL is not to blame for the concussion crisis, but rather the players themselves. This is because the league cannot change the game anymore without making serious changes, which would ruin the game and create more issues between the league and their fans.

The concussion crisis became headline news in 2013 after the release of a TV shows, and later a book, titled "The League of Denial". This story made the connection between severe brain injuries and chronic health issues later in life. It was the first widely-recognized, and well-known source of information that showed the link between concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. The show also revealed that the NFL had been preforming a two decade long cover up of the information surrounding the link between concussions and brain damage. During this cover up, league executives would league executives were telling players that concussions were "safe injuries", which meant that concussions had zero lasting effects. The league had known for years the lasting effects of concussions and of multiple careers that were cut short due to brain damage and concussions, including Hall-of-Famer Troy Aikman. They were quick to shut down any talk of whether concussions should have been something for the players to worry about. Although the league tried to hide any connection between concussions and the shortened careers, Aikman actually cited his many head injuries and back problems as the leading factosr of his retirement. Along with this, the sudden, relatively young deaths and suicides of former players had caused a lot of talk and scandal surrounding the NFL. These deaths and suicides includes many well know, and Hall-of Fame players, such as Junior Seau, Adrian Robinson, and Ken Stabler. 

The concussion crisis took another jump in public opinion when the league was sued by thousands of former players who were claiming that the league should be held accountable for allowing players to continue to play with concussions. The judge made a decision that found the NFL guilty of not protecting its players from the effects of concussions and withholding information about the lasting effects of concussions on the brain. The former players stated that if they had known about the lasting effects of concussions, they would have never played the game. The judge ordered NFL executives to pay over $900 million to former players, and their families, to pay compensation for the effects of concussions on their lives, and their loved ones. Not only did this lawsuit call for compensation for damages, it also called for a review of the concussion protocol in the NFL and making sure that the NFL continued to protect its players to the best of their ability. 

Before the lawsuit and "League of Denial" happened, the NFL had a very loose concussion protocol that stated that the player could remain in the game even when the medical staff consulted against it. They also did not have anyone looking at players for signs of concussions, nor did they have a set amount of time a player must sit out in order to be cleared medically. This allowed players to quickly come onto the sideline and try to rally themselves, and regain enough control and mental awareness to finish the game such as Julian Edelman. This caused many players to increase the severity of their head injury due to continuous head-on collisions after they suffered a concussion. 

Another major headline caused by the concussion crisis was the league's decision to publically recognize the connection between repetitive head injuries and CTE. This caused many former players to also claim money for damages and health issues, but also for many current players to publically condemn the league. Along with this, many current players also decided to end their careers short due to fear of CTE including Calvin Johnson, Roger Stalbach, Steve Young, and the most shocking Chris Borland. Borland is only 24 years old, but decided to retire from the league due to his concerns over his own safety and future after his career. 

In Super Bowl 49, the 2015 championship game, the New England Patriots' number one wide receiver, Julian Edelman, was put in the exact situation that is described above. After a violent impact with Seattle Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor, Edelman began stumbling around dazed and confused. At the time, it was not apparent that the talented wide receiver suffered a brain injury but after the game the play was shown multiple times on television because of the growing awareness and slander of the NFL's concussion protocol. It became very clear that Edelman, who ended up making two huge plays that led to his team's victory, should not have been allowed to play for the remainder of the game. When reporters and analysts asked coaches and other players, many of them stated that they did not care whether Edelman continued playing or not, as long as he believed he could. Many people saw this as dangerous, and many former players also spoke out and said that the league should have stepped in to prevent this. Because of all the backlash and public disapproval, the NFL placed new rules to their protocol including the use of "spotters" whose job it is to spot out players that may have obtained a head injury during a play. They would observe the player after the play and decide whether to have that player sidelined in order to be looked at, or to allow him to keep playing.

There has been much debate about whether or not the NFL is going to have to be shut down due to the inability to protect its players. For instance, Katie Drummond says that the NFL has no current, or upcoming threat to the league's existence, but it could be on the horizon if there is no change. Her belief is that the NFL should not be focusing on how to treat players with concussions, or their recovery, but rather the league should focus on the preventions of concussions in the first place. Drummond suggests that the NFL implement new rules and regulations that limit the amount of head contact during hits and blocking. In recent years, the NFL has done exactly this by changing the rules about how certain players, particularly players in high contact positions, can be hit by defenders. Along with this, she also suggested that the NFL institutes an independent neurologist, who would not be subject to influence from the team's coaches and players. 

