What an odd post. I'm not familiar with the specifics of the football concussion rule, but assuming it's nearly identical to the soccer one, it's my opinion that the Ohio law requires, at minimum, that the referees comply with the concussion rule. Failure to do so may in fact cause you to lose your liability shield.

The dumb part of the law is making my few second determination of a possible concussion more important than a considered evaluation by a medical professional.

Yes, actually I do (roughly $1 mil last count) and in NC they can not return until an "approved medical provider" by the school system authorizes their return so my *** and the coach's is covered.

I don't think the law does that in any way whatsoever...quite the contrary, it requires us to be vigilant and, if we see signs or symptoms, to make sure the young man/woman gets to that medical professional for a full, medical evaluation. No one is asking or implying that officials make a diagnosis. And the law offers a pretty strong liability shield - it's not just a reasonable effort standard, it's protection except for wanton or willful violation of the law, a pretty high standard.

The only thing I would change about the law is to allow same-day return if written clearance is obtained by a physician (not just a trainer but an actual MD). I just don't think we're talking about very many cases where that would apply, though.

Many time, legislatures are knee-jerk reactors, and don't think about the consequences of their laws. They take a good idea and go way to far with it.

There are a couple of good ideas in this law:
1) Everybody on the field is responsible for the safety of our young athletes.
2) Every adult on the field should be able to recognize concussion symptoms.
3) When in doubt, remove the athlete from competition.

I can't disagree with these. Coaches and officials should be able to identify symptoms and remove the athlete.

The problem comes with the General Assembly's next idea that once there is doubt, NOBODY can legally remove that doubt for the remainder of the day.
Couple this with the NFHS and CDC web courses (required by the same law) that tell us that any symptom like "shaking it off" after laying out for a ground ball at short stop should be taken seriously and is appropriate for removal from the contest and you have a bad law.

No doctor can tell the official and coach that it wasn't a concussion and he should be allowed to play. He had dust in his eyes from reaching for the ground ball. Or he was looking for his mouth-guard and that's why he appeared to be off-balance and didn't respond to your questions. Or he was dizzy because he has a cold and blew his nose too hard. Nope, the initial layman's "diagnosis" from 5 seconds of observation trumps any medically-trained person, including a doctor with years of experience with head trauma and the appropriate amount of time to observe the athlete.

That's what makes it a bad law.

No, that's the problem. Coaches and officials are told that any suspicion requires removal from the contest AND a even a full diagnosis by a doctor cannot legally remove this suspicion.

It certainly sounds like it. We have to take players out here if we see signs of a concussion, but the schools by law have to have certain people to approve those players for reentry. We just have to be told they did and then report that information to our state to tell them that is what happened.

Also signs of concussions are also signs of other conditions. I just think we should not over react to these things without someone that actually has a baseline for the kid's behavior or medical situation for us to make a decision that no one can evaluate. Very silly and might cause lawsuits the other way.

Peace

Sounds like Illinois's law is much better than Ohio. Good job Illinois.

We have the same here in WA, though we aren't required to report it to the state. Our association, though, has a policy to record the time and number of the kid sent out for concussions symptoms, and we email that to our assignor to handle. I don't think it is reported to the state, but we do log it in case of issues.

That was the regulation (not law) in Ohio before some idiot in the Ohio Legislature decided to intervene.

Now, Ohio officials have this mess on their hands.

Not many Illinois laws are good. At least they got something right. ;)

Peace

I have no idea what you are trying to suggest by, "the referees have a legal obligation regarding apparent concussions. We don't diagnosis in the technical sense of the word, but we basically required to do so by law in practical terms and that assessment is legally superior to an actual diagnosis by a medical professional.".

I would also suggest that ANY Referee ANYWHERE accepts the same risk, "a referee in Ohio turning a blind eye to apparent symptoms of a concussion is going to land in real legal trouble given the new law".

I agree, but the apparent added burden of the force of law is the issue. In Ohio, the problem is the finality of a decision made by people with no medical training and zero information on patient history. That finality is going to lead to some hesitation.

Let us send the kids off with the possibility of someone with an actual medical degree determining we were being just a bit jumpy. I'd rather be able to err on the side of caution.

http://ohsaa.org/officials/bulletins...etin2013-1.pdf



3. Concussion: When a player has signs or symptoms of a concussion he is suspended
from the game and may not reenter the game. This is based upon Ohio House Bill 143.
If an Ohio Team plays a game in another state,this Rule applies. If an out of state team
plays a game in Ohio,this Rule applies. This is because it is a state law now.

5. Officials Uniform: It is a Crew Decision whether to wear shorts or pants during a varsity
game this year. Itis not a decision that can be made by a League Assigner or
Commissioner. Why were shorts added for varsity games for the first time this year?
Statistics indicate it is hotter;more teams play on synthetic turf fields which are hotter;
and more teams now employ a “hurry up” offense and/or a spread offense.