THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2010
WWW.KANSAN.COM
VOLUME 123 ISSUE 71
Concern over head trauma increases
Doctors say higher number of reported concussions is actually a good thing
BY STEPHEN MONTEMAYOR
smontemayor@kansan.com
Twenty-four years ago the quarterback of the Canadian Football League's Montreal Concordes dropped back to pass, was hit as he threw and had to be removed from the field in an ambulance.
It was his third conclusion that year and his second in two games. At 23 years old, he would never play again.
Today, 'Turner Gill has just finished his first season as coach of the Kansas Jayhawks, and the injury that ended his playing career is as big a factor as it ever was. We have learned that concussions are no more likely in the young or the old, and we are still learning about the long-term affects on the brains of the afflicted. It's being talked about more than it ever has. Some offer solutions. Many concede there is still much to learn.
"I am always in communication with our medical staff on updates." Gill wrote in an e-mail last month.
That staff is stationed on the lower level on the Anderson Family Football Complex. Inside Sports Medicine Director Murphy Grant's office, weights can be heard — no, felt
seemingly crashing through the wall. The Border War's in a few days and the team is conditioning a few rooms over to prepare for what will be a one-sided loss to Missouri. During the game, wide receiver Jonathan Wilson would get rocked by two defenders and taken off the field in a daze. Quarterback Jordan Webb would be removed from the game when a block on a Missouri interception return left him with a concussion.
A few feet from Grant's desk is a copy of a handout the NCAA instructed its programs to give to athletes before playing this year — "CONCUSSION: A FACT SHEET FOR STUDENT-ATHLETES." It is one of many attempts to address something that threatens the game and those who play it.
"I DON'T THINK ANYBODY TOOK CONCUSSIONS SERIOUS"
But concussions were an issue long before NCAA policies were written and enforced.
John Novotny, a walk-on player in 1956 and the program's first full-time academic coach, said
he doesn't remember ever seeing a doctor on the field during his playing days.
"I don't think anybody took concussions serious. Novotny said.
Before he graduated, James Holt led the team with 105 tackles and 10 sacks in his senior season in 2008. Against Kansas State that year, Holt had what he said was his only concussion. After making a tackle that forced a fumble and gave his opponent a concussion, he recovered the ball but didn't realize it was in his hands until moments later.
Holt, who now plays for the San Diego Chargers and lives with Darrell Stuckey, another Charger who once played at Kansas, said the football program under Mark Mangino followed strict concussion protocol before the NCAA required a policy.
His coach certainly wanted to win, he said, but if a player couldn't shake the symptoms of a hit, Mangino wouldn't keep them in the game.
"WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE TAKING CARE OF THEM"
Grant said he remembered returning to play shortly after sustaining his only concussion as a defensive back at Quincy College, a junior college in Massachusetts. That was a little more than 10 years ago. Now, to "get your bell rung" is no longer a phrase easily dismissed.
The NCAA this year, in addition to providing mandatory fact sheets, required athletic programs to put in writing a policy outlining how concussions will be treated and when to allow athletes to return to play.
Grant, in his fifth season with Athletics, drafted Kansas' six-page policy. One of the first steps, he said, is performing a computer-based neurocognitive baseline test and a second test measuring memory and concentration. The tests, part of the screening process for incoming athletes, are retaken when an athlete has a concussion and compared with the original results.
Whether during practice or a game, players who experience a concussion or concussion-like symptoms (such as headaches, nausea, amnesia and loss of consciousness) can expect to see the team's head physician, Lawrence Magge, or an assistant immediately for testing.
Grant said athletes can also be sent to Lawrence neurologist Dr. Paul Morte for further testing. Morte has been in Lawrence for 16 years and has seen KU athletes for eight years.
There is no formal time frame for returning to play after a concussion. Morte said athletes should be symptom free for at least a week before resuming activity. That period becomes two weeks for severe cases, he said.
There were 16,277 total concussions reported by NCAA football programs in 2009. On average, a player with a concussion missed six days of practice and/or competition.
Return sooner, Morte said, and the risk of second-impact syndrome skyrockets.
Those with concussions immediately experience a heightened likelihood of a second concussion. If that second concussion occurs before the symptoms of the first have cleared, it can result in brain bleeding, swelling and
SEE CONCUSSIONS ON PAGE 3A
Cognitive symptoms: memory loss (amnesia, attention disorders, reading difficulties, slowed reaction times)
SYMPTOMS OF CONCUSSIONS
Physical symptoms: headache, vision difficulties, nausea, dizziness, balance difficulties, sensitivity to light, fatigue, loss of consciousness, amnesia
Emotional symptoms: irritability, sadness, nervousness, sleep disturbances
Source: Kansas Athletics Concussion Assessment Management, and Return to Play Guidelines
For more information on concussions, visit kansan.com/
TIMELINE OF MODERN-DAY NCAA FOOTBALL RULES CHANGES
- 1976: The head and face is eliminated as a primary and initial contact area for blocking and tackling.
- 1997: Modifications of permissible equipment and contact in spring football are introduced to reduce injury risk.
- 2005: Spearing and head-down contact is eliminated. NCAA focuses on educating student athletes, coaches, officials and administrators regarding prevention of head and neck injury.
- 2008: Horse-collar tackling made illegal. Emphasis placed on eliminating hits on defenseless players and blows to the head. No player is permitted to initiate contact and target opponents with crown of the helmet and no player is permitted to initiate contact and target defenseless players above the shoulders.
- 2009: A rule is added to allow for conference review and sanctions on fouls related to targeting and initiating contact to players.
- 2010: NCAA mandates that its athletics programs distribute fact sheets to players and coaches before they are allowed to compete. The creation of a concussion management plan is also mandated.
STUDENT SENATE
Resolution condemns bullying on campus
BY MICHAEL HOLTZ mholtz@kansan.com
Bullying gained national attention in September after a stream of suicides occurred as a result of alleged bullying among high school and college students. Many of those victims were LGBT. Most prominent was the suicide of a freshman at Rutgers University following alleged cyberbullying by his roommate and another student.
Student Senate passed a resolution to condemn bullying in schools during its last session of the semester Wednesday night.
"Considering that has been
Universities nationwide have enacted similar resolutions, including Iowa State in the Big 12. Authors of the resolution said they often referred to those resolutions during the drafting process.
getting national attention, I feel like this is a great opportunity for KU to make stand on it," said Rachel Gadd-Nelson, one of the resolution's co-authors.
The lengthy resolution includes a list of statistics relating to the negative effects of bullying, including suicide. "Both victims and perpetrators of bullying are found to be significantly more likely to attempt or
SEE SENATE ON PAGE 3A
Artwork on campus bears the mark of each generation of students that passes through the University.
Representing Kansas history
JAYPLAY|INSIDE
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL | 1B
Kansas wins landmark game
Krysten Boogaard's 33 points led the Jayhawks to their 700th victory.
INDEX
Classifieds...6A
Crossword...4A
Cryptoquips...4A
Opinion...5A
Sports...1B
Sudoku...4A
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