there was an incident involving the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and it
didn't get a lot of attention at the time
I think because we all assume that Buccaneers Titan kamerion
braids
Was properly evaluated for a concussion. When he went to
the sideline, after banging his head
into Chris God, when here it is late in the first half, minute
35 to go. You see Cameron great,
inadvertently, slam into Chris God. When
he
is on the ground,
he gets up slowly and they're in the two-minute offense here.
So
if there's any issue with Cameron breit, it's get off
the field and let's get a guy on the field because we got to
keep going here. We're trying to get down the field. Four
points, and they actually got flagged because Cameron brate.
How it's clearly he hit his head into Chris Godwin
clearly
clear and obvious. That's a standard we hear all the time
when it comes to replay review. It's clear and obvious. He hit
his head into Chris Godwin, so
they get flagged for too many men on the field because he
doesn't make it off before they snap the ball.
Cameron breaks on the sidelines. Mike Tirico pointing
out the obvious are going to check him out.
Right.
Few plays later. He's back in.
And he's involved through a passed him in the end zone.
Pass interference. Buccaneers got the ball first and goal. At
the one, didn't hit his head on that play. As he went to
the ground.
Fortunately had another play. Where
threw it high in the back of the endzone? Jumped up to get.
It didn't hit his head there. Fortunately, because as it
turns out, he did have a head injury,
he did.
Because he didn't return for the second half as he entered
the concussion protocol.
Coach Dungy
was if you watch football night in America and if you did thank
you very much. He and Maria Taylor were on site because
it's kind of a big deal. Buccaneers in Chief's,
Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes and
Coach Dungy texts me yesterday morning,
go back and watch this Cameron breit play.
I was right there. I saw what happened? He never should have
gone back in the game. Why was he back in the game? Isn't this
exactly what they're trying to avoid? And it is because
Remember
second impact Syndrome.
Look it up, we wrote something about it, the other day,
that's how high school players. Not every time a high school
player dies, that's the reason. But that's the concern that's
the impetus for the Zachary life state law. That the NFL
was instrumental in having all states pass
to require that any high school player
that has a concussion is kept out of action until that person
is fully able to return and recovered from the concussion.
Because if you have one, Brain injury.
And then you have a second before. The first one is
resolved, you can have a catastrophic outcome that
results in death.
So we had Cameron braid out there
back out on the field with a head injury. That was
undiagnosed. That's exactly the kind of thing.
That needs to be avoided. So I reached out to the Buccaneers
yesterday morning to say hey can you explain to me what
happened here? And I was told well we're looking into it.
Coach bowls is going to address the media later day and who
presumably address it then. So here is Todd Bowles head coach
at the Buccaneers on the question of how Cameron brate
got back into the game
after he clearly. And obviously struck his head into the Torso
of Chris God. When late in the second quarter,
He went on the sideline,
he complained of shoulder discomfort. Nothing about his
head. He was checked out three times. He just said, give him
a minute. Nothing came up. He went back into landed a half
at halftime. He started having symptoms, obviously, they were
delayed and he started complaining about that. They
tested them, he's on the protocol, we kept him out
the rest of the game.
Like I said, he complained of shoulder discomfort. He said
nothing about his head, on the sidelines, nobody called down.
He was checked out three times. He went back in till then,
A half the concussion thing then come up till halftime. He
had to lay symptoms. Like I said, he complained about his
shoulder and I would say it, you can't see it neurologist or
talk about concussions. If you
only complaint about your shoulder,
it came up at half-time where he starts and have symptoms
about his head. So when you say your shoulders hurting, you
need a second for your shoulder, nobody really
checking out your head. And then you go back in. You find
out of halftime
that you have symptoms in your head. Then you go concussion
concussion protocol. That's all you can do, really. I mean,
I mean we're not experts when you say it's about the shoulder,
it was a noticeable hit, but again, it was on the shoulder.
Nobody said, nothing about the head. He got checked out three
times. He said, he just needed a minute thing for a shoulder
to clear up, and that was it.
I'm not blaming Todd Bowles for this
although I think he needs to better understand the protocol
because the NFL goes out of its way to make sure we understand
the protocol. And I've got the document that I've received
from the NFL. And I should have brought it up here with me
today.
The protocol is very simple. It's a flow chart.
It activates with a Blow To The Head. Obviously
then it's an either/or,
that initiates the assessment of the player at a minimum in
the blue tent or in some circumstances
back in the locker room,
if the player
Reports or exhibits
symptoms,
activated.
And what Todd Bowles is saying in that mashup of his various
answers from yesterday's press conference because
the reporters to their credit kept asking him about it. Because
this is another one of those,
we all saw it,
we all know what happened. How did this outcome transpire?
That the guys back in the game,
just a few plays, after he suffered a Blow To The Head
that ultimately resulted
in him being placed in the concussion protocol, once they
got a chance to take a look at it. So, so Todd Bowles is
Okay, the player
doesn't say he's got an issue and these are all the plays of
when he was back in the game, down the middle pass,
interference didn't hit his head, thank God
back of the end zone.
Jumped up, didn't hit his head, could hit his head on
the goalpost. Thank God for that because he already had a head
injury that was undiagnosed. So
the player reporting or demonstrating symptoms is just
part of it. There's an either/or and there are and
I've got the full list here and I'm going to Rattle off
the names of all the people who
You have
a button, they can press to stop everything and get the guy
checked certified athletic. Trainer on the side line,
can stop the button and get everything checked.
The ATC and the booth the spotter,
the person who is up there, the eye in the sky
that person can stop everything and get the person checked for
a concussion
team. Doctor
has a hand on the button.
