Written by Jeff Nixon, posted July 22, 2010
Back on February 24, 2010 I posted an article entitled: Why is the mouth guard not a mandatory piece of equipment in the NFL?
In the article I mention that the NFL has been reluctant to discuss mouth guards because until recently, researchers have had very little understanding of how they can be linked to the prevention of concussions. In the article I think I made a pretty good case for why they need to be a mandatory piece of equipment, but based on what we are hearing in the news, no one at the NFL or NFL Players Association seem to care.
Commissioner Goodell came out yesterday and said the league will urge players to wear more knee, thigh and hip protection this preseason with an eye toward making the changes mandatory in 2011. He said he wants to make the game safer for players and help teams avoid man-hours lost to otherwise preventable injuries. The league also wants to set a safety example for college and high school players.
Most colleges and high schools in the United States require their football players to wear mouth guards, so in that respect aren’t they the ones setting an example for the NFL?
The NFL rulebook recommends players wear knee, hip and thigh pads – but only uniforms, helmets and shoulder pads are mandatory.
Ray Anderson, the NFL‘s Executive Vice President of Football Operations recently said “It’s not mandated for 2010. But we anticipate we’ll need to mandate it going forward.” Anderson took a strong stand on the issue saying “We’re not going to relinquish on player safety. Particularly when we know we can prevent lost workdays and help players stay on the field.”
The NFL is worried about lost workdays? How about lost lifetimes!
A player can always get a shoulder repaired or knee replaced, but how do you replace a brain? We have way too many examples of the devastating impact that concussions have had on the lives of former NFL players, but now there is evidence that a specialized mouth guard could be part of the solution.
If Commissioner Goodell and the DeMaurice Smith are really serious about making the game safer and reducing concussions in the NFL, then they both need to agree to make the mouth guard a mandatory piece of equipment.
With all the information and research that has been conducted and published on concussions, TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury), CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) and the high probability that they are linked to numerous cognitive disorders, including long-term memory loss, psychiatric disorders, neurological problems, Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia you would think that the NFL and the NFLPA would at least mention mouth guards whenever they have a press conference about player equipment and safety.
For liability purposes alone, you would think the NFL would institute the mandatory use of mouth guards immediately regardless of what the NFL Players Association says. When players start to line up for disability payments as a result of their concussions, it’s not going to affect the Union’s finances, but it could affect the League’s finances. The owners fund the NFL Disability Plan, so you would think they would want to address this issue faster than a player can run without pads.
George Atallah, spokesman for the NFL Players Association said he was aware of the NFL’s initiative on having players add more pads and was working with the league to get feedback from the players. He said “The players union views this is as one of a number of different health and safety items on the agenda.”
It’s good to get player input, but even if active players don’t want to wear a mouth guard or put on additional padding, it’s the Union’s job to ensure the safety of its members and that is why a mouth guard mandate and preseason jaw evaluations should come from the NFL Players Association, not the League.
I hope for the sake of all active players that the mandatory use of a mouth guard is on the NFL and NFLPA’s agendas.
Duh, anyone playing this game without a mouthguard WILL have his head examined after he gets his bell rung. I cannot believe how ill-informed guys making millions, working out for hours every day in the off-season could go out on the field unprotected. They think it is some sort of ‘fashion statement’? Or they try to show how ‘tough’ they are by not wearing a mouthguard. If this is a ‘sticking point’ for the union, the leadership should be replaced. This is insane. On top of that make it mandatory to buckle all four chin straps.
And football players wonder why the public see them as stupid?
This article caught me in a bad mood and made it worse.
I decided not to wear one for a few games. I thought it would help my breathing! Well you know the end of story.We were playing Detroit and Charlie Sanders blind sided me with 30 sec. to go in game with an elbow to the jaw( it was a screen play). He knocked me out and shattered 4 front teeth. He hit me so hard one of my front teeth was ripped out.
I had two nerves die after our playoff game against Redskins. I had ice in my mouth all night till I could get to a dentist. I never again played without a mouth guard. My wife had no sympathy for me! It was my fault. Now should Charlie have done that??
I had a great dentist and no problems till last year. I am now spending thousands to do a dental implant
Please provide the evidence to your claim that a special mouth guard can reduce the risk of brain injury.
Members of the NFL concussion committee had questioned the ability to get a concussion from a blow to the jaw. These members have since been removed because of this type of denial. The DOD has now set off an innitiative to research a connection to damaged cartilage in the temporal mandibular joint and concussion suceptibility in soldiers. The basis for this patented procedure was developed with Marvin Hagler and the N.E. Patriots. Goodell and Smith are well aware of this medical procedure, getting out from under the cloud of damaging behavior of the past is paramount, this would be a good start. http://www.mahercor.com has much more info.
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I played 17 yrs in the league(missing a total of 5 games), 4 years in college(missing 0 games),4 years in high school(missing 0 games), and 10 in the street, in a bad neighborhood. I never wore a mouth piece once. I chewed a pack or two of gum. My teeth are perfect! I know a big wad of gum works much better than a mouth piece. As far as I’m conserned it’s like wearing a cup, or hip pads. Before long they’ll be wearing armor! What is going on!
Ed:
Guess what, they are already wearing Armour! Equipment contracts are big money for the NFL. Read this article.
Under Armour Gearing Up For Six-Year, $60M Footwear Deal
NFL Under Armour is finalizing a six-year, $60M footwear deal with the NFL, according to Terry Lefton in this week’s SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, who notes the agreement is Under Armour’s “biggest sports marketing expenditure to date.” The deal allow NFL players to wear Under Armour’s new cleats on the field, but “it does not include performance wear or any other NFL on-field apparel rights, where Reebok has exclusivity.” Sources “put the deal at $25[M] in cash, with a media spending commitment on NFL media rights holders, NFL Network and NFL.com.” The deal also includes warrants for $8-9M worth of Under Armour shares, “following a recent trend in which equity has become an increasingly important component in NFL deals.” Under Armour also gets the rights to use league marks in ads. Under Armour’s current roster of NFL endorsers includes Packers LB A.J. Hawk, 49ers TE Vernon Davis, Eagles WR Jeremy Bloom, Cowboys RB Julius Jones, former Cowboys DE Eric Ogbogu and Jets LB Jonathan Vilma (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 7/24 issue).