Concussion law has some flaws, but it’s step forward in protecting players, coaches
Rep. John Kriesel, R-Cottage Grove, knows firsthand the effects of a brain injury, and he has two sons who play youth football, so it was an easy decision for him when a sports concussion bill was presented to the Legislature this spring.
Kriesel still experiences short-term memory loss and has problems focusing on certain tasks as a result of a roadside explosion that took both of his legs while he was serving in Iraq. He likens it to someone suffering from attention deficit disorder.
“I know what effect [a brain injury] has on day-to-day life,” he said.
The bill passed, adding Minnesota to the growing list of states that now have concussion laws designed to educate and protect young athletes. The law went into effect for high school athletes this past week and begins Sept. 1 for youth sports.
Under the new law, any coach or official who suspects an athlete (age 18 and under) is experiencing concussion symptoms must remove him or her from competition. That athlete cannot return to play until a health care provider gives written permission. Every coach and official also must go through online training to raise concussion awareness. Some high schools also have begun baseline concussion testing for their athletes, another encouraging development.
The new law should be applauded by anyone with kids who play sports and those who coach them. It obviously won’t prevent concussions, but it requires more education and removes some of the guesswork about when an athlete is ready to return to competition.
Now if a parent says his son feels better and is ready to play after being knocked woozy from a hard hit, sorry, can’t do it. The law says a health care provider needs to make that determination. That’s a minor inconvenience for a greater good.
“The days are over of sustaining a concussion one day and going back the next day,” said Brent Millikin, president of the Minnesota Athletic Trainers Association.
This law hopefully provides a pause button for those parents who are, let’s just say, overzealous. It gives coaches some protection in those situations.
“The coach doesn’t have to worry about the parent saying, ‘Why are you pulling my son out? He’s fine,’” Millikin said. “No, by law I am obligated to do this. It protects the kids and provides an opportunity to educate these people that are on the front lines.”
Todd Ellingson has coached youth sports in Woodbury since 2005 and has lived it. A player on his seventh-grade basketball team last season hit his head on the floor while going for a loose ball. Unbeknownst to Ellingson, the boy previously had suffered a concussion in football. Before the new law, Ellingson would have relied on the parents to make the decision about when their son returned.
“To have that required medical sign-off, I would now demand to see that,” he said. “It certainly takes the burden off me from making that call. Because you have that on the front end, if you get a parent saying, ‘He’s OK, put him back in,’ you can easily say, ‘No way. I’m the head coach and I’m not going to break the law.’”
There are some concerns about definitions within the law, too. Matt Hofkens, a doctor of osteopathy in HealthPartners’ sports medicine department, considers the law a positive step as a baseline but worries about the vagueness of who actually qualifies as an appropriate health care provider. Is it a family physician, a nurse practitioner, an athletic trainer, a chiropractor? Not everyone has access to the same level of physician care. The experience and education in dealing with concussions differ from doctor to doctor.
Hofkens also emphasizes the need to change the culture surrounding concussions, which will take more than one law.
“I always get nervous when we get legislation and people get complacent and say, ‘This is going to be something that takes care of it all,’ which is certainly not the case,” he said.
Chris Ashton, a Gophers football athletic trainer, is a staunch advocate for the return-to-play component. Since the early 2000s, the Gophers have used a five-step process in determining when an athlete is ready to resume play. Those guidelines are not part of the new law, but Ashton said it should be the standard of care for all who treat concussions.
“It’s an invisible injury,” Ashton said. “It’s not like a sprained ankle. We’re talking about a brain. It’s not like going in and fixing a [knee] ligament. That’s why we take this so seriously.”
Chip Scoggins • chip.scoggins@startribune.com