A parent's protocol for football safety

By now, any certified pro football fan has become aware of the presence of the new National Football League concussion protocol, an initiative geared to flag players who may have suffered head injuries during competition. Although many of the affected players themselves undoubtedly consider this precaution an imposition, it's hard to argue with from a medical health standpoint.

But I would recommend that another safety measure be adopted, this one much earlier in the athlete's career, back at the high school level, and with the responsibility for its operation placed on the parents. Call it the parents protocol, and this would have them asking four basic questions regarding their aspiring son no later than junior year.

Is he one of the biggest, physically well-developed kids? Is he a completely dominant athletic force at this level? Is a potential football scholarship absolutely the only way of financing a desired college education? Does the kid live for the game, to the exclusion of all other interests?

If the answer to any of these questions is no, then the release papers allowing the boy to play should not be signed.

Undoubtedly, this refusal would sit no better with some kids than the concussion protocol does with the NFL pros. But if there's ever been a situation perfectly suited for parents to be saying "you'll thank us later," this would be it.

Tom Gregg

Niles