Concussions Heeds its Ugly Head
Concussions have been a part of sports forever, it’s just the most recent history that we’ve become more aware of them. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has brought concussions to the headlines in sport once again. Earnhardt Jr. has missed the last two NASCAR Sprint Cup races and will miss his third this coming Sunday when the series visits Pocono International Raceway. Many fans have been critical of his decision to tend to his injury and not get in his car. This is for you.
There are countless examples of athletes who had to deal with injuries in the old day’s style. You know the days of, “Get back up there Johnny”, or “Rub some dirt on it!”
There are stories upon stories of athletes who damaged their brains to the extent that they are left with horrendous health consequences and in some cases, death.
Take the story of former San Francisco 49er tackle, George Visger. Visger, now 57 years old, has suffered so many concussions that he can’t tell you the number. What he can tell you is he has had 9, yes that’s right I said 9, brain surgeries. But that isn’t the half of it.
For the last 30 years or so, Visger’s memory is a small notebook he stores in his back pocket. It is there he records every detail, large or small of his daily life. Things like, “got up at 6:00am, had toast and coffee, walked to Bob’s for a haircut.” Every little detail that the rest of us just store away safely in some taken for granted part of our brain.
His notebooks are his memory. “The movie ‘50 Dates’ has been my life. I get up in the morning and have no clue what I have to do. If it isn’t written down it doesn’t exist”, Vesger told CNN during a 2010 interview.
I have a friend who was in the Canadian military. He suffered so many concussions during his service that today he must wear an internal defibrillator. His heart actually stops several times a month. He deals with depression every day. He’s a young man in his early 40’s. He and his family probably think, ‘What’s next”.
Want a visual? We recently lost the great Muhammad Ali. He was from that “tough guy” generation. Remember what we felt as we witnessed one of our heroes shaking uncontrollably? Who didn’t get sad watching the horrible symptoms of Parkinson’s that attacked his body shortly after he retired from boxing. The multiple blows to his head left Ali with that horrible gift.
The brain is as soft as gelatin. A direct impact is not required to cause a brain injury. A jolt, a sudden movement forward, back or side to side can to a degree cause trauma. This causes impaired brain function. The symptoms are often, as Dale Jr. describes them, headaches, dizziness or nausea.
All sports have a degree of danger associated with them. Motorsports are inherently dangerous. Cars going 200+ mile per hour within inches of each other surrounded by concrete walls cannot ever be made totally safe.
NASCAR has done a wonderful job in recent years making the sport safer, The Hans Devise and the Safer Barriers are two large steps that make the sport safer for its athletes. It’s safer but not safe. It never will be completely safe.
This isn’t some minor irritant that Earnhardt Jr, is dealing with here. It truly is a life threatening issue. I’m sure no one wants to get back into the car more than Dale Jr. It’s easy for us fans to poo poo the life threatening issue he now faces. Here’s hoping he continues to heed the advice of the experts in this field. Come back when there is minimal risk to his health.
None of us should have the right to push any athlete into risking his health just for our entertainment. That’s just plain silly.
Thanks for reading. Listen to WTBQ radio on Monday and Friday mornings at 8:45 as I join Frank, Taylor and the Morning Show gang to discuss all the current happenings in NASCAR. You can also follow me on twitter @JimLaplante.
