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The US Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal lodged by
a group of Native Americans who claimed
that the Washington Redskins’ name
perpetuates racial stereotypes.
The complaint had already
been rejected by a lower court
and, although a victory for
the plaintiffs would not have
forced the National Football
League team to change its
name, it could have lost its
exclusive rights.
The team was founded in 1932 as
the Boston Braves but was renamed
the Boston Redskins in 1933 after its
American Indian head coach, William “Lone Star” Dietz. It
moved to the District of Columbia in 1937 and became the
Washington Redskins.
Redskins reign despite
racist claims
Washington State in the US has enacted
the nation’s toughest law regulating when
high school athletes can return to games
after having sustained a concussion.
The legislation prohibits athletes under
18, who are suspected of sustaining
a concussion, from returning to play
without a licensed health care provider’s
written approval.
The law also requires each of the
state’s school districts to work with the
Washington Interscholastic Activities
Association to develop a standard for
educating coaches, players and parents
Head hits hit hard in Washington
La Salle University in Philadelphia has
agreed to pay $7.5 million to a severely
brain-damaged football (gridiron) player,
an amount five times the school’s annual
athletic budget.
Preston Plevretes, a sophomore
linebacker, was severely injured in a 2005
game against Duquesne University, six
weeks after suffering a concussion during
a practice session. His lawyers argued that
because La Salle prematurely cleared him
to return, without having him undergo
proper testing or be seen by a doctor, the
player became a victim of second-impact
syndrome.
In that medical condition, the brain swells
rapidly after a person suffers a second
concussion before symptoms from
an earlier concussion have cleared
up.
Plevretes, 23, from Marlboro, N.J., fell
into a coma soon after a collision with a
player from the opposing team. He has
since undergone several operations and
treatments, in facilities from Pittsburgh to
Cologne, Germany.
His Philadelphia-based lawyer said
Plevretes still requires around-the-clock
care and has difficulty walking and
talking.
La Salle now performs baseline testing
at the start of a season to use as a
comparison in the event of an injury.
$7.5 million payout
to brain-injured football player
on the dangers of concussions and head
injuries. A concussion and head injury
information sheet must be signed by the
athletes and their parents or guardians.
The U.S. Centres for Disease Control and
Prevention estimates that more than 3.5
million sports-related concussions occur
each year in the US. Concussions were
the second most common injury among
high school student-athletes during
the 2008-09 school year (behind
ankle strains and sprains), according
to the National High School Sports-
Related Injury Surveillance Study.
Researchers estimate that high
school student-athletes suffered almost
400,000 concussions between 2005 and
2008. The majority of those injuries were
in football, followed by girls’ soccer, boys’
soccer, girls’ basketball and wrestling. An
alarming 16 percent of all football players
who sustained a concussion severe
enough to cause loss of consciousness
returned to play the same day.
The school also requires all athletes
who suffer concussions to be examined
by a concussion specialist, and it now
uses “computerized neuropsychological
testing” for those with head injuries.
The severity and frequency of football
head injuries has led to increased liability
and insurance payments for schools.
Many schools the size of La Salle carry
supplemental insurance for student-
athletes, who first are required to submit
any injury claims to their personal
insurers. Many family plans, however, do
not cover sports injuries.