The NFL is in an ongoing battle to protect its players from serious injuries–head injuries to be specific–on the field. The league has made some strides, but it can only do so much. What about the players who hide their injuries? Doctors and trainers rely on players to report their symptoms in order to get properly diagnosed, but if most players are like Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, the league’s efforts could be in vain.
Sherman has admitted to playing in a game while blinded by a concussion. It was a game against the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2011 season.
“On the game’s seventh play, I trailed my receiver down the left sideline and looked back to see Andy Dalton toss it underneath to Chris Pressley, their 260-pound fullback,” Sherman said. “As he turned up the sideline I came down hard, squared up, and dove at his legs. His right knee connected with my temple, flipping him over my head. I got up quickly and shook my head back and forth to let them know nobody is running me over.”
Sherman seems to put more value in winning than living, as he further describes the incident.
“The problem was that I couldn’t see,” Sherman wrote. “The concussion blurred my vision and I played the next two quarters half-blind, but there was no way I was coming off the field with so much at stake. It paid off: Just as my head was clearing, Andy Dalton lobbed one up to rookie A.J. Green and I came down with my first career interception. The Legion of Boom was born.”
According to Steve DelVecchio of Larry Brown Sports, The Legion of Boom is what Sherman and the other Seahawks defensive backs call themselves. If what Sherman said doesn’t make league officials cringe, what he said next surely will.
“And the next time I get hit in the head and I can’t see straight, if I can, I’ll get back up and pretend like nothing happened. Maybe I’ll even get another pick in the process.”
If Sherman is doing it, it’s safe to say he’s not the only one. The NFL has made its concussion test more effective since 2011, but if this sort of thing is happening, how is the league going to really fix the concussion problem?
