Ga. House panel considers youth concussion law
ATLANTA (AP)—Former Falcons kicker Matt Bryant can still remember taking a
hit during an elementary school football game.
The sky turned yellow and he saw green dots. At 10 or 11, he didn’t
recognize the incident as a possible concussion.
Now a father of seven children, Bryant is pushing for legislation in Georgia
that would help educate young players and their parents, coaches and others
about the dangers of concussions and the need to protect student athletes from
serious brain injury.
“I’ve probably had concussions and didn’t know it,” Bryant told a panel of
Georgia House representatives in a hearing Thursday. “The whole education part
of this is important.”
Lawmakers heard testimony from Bryant and former Falcons linebacker Buddy
Curry in support of House Bill 673. The legislation is part of a national push
by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NCAA President Mark Emmert, who are urging
19 governors to support similar proposals across the country.
Currently, 31 states already have such laws and another 14 are considering
such legislation, which is modeled after Washington state’s 2009 “Zackery
Lystedt Law,” named for a middle school football player who sustained brain
damage after he suffered a concussion and returned to play.
That law requires that a player who shows signs of a concussion be removed
from a game or practice, and bars the player from competing again until being
cleared by a licensed health care professional trained in concussion evaluation
and management.
The language for Georgia’s version of the bill is still being finalized.
Current and former lawmakers and doctors testified before the House Health and
Human Services Committee for more than an hour.
Kenneth Edmonds, a spokesman for the National Football League, told the
panel the bill could help prevent brain injuries and make play safer for young
athletes, reinforcing the same rules as apply to professional players.
Curry, who played for the Falcons from 1980 to 1987 and led the team in
tackles for years, told lawmakers that he suffered several concussions during
his career.
“I can remember coming off the field in a daze, trying to figure out which
sideline was my own … and knowing my team needed me back on the field,” Curry
said.
One or two plays later, he was putting his helmet back on and leaving the
sidelines.
“It was a badge of honor … to be the toughest guy on the block,” Curry
said. “We gotta change that culture. This bill ensures that the proper people
are making the decision.”
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Online:
http://www.legis.ga.gov