Thoughts on this release.

[Eastshire]

Originally Posted by ajmc

Apologies, Maven, perhaps I was being too subtle. Personally, I would never diagnose an injury, mainly because I don't have to. "Apparently injured" seems to cover everything.

I anticipate normally being very comfortable relying on the assessment of a medical professional and would bow to his/her assessment. In circumstances where I did not agree with an assessment that a player is fit to re-enter a game, I would exercise my responsibility under NFHS 3-5-10 and send him back out for additional assessment. If my doubts persisted, I would repeat the process until either my concerns were relieved, or they stopped sending the player back in.

I suspect such a chain of events would be exceptionally rare, and would require some extremely blatant and obvious difference of perceptions. The bottom line is if the Referee does not believe the player is fit to play, he doesn't play. That includes being willing to likely have to defend your assessment at some subsequent point.

You seem to be missing that in Ohio, 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. Once the referees has identified an apparent sign of a concussion, it is illegal, not against the rules but actually against the law, for the player to return that day at all and he may not return after that day without being cleared by a doctor.

I understand the impulse for coaches to say, "We have actual medical professionals. Please don't look at my injured players." However, 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.