Concussions Big in 1994 issue of Sports Illustrated

08.25.15

Reprint of 2013 piece with 2 of 3 updated links.

Although it may seem as if the concussion crisis in football is a fairly recent issue, the December 19, 1994 issue of Sports Illustrated proves differently. Twelve pages of that eighteen year old issue were devoted to NFL concussions. “Halt the Head Hunting” by Peter King, “The Worst Case” by Michael Farber and “A Bell is Rung” (can’t find in the online SI archive anymore) also by Peter King describe many of the same issues that are going on today and with much of the same urgency.

Farber’s piece quotes Dr. James L. Kelly, Professor of Neurosurgery at The University of Colorado Medical School, “People are missing the boat on brain injuries. It isn’t just cataclysmic injury or death from brain injuries that should concern people. The core of the person can change from repeated blows to the head. I hope another player doesn’t have to die before all this is taken seriously. Dr. Kelly from 1994 (he’s now recognized as one of America’s top experts on treating concussions) would have been very disappointed to find that yes, more players would have to die before the issue was taken seriously.