Quote:
Originally Posted by Judtech
Here are the problems as I see them:1. A player hits the floor hard and takes awhile getting up and leaves the game. The player checks in at the table to return to the game but the officials don't let the player back into the game b/c they feel he/she is "concussed" (if that is a word, it is a cool one) The team with said player loses b/c their star is unable to return to the game b/c of the medical opinion of someone who is not trained to give a medical opinion. 2. Players collide with each other, but there is no apparent concussion. The player leaves the game, and when they return show "no signs symptoms etc" of concussion and finish the game. After the game, the player experiences headaches, nausea and vertigo and then is rushed to the hospital where he is found to have a severe concussion.
Again, very few if any officials are qualified to notice these things. How many medical/health things do we leave in the hands of the trainers/doctors yet when it comes to concussions WE have to make a determination? Can you imagine an official telling a player they can't wear that knee brace b/c that official doesn't think there really IS a knee problem? I will be asking several questions at our state meeting and if the season started today, probably not let ANY player who hit the floor hard and left the game come back in. As the saying goes "Better safe than sued!!"  |
I would agree, but the clarification in football (where this is much more of a realistic concern) was that all we do is send them off. After that, we are not involved. So if a player comes back in, it is assumed that they have been checked out. The only issue is if the player is deemed to be unconscious as normal. Your state or any state can take a harder line on this and require more documentation, but as it stands from football, this will be really on the coaches. The wording that came out is the exact same as other sports so far, but the application was not made very clear. Now it was made clear in football and it appears we really are not involved. We just send off a player we think has a concussion and move on. I agree we are not the best people to determine this, but in basketball it is a lot easier to see a player cannot function. In a sport like football it is very hard and the same kind of hand-eye coordination is not the same or as obvious considering many players in football might not be around the ball.
Peace