I fully acknowledge that this is a bit of a stretch so just bear with me. Earlier this week I ran across this article from Chris Brown's Smart Football regarding football teams, brain injuries and independent doctors. I want to say first and foremost, I do not think that any college medical staff would ever put a player in danger, but this quote made me pause in regards to the thought that NFL teams should have independent doctors on the sidelines (emphasis by Brown):
"What this committee has to understand is, the team doctor is hired by the coach and paid by the front office," Culverhouse said. "This team doctor is not an advocate for the players. That doctor’s role is to get those players back on the field. I have seen a wall of players surround a player as he has his knee injected so he can get back on the field.
"The players get to a point where they refuse to tell the team doctor they have suffered a concussion. They do not self-report because they know there is a backup player on the bench ready to take their position. The team doctor dresses as a coach on the sideline and he acts in many ways as a coach on the sideline. If a player chooses independent medical counsel he is considered ‘not a team player.’ He becomes a pariah. We need to stop that." . . .
Do you guys think that the same thing should be done on the collegiate level? Obviously, there is a point where the responsibility is on the player to report the injury and I do not think it's completely unrealistic for a player, namely QB Taylor Potts, to not report a concussion because he's a proud person and may have been concerned about being replaced or has NFL aspirations and wants to show the world he can play through most circumstances. Who has the ultimate responsibility here? Is it the player? The medical staff? A little of both? There has to be honesty here on both parties, and the coaches as well.
I'd love your general thoughts on the matter.