Concussions in the NFL: A player tells his story
CLEVELAND, Ohio — “Football is 100 percent injury.”
These were the words of NFL receiver and returner Josh Cribbs, who was one of four panelists speaking out about concussions in football during the Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ) annual conference in Cleveland, Ohio last week.
Cribbs, one of two NFL players represented on the concussion panel, said he was of two minds when it comes to football and brain trauma. On one hand, Cribbs professed his unconditional love for America’s most popular team sport. But he spoke with equal emotion of how the game he loves comes with a high cost: Cribbs might not be able to live a full, healthy life because of the blows he took to the head during his 11-year professional career.
While his career might be coming to an end soon — Cribbs, 32, is a free agent and said he’d only want to play for the Cleveland Browns next season — the risks he faces will likely continue for several more years. And the former Kent State and Dunbar High School star now faces the prospect of his son wanting to follow in his father’s footsteps and pursue his own football career.
Cribbs’ 6-year-old son currently plays flag football in a youth league that teaches its young players proper tackling techniques. Providing such lessons early on, league officials hope, could result in fewer head injuries as players grow and pursue prep, collegiate and professional football careers.
But safer tackling techniques don’t eliminate Cribbs’ concerns about the effects of playing football, particularly when some of those injuries above the shoulders can lead to concussions or chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
“I want him to be happy,” Cribbs said when he was asked whether he would allow his son to pursue football ambitions, internally debating his response for several moments. He went on to say that his son would be allowed to play football if doing so made him happy. Ideally the younger Cribbs would pursue a football career while also being safe, said the elder Cribbs.
The stakes are especially high for NFL players, where every man has a nonguaranteed or partially guaranteed contract. That means there is almost always an incentive to play as many downs as possible, even if with serious injuries. A player who cannot play on Sunday afternoon might not have a contract come Tuesday morning. Players fear being perceived as damaged goods by other teams. There are millions of dollars on the line. Some players, including Cribbs, made every effort to cover up the symptoms of concussion to ensure they continue to play the game the love (and the paychecks keep coming).
From left, NFL free agent Josh Cribbs, Charles Bernick of the Cleveland Clinic, ESPN senior coordinating producer Dwayne Bray, and former NFL receiver Steve Sanders recently spoke about the risks of concussions during the AHCJ 2016 conference in Cleveland. (Photo by Parimal M. Rohit)
Cribbs recalls one game where he was knocked down by a defender and returned to his feet in a daze. As he returned to the sidelines, Cribbs knew he would be assessed for a possible concussion. He was asked a common question in such situations by team staff: “Who is our opponent?”
Naming the wrong opponent (or no opponent at all) would be a red flag to the team staff and spur more questioning or testing to determine whether the player is suffering from a concussive injury.
On this particular Sunday Cribbs was knocked down so hard he had no clue which team was on the opposing sideline when asked. Cribbs did all he could to stall and buy enough time to come up with the correct answer. At first he feigned being out of breath. He requested a few moments on the bench.
Finally, he was asked again: “Who is our opponent?”
Cribbs still had no idea and made another attempt to stall.
Moments later Cribbs heard a whistle on the field. He jumped up from the bench and dramatically pointed in the general direction of the whistle, as if Cribbs witnessed something significant on the field. The staff surrounding him looked toward the direction Cribbs pointed, while he looked the other way and glanced at the scoreboard.
When the team staff returned their attention to Cribbs, he immediately told them the answer to their questions: the Denver Broncos.
The answer was good enough for the team’s medical staff. But Cribbs’ coach was not fully convinced. Cribbs begged and pleaded. When Cribbs told his head coach the doctors had cleared him to play — based upon his correct identification of Denver Broncos as game opponent — only then did he reluctantly allow his player onto the field. As the story suggests, concussion protocols don’t always keep injured players off the field.
What price NFL players will ultimately pay varies from player to player. Cribbs had his brain analyzed recently and was told his brain resembled that of a 52-year-old. Since Cribbs is 32, the condition of his brain likely the result of his many years of playing youth, prep, college and professional football.
Charles Bernick, a panelist who also serves as the medical director of the Cleveland Clinic’s Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, said we still do not know enough about the connection between concussions and CTE in football. Fellow panelist Dwayne Bray, senior coordinating producer at ESPN, said that growing media coverage of sports-related concussions will bring much needed attention to the issue and help find answers. Former NFL receiver and Training Camp for Life founder Steve Sanders is doing his part by helping youth football players learn proper tackling techniques.
[Lead photo by John McStravick via Flickr.]