Any of the coaches Todd Bowles or anyone else
has a hand on the button,
any player?
Any player on the field,
has a hand on the button.
Now, it's not their obligation, but they have the power to do
it.
And he game official,
any of the folks in black and white stripes
can stop the game.
The unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant that's on
the sideline.
Can do it.
The UNC in the booth can do it. So you've got
think about this.
because think about what we all saw
and then think about all those categories of people, I've just
explained to you including most importantly the to, in
the booth
The certified athletic trainer
and the unaffiliated. Neurotrauma consultant in
the booth
watching the game, and one of the concerns, when they came up
with this whole spotter concept is,
you can have all sorts of action away from the play
that you may just not notice.
Well, that doesn't apply here
because the guy who caught the pass, let's play that
you're watching the game.
I assume I assume you're not, you know,
checking Twitter or
reading the newspaper or smoking a cigarette.
Watching something it was on TV on Sunday night cuz you just
kind of bored by the game. But if we can queue up the play,
this is the, this is the game. If you're watching the game,
that's what you saw.
You saw Cameron brideshead,
hit the Torso of Chris Godwin.
So this is a failure of the system coach. Dungy called it
a broken system yesterday. I call it a failure of the system,
I don't think the system is broken,
but it wasn't operational like the microphones in our PCR 6.
If that's even still the name of it,
this is a failure.
Of the system head hits Chris Godwin and don't give me this
s*** that it was his shoulder.
And that and I don't want to hear. I'm still waiting for
an on-the-record response from the NFL as to what happened here.
I don't want an off-the-record response. I want
an on-the-record response
and the honor they were on the record response better not be.
It was his shoulder.
It wasn't his shoulder.
And if we care at all about the men who play the game
and their families,
and the Integrity of the concussion protocol,
this is where you set aside whatever the consequences may
be. And you say, you know what? We screwed up here
and
And, yeah, you know, we, yeah, we did screw up in the first
primetime game that was played after what we saw with to atong
of Aloha,
that's how inept this process can be at times, and we're
committed to fixing it. But that's exactly what happened,
coach Dungy. And I had a phone conversation about this last
night and it dawned on me
and this is basic organizational, Dynamics and
Common Sense.
The first prime-time game played.
After the one in which we saw the horrific scenes of Tong of
Allah with the fencing posture.
Being stretchered, not carded, but stretchered off the field
spending the rest of the game. Holding our breaths waiting for
news, the to of would be okay. From a brain, standpoint was
a big deal that he had
motion in his extremities and that's good. No neck injury but
that doesn't tell me his brains fine. We wait until the end of
the game to hear that his brain was fine. That he was
discharged from the hospital. He was going to return
to Miami but the First primetime game National
Football League? Come on, you got to do better and I know
you're not going to be happy with me,
but I don't care if you care about your men,
you're going to take this to heart and you're going to try
to get better
your first primetime game after what we saw with to, uh, how do
you not go to everybody involved? And say, hey we got
to have our s*** tightened up tonight. We got we got to do
this, right?
Any doubt, get them out. When in doubt,
get them out. And the one thing I reflect on because coach
Madden used to get very upset about any in efficiencies, in
the operation of the
All I heard stories over the years and his attitude was, if
these people that we've hired to do this job, can't do it.
Get them out
and replace them with people who can do the job
too much, is at stake
to let people who have their heads up their asses. Frankly,
in these positions,
you got to in the booth.
Unaffiliated, neurotrauma consultant
certified athletic trainer in the booth watching the game,
presumably
I don't know. Maybe they're playing Tic-Tac-Toe
because anybody who's watching the game Saw Cameron breaks
head, hit the Torso of Godwin and he should have been out at
that point
for a full concussion evaluation.
And then he would have been placed in the protocol because
that's what happened at halftime.
it's astounding to me and you know what, this isn't a bigger
deal, it should be because
at a time when the NFL
should be as sensitive to the concussion protocol as it has
ever been since the protocol was adopted under duress of
Congress 13 years ago,
this month
If they were ever going to be sensitive about it, it was in
the primetime game.
Next played after what we saw to it. Now, it should have been
sensitive to it all day long. I mean, this message that should
have gone
out to everyone applies to every game from London
to the 1:00 window, to the four clock window to prime time. But
especially in prime time, when 20 million people are watching,
and 20 million people saw,
Cam. Brady
hit his head
and get back in the game.
And
maybe it is broken. Maybe it's all just window dressing
and PR Spin.
And at the end of the day there ain't a damn thing. They can do
in real time to change the nature of football.
They better try
it better try
because
Let me tell you something, look, we all should care about
the players as human beings
and it's hard as one of the themes of Playmakers
you got you got these guys in armor and and they're, you
know, they're like superheroes and they're fine, they're
indestructible know, they're human beings and they suffer
the same injuries. The rest of us
do and we have to care about their concussions,
but
Never get they ever get one of these outcomes or somebody dies
on the field.
It's done,
it's done.
We're not going to all rush back and watch the games of
following week.
Apart from the human concern. If you have concern for
the game, you don't want to be in a position where under the watch
and the umbrella and the shield of the NFL, someone died on
the field, the state-of-the-art medical care, supposedly,
all the efforts. They're taking to put the best measures in
place to trickle down to lower levels of the sport, if they
can't get their house in order.
I don't, I don't want to consider the consequences
because I like my job. So folks, let's get our act
together. Let's take care of these human beings who happen
to be wearing football pads and helmets and let's apply these
protocols and when there's a mistake let's not circle
the wagons and tell lies.
So it was his shoulder. It wasn't his shoulder,
it was his head and we all know it and we better do something
about it. There's going to be a big problem. The national
football.
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