Dallas Morning News: Congress draws needed attention to concussions

by Kevin Sherrington

Nothing attracts attention like a crying baby in church unless it's a congressional hearing on sports, and it's a toss-up as to which is more annoying.

At least screaming infants can be mollified. Politicians are forever colicky.

But occasionally these characteristics work to the greater good, as should be the case when the House Judiciary Committee holds a forum today in Houston on concussions in football.

Oh, no, you say. Just what we need. More political grandstanding. Congress got in baseball's business, and all that came of it was evasion, finger-wagging and no hablo Ingles.

And now a committee is coming to God-fearing, football-loving Texas and messing with the state religion?

In the immortal words of U.S. Representative Ted Poe, R-Humble, "I mean if Congress gets involved, it would be the end of football as we know it.

"We would all be playing touch football out there."

Here's the deal, Ted: They're already involved, and maybe some lives will be saved because of it.

First, a little background: This will be the third in a series of hearings or forums the committee initiated in October. Until then, the NFL basically had ignored or tried to discredit all the independent research gathered for years on the short- and long-term effects of concussions. This took some nerve. The findings were astounding. In studies of the brains of ex-players who died either by their own hands or decades short of a normal lifespan – men such as Mike Webster and Andre Waters – scientists found excessive accumulations of tau proteins, a "sludge" that kills cells in parts of the brain that govern moods, emotion and executive functioning.

A brief history of these groundbreaking studies and the neuropathologist who first diagnosed chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, was covered in fascinating detail in the October issue of GQ.

About the same time the story came out, a University of Michigan study commissioned by the NFL released its own findings: former NFL players report dementia-related symptoms 19 times more often than the general population.

And the NFL's reaction to its own study? "Inconclusive," a spokesman said.

Finally, Congress called the league's bluff. Formal hearings were announced.

Maxine Waters, D-Calif., quickly raised the water to a boil when, peeved by answers from commissioner Roger Goodell, she suggested that Congress strip the NFL of its Holy Grail, the anti-trust exemption, the foundation of its $8 billion empire.

Next thing you know, Goodell's got religion. Midway through the season, the NFL is suddenly running public service announcements on concussions; the co-chairmen of its own committee on brain trauma "retire"; commentators are pointing out dangerous hits; and the league offers $1 million to the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy.

Bottom line: None of it would have happened if Congress hadn't stuck its nose in the NFL's business.

Now we're seeing the trickle-down effect. The committee wants to know what college and high school organizations are doing. Members are coming to Texas because it has a head injury law – Will's Bill – and because football generates year-round headlines in our fair state.

Dave Burton, for one, is glad they're here. A longtime athletic trainer on the professional and high school level, Burton put together a seminar a couple of weeks ago through Lakewood Orthopedics and Sports Medicine. He told attendees there were 68,000 concussions nationwide in high school football in 2008-09 alone and another 45,000 in high school soccer.

Among his speakers was Bennet Omalu, the neuropathologist who first diagnosed CTE and will be a guest of the committee today.

"Omalu," Burton said, "has shaken up the world."

But is he trying to turn football into a game of touch? Is he trying to kill it?

"We're not gonna get rid of sports, nor should we," Burton said. "I think football is basically a safe sport when it's played and coached and treated correctly."

The first step in recovery is recognizing that you have a problem. Occasionally you need your arm twisted first. Nice to know that Congress could get that much right, anyway.To read about CTE and the neuropathologist who diagnosed it, Bennet Omalu, go to www.gq.com.

Also, Dave Burton, practice liaison with Lakewood Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, is preparing a DVD of his recent seminar. Go to www.lakewoodorthoandsportsmed.com for further information.