Head injuries continue to be a staple for concern amongst parents and football players. The fear for head injuries has made an impact in every level of football from pop-warner to the N.F.L. With distress embedded in the minds of many, several former collegiate athletes have taken action. Hundreds of former players sued the NCAA and other major conferences for damages done to them through head injuries. In an article written by Evan Grossman from the New York Daily News, the suit began to materialize back in March this year. “They argue the NCAA has known about the dangers of head injuries in football for decades, but has done little to protect athletes, which is painfully ironic since the NCAA was created to do just that,” says Grossman. The NCAA settled a class-action concussion lawsuit with former players for $75 million back in 2014. However, the case was placed on hold on five different occasions due to some of those players being unaware of a lawsuit. Grossman says that “not a single penny of that money will actually go to the guys living with brain damage,” but rather “used to fund testing, monitoring and research.” “The original settlement also includes safeguards such as return-to-play guidelines and uniform concussion protocols, because the NCAA to this day does not have a universal concussion policy in place. Instead, it leaves it up to individual schools to monitor, and that’s part of the reason players blame the NCAA for being negligent,” says Grossman. Rule changes have been implemented across all leagues to make the game safer for quarterbacks and defenseless players — think of the helmet to helmet, targeting rule. Even so, the NCAA faces many challenges in trying to make football as safe as possible without damaging the product on the field. Former and current players are desperate for more answers.
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