Kelby Jasmon, left, like many high school teammates, said he would not tell his coach if he thought he had a concussion (credit: NYT).
To Kelby Jasmon, there was only one answer. The question: If he received yet another concussion this football season, while playing offensive and defensive line for his high school in Springfield, Ill., would he tell a coach or trainer?
Jasmon, with his battering-ram, freshly buzz-cut head and eyes that danced with impending glory, immediately answered: “No chance. It’s not dangerous to play with a concussion. You’ve got to sacrifice for the sake of the team. The only way I come out is on a stretcher.”
Jasmon, a senior with three concussions on his résumé, looked at two teammates for support and unity. They said the same thing with the same certainty: They did not quite know what a concussion was, and would never tell their coaches if they believed they had sustained one.
Matt Selvaggio, who plays with Jasmon on both lines, said: “Our coaches would take us out in a second. So why would we tell them?”
Many of the 1.2 million teenagers who play high school football are chanting similar war whoops as they strap on their helmets. They either do not know what a concussion is or they simply do not care. Their code of silence, bred by football’s gladiator culture, allows them to play on and sometimes be hurt much worse — sometimes fatally.
The National Football League has recently faced questions about its handling of concussions after four former players were found to have significant brain damage as early as their mid-30s. But teenagers are more susceptible to immediate harm from such injuries because, studies show, their brain tissue is less developed than adults’ and more easily damaged. High school players also typically receive less capable medical care, or none at all.
At least 50 high school or younger football players in more than 20 states since 1997 have been killed or have sustained serious head injuries on the field, according to research by The New York Times....[read more].
This story was of particular interest to me because I've suffered three concussions during my playing days, with a promise from my doctor that a 4th would be "catastrophic" in the long run. Luckily I never got a 4th concussion, and two of the three that I did get were minor, but the growing threat of concussions in sports like footballs raises an awareness about the danger young people and professionals alike face each time they take the playing field. But the love of the game makes you want to compete, at any cost, just for a chance to experience a minute of it, and ultimately, that is going to hurt a lot of people down the road in the long run. But would I tell them not to play because one day you might get a concussion? Never in a minute.