The Super Bowl brings together sports enthusiasts, music lovers, and commercial fans for the most watched event of the year. Millions of people gather together to celebrate, the Super Bowl even though it threatens lives with every blow to the head that a player receives. Concussions are a huge part of sports that can bring a day of fun and excitement to a screeching halt for a player. I have witnessed a friend, who went onto the field for a game, have the next few months of her life and possibly her entire life, changed after being knocked down. She could not stand and walk without help, and, even then, she did not know which way the sideline was or how to walk in a straight line. She missed over a month of school, but at least she did not have to relearn the names of the players on our team or her own past experiences, as another teammate of mine had to do after receiving a concussion. Football is a much more dangerous sport than soccer, yet these instances show that, if it can happen in a non contact sport, then it can surely happen frequently in a contact sport like football. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the National Football League (NFL) need unified regulations regarding concussions with equal protection for all positions, unbiased trainers and medical practitioners, education for the players, loved ones, coaches, and trainers, and rules that allow players time to fully heal.

In order to set rules and regulations regarding concussions in the NCAA and the NFL, they must first understand what a concussion is and how it affects people. According to Dr. Terry Zeigler, "A concussion is a brain injury in which the brain is 'concussed' inside of the skull from either a direct impact (i.e., hit by a ball) or a whiplash-type motion in which the brain is concussed through the accelerated motion of the head when the head is snapped forwards and/or backwards" (n.p.). The NCAA and the NFL cannot treat concussions like any other injury because the damage occurs internally, which increases the difficulty of treatments and diagnostics. Even the worst concussion does not cause the brain to stick out of one's head like a broken bone. However, brain damage cannot be reversed, and one cannot simply get a brain replacement like one can with a knee or leg. The brain distinguishes people as human, and it needs protection.

The NCAA and the NFL have to deal with concussions more than any other sport since football is a contact sport. Therefore, the NCAA and the NFL should have the most regulations in order to combat this problem. Jenny Vientas, a NFL writer, reported, "The collisions that draw the most attention are usually the ones that happen in the open field: A receiver streaking across the middle gets blindsided by a safety for instance" (Trouble in the Trenches, n.p.). Certain positions have an advantage as the focal point of the game, enabling onlookers to readily see the players' injuries, unlike the injuries of players who are, for example offensive linesmen. The NCAA and the NFL need to ensure that all players receive equal observation, and that no position will be left behind to deal with repercussions of undiagnosed injuries. The NFL has put into place an "eye in the sky" in attempt to alleviate this issue: "In response to the Colt McCoy slip-up in 2011, when the Browns quarterback was brutally hit by Steelers linebacker James Harrison but returned to the game without being checked for a concussion, the league began hiring an independent injury spotter to sit high above the field at every stadium" (Vrentas, The NFL's Eye in the Sky, n.p.). While one person sits high in the sky to watch every play, twenty-two players on the field require observation. Even with the capability to rewind and re-watch plays, players will have played the next several downs already by the time a play has been reviewed. With only one person in charge, his or her eyes cannot see what happens in the open field and in the background. There needs to be at least two people watching: one for the linemen and one for the open field. While the NFL has taken some steps toward trying to protect their players, the NCAA needs to step up and follow suit.

Concussions are complicated because they do not appear on any scans or have any regulated or standardized protocol mandated by the NCAA and the NFL. Doctors and trainers all agree that multiple symptoms, including headaches, nausea, irritability, and memory loss all denote concussions. One of the most looked for symptoms is the loss of consciousness. However, Chin, Saffary and Cantu said, "It is estimated that 90 percent of sports-related concussions occur without loss of consciousness" (2). If loss of consciousness is not actually the main symptom, then players are more than likely not being diagnosed with existing concussions. Three levels or grades of concussions function as the primary measuring tape, with loss of consciousness as the worst grade. Dr. Cailyn Reilly explains, "As Dr. Bennet Omalu, co-founder of the Brain Injury Research Institute at West Virginia University notes, 'there is no such thing as a mild concussion'" (253). Therefore, the trainers for the NCAA and NFL need to make sure that they do not exclusively look for one symptom, but for any of the symptoms. Thorough examinations will ensure that examiners do not release players with any amount of head trauma, since all head trauma is significant. If trainers only look for the major concussions with loss of consciousness, then they deceive their players by informing them that all the other symptoms are unimportant and incensequential.  

