Is the NFL Doing Enough to Protect its Players from Concussions?

            I’ve been at a “football watching party” at my friend’s house. Sometimes I’m at a bar watching football. I’ve witnessed it live from within the confines of a stadium, even. Regardless of where I’m watching an NFL game, I’ve seen the scenario one-too-many times. A receiver goes to grab a pass and upon returning to the ground from his acrobatic feat, and takes a hit from a defender that makes me cringe. I wait for the receiver to get back on his feet. Sometimes after a hit of that magnitude, he’s a little slow to rise. But this time it’s different. This event is comparable to one of those dreaded instances in the past, where 15 or 20 seconds have passed, and he’s still laying face-down, motionless on the field. Might he have suffered a concussion? The training staff runs out to aid the fallen athlete. Thirty seconds have passed, and still he’s lying motionless on the field. Next the motorized cart enters the field where the trainers are now stabilizing the player before transporting him somewhere inside the bowels of the stadium for further examination. While he’s transported off the field, I wait for a thumbs-up or some type of signal from the player that indicates he’s all right. Sometimes I receive that indication; other times I’m left to wonder if I’ll ever see one of the best players of the game return to the field of play again, while also wondering what emotions his family must be experiencing at this time.