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For years, many student-athletes have been told to shake it off after getting hit in the head, overlooking the possible serious and long-lasting effects of concussions. But that is changing as the fall sports season opens Tuesday for state high schools. Gov. M. Jodi Rell signed a new law in May prohibiting athletes from re-entering a game after suffering a concussion. Athletes will not be allowed to resume any athletic activity until cleared by a doctor.
"The law is there now to protect student-athletes," Connecticut Athletic Trainers' Association President Vicky Graham said. "Concussions are a serious issue, and we take it a lot more seriously than we used to. A concussion is a brain injury, and they should be treated as such."
All high school coaches are now required to take three-hour module on concussions. The fall sports season will be the first test to see how coaches and players respond to the law. Graham said she is more worried about students hiding their injuries than coaches ignoring the law.
"It's really about changing the culture, but we really have to work on the athletes themselves," she said. "Everyone worries when you create a law like this, the response is going to be to hide the injury. We want kids to know that if they get a head injury, it's OK to report it, and they need to report it because the risks are too great."
New Canaan High School athletic director Jay Egan credits professional sports, which have done the research and taken the stance that concussions are serious injuries. "It's trickled down to the colleges and now high schools," Egan said. "We know more know than we did 20 years ago."
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