Some people claim that the NCAA and the NFL use baseline tests and, therefore, regulate players' health. Daniel Kain describes the baseline test, saying, "Baseline testing provides a comparison between a player's normal brain function tested at the beginning of the season against the player's post-concussive brain function54" (705-706). The baseline test is a great tool. However, the test is not a quick test, making it impractical for the sideline of a game. Instead, the test is usually only used after a player has received a diagnosis of a concussion, and, at this point, players have already slipped off and under the radar. 

The NCAA and the NFL need to enforce a regulation where in players do not return to the field for any length while they have not completely recovered from their concussion. Danie Kain states, "However, suffering repeated concussions raises the danger of 'second-impact syndrome ('SIS'), a potentially fatal condition that occurs when a player returns to competition before the symptoms of a first concussion resolve" (703-704). The team is not thinking about the player's life when they tell the player to go in for one last big play of the game. Rather, the team only thinks about their wins and money earned from using each player to accomplish their goal no matter what the price. If the brain has not had time to properly heal, then, when put back into action, it will easily reinjure, just like continuing to play on a broken ankle will only worsen the injury.

The NCAA and the NFL need to have a limit on the number of concussions a player can receive in a season and still continue to play, since players who obtain multiple concussions have a greater risk for immediate symptoms and lifelong effects that the injuries bring. According to Daniel Goldenberg, "A small 2005 retrospective study reported that retired professional football players who reported three or more concussions were five times as likely to report mild cognitive impairment and three times as likely to have memory problems as compared to retirees with no concussion history (Guskiewicz, 2005)" (345). A concussion does not heal overnight and usually takes awhile to heal, especially if the injury has a higher grade. Therefore, if the players receives multiple concussions and proper treatment, the player should more than likely not return anyways. All of the recovery time would cause further injuries to happen late in the season, causing the player to be off the line up. The improper management of injuries and false claims of recovery place players in dangerous situations. Subsequently, regulations must protect the players from under the table deals regarding their lives. Daniel Kain's research shows, "The NFL's internal concussion committee maintains that if multiple concussions are managed properly,1 the player will not suffer any long-term effects.2 This stance taken by the NFL represents the minority opinion on the issue" (697). Regardless of what multiple studies have shown with receiving three or more concussions, the NCAA and the NFL have not responded and continue to believe that players will be fine. The organizations making the decisions rely on the people hiding behind desks, where they do not worry about their brains, but their wallets that profit off of success, no matter where it may come from.

A huge part of the aftermath of concussions derives from the lack of education for players regarding the severity of life changing concussions, so players do not report their injuries. The NCAA and the NFL need to increase the education for players, coaches, trainers, and even loved ones to make sure that they are fully aware of what they sign onto. In Kerr, Register-Mihalik, Kroshus, Baugh, and Marshall's survey, they found that "former football athletes were most likely to report that they did not disclose a SISRC [Self Identified Sports Related Concussion] (68.3% of those reporting SISRC)" (222). Over half of the players surveyed had a concussion and knew that they had a concussion, but decided not to inform their coaches and training staff of their injuries. There are several factors to blame for this attitude, such as not believing that concussions are that serious and players not wanting to let their team down or look "weak" since no one can see the injury. Constantly, coaches tell players to toughen up, and even loved ones will chime in with their two cents on how the player just needs to wait out the injury and it will be fine. Dr. Lawrence Chin proclaims, "Instead, it should be emphasized that they may produce varying degrees of lifelong changes in neurological function, which may be delayed in onset" (3). If players are only told that the injury is a major injury, but they only feel a headache and slight nausea, then they will believe that they can deal with the symptoms. When informed that the effects may not appear immediately and will effect their long term memory and behavior, then they will be more likely to understand. Also, if the people surrounding the person with an injury understand exactly what the injury means, then the player will not feel as pressured by his loved ones and teammates to sacrifice himself for one win and moment of fame.

