DENVER—A top NFL official and former Bronco wide receiver Ed McCaffrey are supporting a Colorado bill that would prevent youth athletes believed to have suffered a concussion from returning to a game unless a medical provider has evaluated them.
Joe Browne, senior adviser to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, said Thursday he hopes Colorado will join nine other states that have passed legislation in the last 20 months to address concussions in youth sports.
“In the NFL, we believe that we’re changing the culture in the league regarding concussions. Today’s NFL players and coaches know a great deal more about concussions and other brain injuries,” he said. Browne said he realizes that colleges, high schools and middle schools often look to the NFL to set an example.
“We understand that responsibility, and on this concussion issue we want to make participation as safe and fun for all athletes no matter their age,” he said.
McCaffrey, who played 13 seasons in the NFL, including nine with the Broncos, said he supports Colorado’s bill as “as a guy who’s had his share of injuries throughout his career.”
“We know way more today than we did when I played. And it’s important that we take advantage of that knowledge,” he said.
The bill was approved Thursday by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee and now goes for a vote in the full Senate.
Senate Bill 40 would also require coaches of youth athletics to complete an annual concussion recognition program. Coaches would also have to remove a player from a game if they suspect the student suffered a concussion.
The bill doesn’t apply to college athletics. The measure is sponsored by Sens. Nancy Spence and Linda Newell.
About 135,000 children ages 5 to 18 are treated in emergency rooms annually for sports and recreation related concussions, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s sometimes months before athletes can recover and young adults are more vulnerable because their brains are still developing.
The NFL has been helping states craft legislation to address concussions in youth sports. States that have already passed legislation similar to what Colorado is proposing include New Jersey, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Connecticut. Utah and Nebraska are also considering bills.
Colorado’s measure is named after Jake Snakenberg, a Colorado high school student who died in 2004 after being hit during a football game. Snakenberg’s mother, Kelli Jantz, said doctors told her that her son’s injury was compounded by what was likely a concussion from a previous game that went undiagnosed.
Jantz said people involved in athletics should learn from the medical advances and new information about concussions since her son’s death.
“I think we would be remiss and actually I think it would be irresponsible for us not to take that information to heart and use it to prevent this type of injury that can lead to brain damage resulting in lifelong physical and cognitive disabilities, or in Jake’s case, even death,” she said.
