Concussion controversy: Traumatic brain injury gets more attention after NFL player incident
After months of silence on concussion concerns, former New York Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley returned to the topic on Wednesday, telling ESPN that he wasn’t feeling 100 percent yet and was concerned about his health.
“I don’t want to go out like my father,” Mosley said on ESPN in an interview that followed an episode of “The Bill Simmons Podcast.” “I know I’m going to come back and I’m going to be able to go out there, play and be the best I can be. As far as the long-term damage that can be done to your body, let’s put it out there. We’re going to give it a try, if it’s going to work and there’s something to take away.”
While Mosley and other players have spoken in public about their health concerns, the issue has been largely muted in the NFL and by the league. While there have been a few high-profile cases of concussions involving football players in recent years, they have been rare and have not received much attention from the governing body of the game.
The NFL has a strict policy for monitoring the long-term effects of head injuries, stating that the players’ well-being is at risk during games and at all times, including practice and training. The league has no plans to lift its policy on players who are not fully recovered from concussions, even if they return to play.
“The long-term risks associated with taking a football to the head are clear, and we will continue to monitor this closely,” the league’s executive vice president of football operations, Ray Anderson, said in December. “We will keep in the loop on the specifics of any further evaluation or treatment provided to any player whose condition may indicate a potential risk.”
In that statement, Anderson said the league does not currently foresee any changes to its policy or how it will be carried out.
It remains to be seen how the former NFL player will be treated, and whether he will return to playing. Some have speculated that it would be easier to return to the game if the former player was allowed to return from his own personal issues without the threat of a long-term consequence following his diagnosis with depression, which he has