InTouch with Southern Kentucky March 2020 | Page 18

“When I played, we thought a con-
cussion was when you got knocked
out,” Hines said. “If you just had your
bell rung, you might be right back in
the game.
“Now, if a player is a little dazed or
has a headache during the game, he
goes right into concussion proto-
col,” the PC coach added. “We had
seven or eight concussions last
year, but none of them where the
player was unconscious.
“I think we’re seeing more injuries
classified as concussions than be-
fore — and that’s not a bad thing,”
Hines continued. “We know how
to take care of these players now
and make sure they’re 100 percent
better before they can have any
additional contact. And that may be
several weeks.”
Williams says there are not a lot
of concussions at the youth level
— but added that head injuries are
always a concern.
“The NFL has poured millions of
dollars into head injury research.
They fund USA Football, which is
the group we are associated with,”
18 • I n T ouch with S outhern K entucky 
Williams said. “We get our guidance
from USA Football and they are very
concerned with concussion-type
injuries.
“We have one of two KHSAA
officials at our games, and if they
see anything at all on the field, they
alert the coach and the player is
done until he’s treated by a physi-
cian,” Williams added. “When we
suspect there’s a head injury, he has
to be seen by a doctor before he can
play again.”
The rules changes — and the
attitude changes — concerning con-
cussions stems from the growing
list of former NFL players who have
displayed brain-injury symptoms.
Mike Adamle, an undersized run-
ning back for the Chiefs, Jets and
Bears for a decade, has post-trau-
matic epilepsy. His doctors also
believe he’s showing symptoms of
chronic traumatic encephalopathy,
or CTE, a disease also tied to brain
trauma and frighteningly common
among former football players.
But CTE can only be confirmed
after death during an autopsy.
Adamle, who was a broadcaster of
note after his retirement, deals with
the chilling effects of head injuries
every day.
“I’d see this guy I played with
and I’d hug him, and he’d hug me,
and we’d both walk off in different
directions going, ‘Who the hell was
that?” Adamle, 70, told the Chicago
Tribune. “I mean, it’s funny, but it’s
terrible. I’m just glad we’re address-
ing this now.”
Kenny Stabler was showing signs
of dementia when he died from co-
lon cancer at the age of 69 in 2016.
When his brain was examined after
his death, the damage was obvious.
“He had moderately severe dis-
ease,” said Dr. Ann McKee, chief of
neuropathology at the V.A. Boston
Healthcare System and a professor
of neurology and pathology at Bos-
ton University School of Medicine,
who conducted the examination.
“Pretty classic. It may be surprising
since he was a quarterback, but cer-
tainly the lesions were widespread,
and they were quite severe, affect-
ing many regions of the brain.”
M arch 2020