Written by Will Brinson at CBS Sports.com
The 2017 season was not a good one for the NFL’s concussion protocol. The season’s action featured multiple incidents of players suffering what clearly appeared to be concussions and continuing to play. The NFL investigated two instances of quarterbacks re-entering games after suffering concussions.
The NFL examined Russell Wilson skipping the blue medical tent against the Cardinals this year and decided to hit the Seahawks with a hefty fine as a punishment. Oddly enough, the league investigated another situation, and did not find the Texans did anything wrong in the Tom Savage situation, when the quarterback took a huge shot and somehow continued to play.
It would not be surprising to find out some NFL players do not love the concussion protocol. Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman definitely does not like it and said as much during a Players’ Tribune Q&A that was posted on Twitter.
Sherman blasted the protocol and said it’s just for the NFL to “show the public they care” and called it “a joke.”
“It’s for public opinion, for them to show the public that they care about the players, they care about player safety. In a show of good faith and good will, they said we’re going to have an independent trauma expert, an independent neurologist approve people, and the same things are happening that were happening before,” Sherman said. “The Tom Savage play where he was looked at by the independent neurologist and they approved him to go back into the game. And now the team is being ridiculed. How about the league gets ridiculed for letting him go back in the game, because they approved it. The independent neurologist, which is hired by the league, approved him to go back into the game.”
Sherman also called the protocol “a joke” at one point. Part of the question he got involved donating his brain to science and Sherman was not enthusiastic about giving away his head.
“No, no, I’m not donating my brain to science. My brain is going to stay in my head,” Sherman added.
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