Now that football is back (sort of), there will be fewer hours in the day to devote to stories about the concussion crisis. But a recent column from Ross Tucker of SportsUSA.com merits a quick mention.
Tucker says that, in April, he received an invitation from Andre Collins, the NFLPA’s Director of Former Player Services, to participate in the Former NFL Players Brain & Body Health Program, a function of the Center for the Study of Retired Athletes at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
Tucker recently took the union up on the offer. And of all the former NFL players, Tucker was only the third to do so.
With more than 3,000 former players suing the NFL for concussions and more joining the effort all the time, there should be more than three who would take advantage of an opportunity to find out where they currently stand.
Plenty of players probably already have received medical attention and/or evaluation. And the lawyers representing the former players suing for concussions undoubtedly are leery about the possible generation of medical findings that a player who claims to be impaired is actually fine.
Still, with nearly every former NFL player having played high school and college football before heading to the NFL, far more than three should be concerned about getting a snapshot regarding the current health of their brains.