Browns receiver Josh Cribbs knows what his teammate Colt McCoy was feeling after taking a helmet-to-helmet hit from James Harrison, because Cribbs took a helmet-to-helmet hit from Harrison last year. And Cribbs also knows why McCoy was eager to get back onto the field after that hit.
Cribbs says it’s not in the makeup of football players to be honest with the medical staff about what they’re feeling. Players want to play, and they’ll say what they need to say to get back onto the field if they’re hurt.
“A lot of guys don’t report concussions,” Cribbs told the Canton Repository.
Cribbs added that players are thinking about their livelihoods when deciding if they should go back on the field, and that doesn’t mean their health for the next 50 years. It means keeping their jobs, and players are concerned that if they’re viewed as prone to concussion, they won’t last in the league.
“Guys are thinking they’ve got to support their families,” Cribbs said.
Those comments point to exactly why the decision about whether a player can play can’t be up to the player or anyone affiliated with the team. If the NFL really wants players to be safe, then independent neurologists need to be the ones to make the decisions about whether players can go back into a game.