The NCAA was created in order to make the football league safer, but the organization has since lost their focus and goal. Cailyn Reilly declares, "While this undoubtedly demonstrates an acknowledgement of the severity of concussions, independent, bilateral actions are not nearly as effective as unilateral, standardized regulations from the NCAA would be" (260). Small individual organizations and teams have started to make rules and regulations regarding concussions, but they the rules vary on where one looks. Also, with varying regulations, each organization can decide the ratio of protecting the players and masking the fact that they really only care about winning. Some people say that the NCAA does have rules and regulations, so they are protecting the players. Erika Diehl looked into the rules and said, 

Although the handbook stresses that 'it is essential that no athlete be allowed to return to participation when any symptoms, including mild headaches, persist,'49 the handbook goes on to conclude that 'for any injury that involves significant symptoms, long duration 
of symptoms or difficulties with memory function (either retrograde or antegrade), not be 
allowed to return to play during the same day of competition' (112).

Keeping a player with a serious injury from playing for only during the day the injury happened is not protecting the player. The handbook allows trainers and coaches to throw their players back into action, "encouraging" them to admit to be symptom free and then putting them back in the ring of fire. The handbook contradicts itself, and only brings to the table an argument that they care since they put a regulation in the book. People may also argue that the addition of helmets from the NCAA acts in their own favor. Lawrence Chin argues, "Nevertheless, the risk of sports-related head injuries remains high with stranger and faster athletes and equipment enhancements, the modern helmet with face guard, which may paradoxically increase risk taking and result in blows to the head that have higher energy" (2). If players did not have helmets on their head, they would be less likely to rush in head first to a tackle or act so aggressively. Helmets create an illusion of safety because, while it can protect the skull, no addition can protect the brain. A concussion occurs when the brain bounces around inside the skull which is more likely to happen when a player aggressively rushes in with their head.

 A large amount of concussions happen in practices, so some people believe that the NCAA and NFL needs to implement a new resource that has recently been created called a robot. Dartmouth college has created a robot and claims, "This is actually the first tackling dummy at any practice of this sort that can actually move and replicate player motion. You take one player out of any tackling at practice and you have already cut your injury risk by half because that player is not standing there taking the hit" (Robot Helps Football Players Avoid Concussions). This seems helpful, but, in reality, the robot will not decrease people tackling. If the offensive linemen use the robot to practice against, then the defense will just have to wait to practice and tackle to robot after the offense. The robot only decreases the amount of tackling against people, but the same amount of people are still tackling, which means that the injury risks are not actually cut in half. 

Trainers and medical staff should be hired and paid through the NCAA and NFL. Each team should still pay their staff, but, by adding a middle man, the act of bribing and swaying the staff's professional opinion would be greatly minimized. The NFL and NCAA could enforce fines on teams that refuse to pay or threaten trainers job security and can continue to pay the trainers. Daniel Kain says, "In order for teams to maximize profit through winning games, it stands to reason that coaches and management place incredible pressure on trainers to return their most talented athletes to the playing field as soon as possible" (708-709). Diagnosing a concussion is subjective because each concussion is different, and holding examiner's check and job above his or her head makes the decision to declare an injury much harder. The people who are supposed to be there solely for the players are the ones turning their backs in order to make a living. 

In conclusion, the NCAA and the NFL need to step up and get over their pride and need for success in order to protect the very people giving them the success. Educating players, coaches, and even loved ones could bring down the amount of hidden concussions and help save player's lives. Also, trainers should be paid from the NCAA and NFL instead of directly from teams, and regulations on the number of concussions need to be added. Football players' lives matter more than the enjoyment of the people. Therefore, the NCAA and NFL need to add regulations and rules in order to actually do their job and protect the players. 