During recent years, Frontline news has kept track of how many concussions were recorded during each season and have found success in proving that the concussion problem is not going away. In particular, Frontline has done a tremendous job of analyzing their data, and organizing it into the different positions, and which positions are more prone to concussions. Although any major football fan could have guessed this, the positions that receive the most concussions are cornerbacks, wide receivers, linebackers, and the safeties. The majority of these positions are located on the defensive side of the ball, excluding wide receivers, and are expected to make big plays and do whatever is necessary to stop the player with the ball. Unfortunately, this includes making big hits even on defenseless, unaware players. This is the most common play that players receive concussions because the patient had no clue that he was about to get hit, and could not properly protect, or brace themselves for the contact. Along with the potential to hurt the defenseless player, many of these hits occur at very high speeds and ends up hurting both the offensive and defensive players. 

Players hitting one another with the crowns of their heads can cause concussions as well as defenseless hits and high speed hits. Many football analysts, and rugby players have criticized the NFL for not teaching its players newer, safer techniques to making hits on players. Rugby players especially have expressed their opinion because they are also playing a violent game that requires lots of physical contact during each play, without all the padding and equipment that the NFL players have. They say that the reason the NFL players are so prone to injury is because they feel too protected in all their pads, and feel invincible. They say this causes the players to recklessly throw their bodies around without thinking about the possibility of injury. In particular, they say that players lead with their heads because they have the hard helmets on, and think they are protected. One NFL team, the Seattle Seahawks, have taken notice to this claim and has taken pride in teaching their players how to hit using the strategies and techniques that rugby players use in their hits. This involves using their body's momentum and inertia, and leading with the shoulder rather than the head. Along with protecting their players from concussions better than any other team in the NFL, the Seahawks are known for their hard-hitting, solid defensive play year after year. If other teams in the NFL could also develop the strategy and techniques taught in Seattle and rugby, they could effectively lower the amount of concussions per year, and potentially improve their defense. 

The NFL has noticed which positions are prone to concussions, and taken into conclusion the advice of reporters such as Katie Drummond, and has implemented many new rules that prevents these types of plays. For example, whenever a receiver catches the football, a defender is not allowed to hit them above the shoulders until they have taken at least two steps. This ensures that the player can see the hit coming, and can brace for the impact. If the defender hits the player above the shoulders before they take two steps, they are flagged on the play, and are usually fined after the game. Along with this, the league has also implemented another rule that states that a defender cannot lead with their head whenever they hit an offensive player. This was an attempt for the league to promote players to lead with their shoulders when making contact plays. As with the other new rule, if the defensive player does not abide by this, they are flagged and usually fined after the game. 

Although the league has placed new rules in order to prevent head injuries, many defensive players are stuck in their ways, and the way they grew up playing, and continue to hit as they were taught growing up. On the other end of the spectrum, players have started to hit players unusually low, particularly in the knees, and it has caused a very noticeable increase in the amount of knee injuries in the NFL. In particular, players who play the tight-end position have been the victim of these low hits due to their size. Players who play the tight end position, who average to be about 6'4, 250 lbs., are getting hit low because they are usually much bigger than the defensive players. The defensive player notices this, and realizes that the only way he will win that collision is if he goes low, for the legs. This has caused a lot of debate about whether or not there is anything that can be done to protect the players from being hurt, because its either get hit high and have the possibility of receiving a concussion, or get hit low and have a potentially career ending knee injury.  

Along with the developments in play, and the new rules and penalties that were instituted to protect players, the NFL has also improved their recovery and treatment plans for players who are suffering from concussions. This includes spotters, who are positioned high above the field to detect players who are potentially concussed, as well as on-field trainers who diagnose players on the sidelines, and determine whether or not they are healthy enough to continue playing. Along with this the league has also implemented a strict concussion test and protocol that the players must pass in order to return to play after they have been ruled out for the current game. This prevents players from just sitting out for the remainder of the game, and returning to practice next week despite whether or not they are actually able to return.

Overall, the NFL has taken all the possible steps to try and prevent its players from receiving numerous concussions. This includes many new rules and penalties that discourage players from making violent hits to the heads of players, hitting defenseless players, and helmet-to-helmet contact. They have also improved the way trainers diagnose and treat players who have potentially sustained concussions by the implementation of spotters who detect the potentially injured player, and the trainers on the field who go through the concussion tests and protocols. The league is also actively trying to find new, and better equipment that would protect its players better than they currently are. They have also made sure that players are completely healthy and have no lingering symptoms of their concussions before they are allowed to return to practice. But despite the best efforts of league executives and coaches, the number of concussions each year is not declining.

 This rise in concussions is due to the violent nature of the game and the unwillingness of players to learn new ways to hit, and play defense. The game is meant to be high contact, high speed, and fast paced, so there is always going to be the danger of injury. All the league can do is put in place rules and regulations that are supposed to protect its players, but it's up to the players to play by the rules and protect themselves to the best of their ability. Anything beyond that would cause the nature of the game to change, and in many fans' eyes, ruin the game that they love.  In my opinion, there will never be a year that goes by where there is not a concussion in the NFL, but I do believe that the number can be drastically reduced with the cooperation and teamwork of the executives, players, and coaches in the NFL. 

