Heads, you lose

Gordon Robinson, Contributor

Domino players understand sports-related head injuries as we've all had to dodge the occasional flying domino launched by incensed partners.

Fortunately, the only player I've seen hit was The Dunce who didn't see the point of ducking since 'him head lick', already having fallen from a tree long ago. His profound philosophy, "If a macca, mek it jook yu ..." applied to all situations including incoming dominoes. But as evidence mounts worldwide regarding the long-term effects of head injuries in sports, it's time sporting and player associations alike put money counting on pause and do something about player safety.

The World Health Organization predicts that by 2040, neurodegenerative conditions (usually beginning after age 65) will become the world's leading cause of death. So, when former jocks in their 40s and 50s start coming down with symptoms of Alzheimer's, chronic traumatic encephalo-pathy, Parkinsons, and other serious neurological deficits, warning bells should ring. But of course they don't unless the bottom line is affected.

Don't ask if it's about the money. It's ALWAYS about the money.

Unbelievably asinine

We all know boxing is dangerous. The force of a professional boxer's fist is like being hit by a 13-pound bowling ball travelling 20mph. Recent studies prove that most professional boxers (even those without symptoms) have some degree of brain damage and 15 - 40 per cent of ex-boxers have symptoms of chronic brain injury. What is unbelievably asinine is that in 2010, we still force professional boxers to compete without protective headgear.

Cricketers routinely compete in helmets and body padding, but boxers face documented dangers like cavemen without a club.

We all know the adverse effect of any blow to the head, yet football administrators are proud of a game where heading the ball plays an integral role, without even a thought of protective headgear. Perish the thought that the use of the head, like the hands, could be outlawed! Oh, Robinson, you simpleton! Don't you know there's gold in them there heads? What's a few broken skulls or demented minds on the road to profit?

We all know the American version of football, a contact sport, is played in protective headgear and full body pads. Still, cases like that of former Pittsburgh Steelers (1966-70) and San Diego Chargers (1972-73) offensive guard, Ralph Wenzel, occur too frequently. In 1995, Wenzell showed symptoms of Alzheimer's and is now in a 24-hour care facility unable to dress, feed, or bathe himself.

Brain scans show a deformed organ, with unusually high tau protein content. Recent studies, by co-researchers from The Feinberg School of Medicine and Northwestern University Institute for Neuroscience, have found tau a vital catalyst for Alzheimer's. Wenzel's condition is obviously related to football, but his guardians are now subjected to the vagaries of the courts trying to win worker's compensation to pay for the US$100,000-per-year facility.

What we don't know is, it's more than a contact sport problem. In 2008, 71,000 cyclists visited US hospitals with head injuries. Severe head trauma accounts for 18 per cent of all horseback-riding accidents, and 15 per cent of snow-skiing or snowboarding injuries. Parents alert!! Your children are in danger due to our national desperation for them to excel at sports.

Equally instructive

High school head injuries aren't a Jamaican priority, so only US statistics are available, but since we insist on copying everything American, they're equally instructive. The following data was compiled by the US National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research.

Except 1990, there's been a football-related fatality every year (1945-1999) of which 69 per cent resulted from head injuries. High school football produced most of these deaths. From 1984-1999, 69 football-related head injuries (63 of them in high school football) resulted in permanent disability. Football isn't alone. From 1982 to 1999, 20 deaths and 19 permanent disability injuries occurred in several sports, especially track and field, baseball, and cheerleading.

Now for two interesting individual cases:

"During October 1991, a 17-year-old high school football player was tackled on the last play of the first half of a varsity game and struck his head on the ground. During half-time intermission, he told a teammate that he felt ill and had a headache; he didn't tell his coach. He played again during the third quarter, collapsed on the field, and was taken to hospital in a coma. He was pronounced dead four days later.

"During August 1993, a 19-year-old college football player reported a headache to family members after a full contact practice. The following day he collapsed on the field. He was brain dead three days later."

Peace and love.

Gordon Robinson is an attorney-at-law. Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com.