Paul George took a knee to the head from Dwyane Wade during the fourth quarter of Indiana’s Game 2 loss to the Heat, and was later diagnosed as having sustained a concussion on the play.
But George believes that might not have been the case had he chosen his words more carefully.
Immediately following the play, both on the court and on the bench, George successfully answered all questions related to the league’s concussion protocol, but later admitted to reporters that he blacked out from the collision and tried to play through having blurred vision.
“Yeah, but I probably should have kept that to myself,” George said following Friday’s practice. “It just made a mess. That’s something that, going forward, just keep that between myself and the training staff.”
The only “mess” George could possibly be referring to is the fact that the concussion diagnosis became unavoidable following his remarks, which gets the league involved in determining whether or not he would be cleared to play in Game 3 on Saturday.
The media and the public obviously don’t need to know every detail of an injured athlete’s symptoms, but let’s hope George is smart enough to at least be 100 percent forthcoming with the team trainers -- even though it might not be the easiest of decisions.
LeBron James said that every player at this stage of the postseason would try to play through a concussion, and David West admitted it’s difficult to be completely honest in terms of your symptoms if you want to continue to play.
The league and its individual teams can continue to work to educate the players about the dangers of trying to play with a concussion. But considering what we’re hearing from the players themselves, and given all that’s at stake, it’s worth wondering if it will really make a difference.
