Concussions and the Super Bowl

Over the past few years, traumatic head injuries, most notably concussions, have become a subject of deep concern, particularly as it pertains to the NFL. The league has come under public scrutiny and has garnered a great amount media attention over the issue, as research linking football to degenerative brain disease have become more and more conclusive. This is evidenced in the much-publicized suicide of Junior Seau, who had been suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

The issue of concussions was also one of the major issues discussed during Super Bowl Media Day. More than a few members of both the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens addressed the issue when prompted. Ravens safety Bernard Pollard made headlines when he came out and said that the NFL wouldn’t be around in 30 years because the rule changes created to make the game safer would ultimately turn fans away from it. He even went as far as predicting that we would eventually see someone die on the field of play.

Despite the conversation on the issue of concussions being so prevalent in the days leading up to the game, I didn’t exactly expect the issue to be brought up during the game itself. That is probably why I wasn’t exactly shocked when the issue was not brought up at any point during the approximately five-hour long CBS broadcast.

I am not sure if the decision not speak on the issue of head injuries was intentional, but I can definitely understand why no mention of it was made. Even though the issue of concussions in the game of football is an extremely important one, given the potentially disastrous toll they can take on a player’s physiological and neurological health, there is a time and a place for everything. The live broadcast of one of the most watched televised events on the planet wasn’t the place to open that Pandora’s box.

Unless there was a an extremely valid reason to do so, such as having a player carted off the field after a helmet-to-helmet collision, there was no reason to bring up such a weighty issue during what should be the most important celebration of the game of football.

Again, there is a time and a place for everything.