What a morning for NFL injury bullshit! On the NFL Network’s Total Access show, host Dan Hellie spoke with Pittsburgh Steeler’s team neurosurgeon, Dr. Joseph Maroon. I don’t want to spoil the surprises, but it was truly a, “through the looking glass,” moment. You can watch the full video here. In fact, please do so, then we can talk.
Dr. Maroon says some really crazy garbage, mostly downplaying the danger of the NFL and brain injuries in general. Yes, that’s nuts, but let’s choose to ignore that right now. I’d rather focus specifically on how Dr. Maroon’s words match up with the actions of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the very team that he works with. In a previous post, I talked about how irresponsible the Steelers were during the playoff game against Baltimore. In that game, sideline medical staff allowed both Ben Roethlisberger and Heath Miller back into the game without giving them the proper NFL concussion assessment tool. Both players were checked on the sideline due to suspicion of having suffered concussions. That is a fact. Both players were allowed back into the game in far less time than the NFL concussion assessment tool takes to administer. That is also a fact. You can read about those details in that piece I wrote. In fact, it could even be said that both players continued to suffer concussion symptoms after returning to the game, though that is a judgement call. If you saw the games, it was a pretty obvious judgement call, but it’s still subjective.
Now given that recent history, let’s dig into what Dr. Maroon said. Here’s a quote that stood out to me (1:51 mark):
The worst thing that can happen with a concussion is to go back in if you’re still suffering the lingering effects, because the brain is more vulnerable at that time.
Doesn’t that sound exactly like what unfolded with Roethlisberger and Miller? Didn’t they both go back in while still suffering lingering effects? If nothing else, they were not properly checked using the very tool the NFL has created to assess possible concussions.
Dr. Maroon follows this up with this little gem (2:10 mark):
… if you do have a concussion, or any symptoms of a concussion, you get out of the sport until the brain has a chance to heal.
Again, isn’t this exactly what the Steelers did not do with Roethlisberger and Miller? Weren’t Roethlisberger and Miller sent right back in after suffering what staff suspected might have been a concussion?
I’m not trying to tear into the Steelers in particular. Both the Seahawks and the Patriots had similar irregularities during the postseason. But at least their team doctors didn’t go on television to tell me that everything was peachy. In Dr. Maroon’s defense, I do not know if he was present on the sideline or had any part in treating the particular cases I outlined above. But even if he was not present or involved, he is still the team neurosurgeon, and one would think that the sideline medical staff answers to him on all concussion matters. The fact that the NFL Network would overlook this recent history and hypocrisy to have Dr. Maroon give us his expert opinion only tells us (yet again) how out of touch the NFL is on safety issues. No surprise there, I guess.
