Concussions on the minds of CFL presidents and general managers

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This article was published 10/01/2018 (2826 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers general manager Kyle Walters wasn’t able to provide comment on a recent study regarding concussions in the CFL, but said player safety is top of mind this week at the off-season presidents and general manager meetings.

“A lot of discussion last night and certainly today is ‘Hey, let’s put player safety at the focal point of these discussions and what can we do as a league, what can we do individually as organizations to ensure that the best interests of the players and player safety is at the forefront?’” Walters said in a phone interview from Banff, where the meetings are taking place. “It’s more us getting in the same room and getting on the same page, making sound decisions for the betterment of football and the league.”

The study, which was led by Scott Delaney and his team from the McGill University Health Centre in Montreal, dives into player’s attitudes towards concussions.

The paper, Why Professional Football Players Chose Not to Reveal Their Concussion Symptoms during a Practice or Game, published this month in the Clinic Journal of Sports Medicine, reveals that despite most players understanding what a concussion is, they aren’t likely to report their symptoms or, in some cases, actively hide them.

The Bombers GM hadn’t seen the report, but as a former player and now team executive in the Canadian Football League, believes things have changed over time. Walters was drafted 10th overall by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and played his entire seven-year career there.

“I think through the league, through the medical staff, times have changed from the understanding of these things,” he said. “Our medical staff take it very seriously, the league takes it very seriously and it’s handled and certainly well thought out. Everything we discuss is player safety, player safety, player safety, and everyone is on board with that.

“Me being a former player… obviously understanding that player safety is the most important thing. We’re starting to talk more about these issues.”

The CFL has put into play some recent changes, including eliminating padded practices and instituting a “concussion spotter” at every game. The job of the spotter is when they identify a suspected concussion in a game they alert the on-field officials, who then force the player to undergo a series of tests before returning to play.

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