Illinois Governor to Sign Student-Athlete Concussion Law
by admin on 29/07/11 at 1:32 am
Pat Quinn, Governor of Illinois, played football through high school, and knows what it’s like to have his bell rung and be expected by his coaches to shake it off and get back in the game. Quinn believes that “[t]hese days, adults have to make sure they are guardians of the health of their athletes.” In a ceremony Thursday at Soldier Field, Quinn will do just that. He will sign a law requiring Illinois student-athletes showing concussion symptoms to get medical approval before resuming play.
Based on the Zackery Lystedt Law named for the Washington teen who suffered a brain injury in 2006 after his return to a football game, the new measure encourages education as the main source of prevention. Illinois will become the 28th state to adopt a version of the law mandating all school boards adopt a policy on head injuries that fits under IHSA by-laws.
Quinn hopes increased awareness at the grassroots level affects Illinois the way it did the NFL. Teams reported 25 percent more concussions last year, according to Hunt Batjer, chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and co-chairman of the league’s head, neck and spine committee.
“It’s very important that we understand that concussions aren’t just treated by spitting a little tobacco juice on it and going on,” Quinn said.
An avid Chicago sports fan, Quinn realizes the machismo rules of sports he seeks to legislate traditionally celebrate those who quietly play through adversity.
But Quinn can’t get past the example of Dave Duerson, the former Bear who shot himself to death and left his damaged brain to science. He sees the effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the vacant looks of soldiers every visit to a military hospital. He knows sports are the second-leading cause of brain injury among young adults between 15 and 24, according to the Centers for Disease Control. As a result Quinn considers this law “a mission.”
“For a long time we did not have a requirement you wear a seatbelt. Then we passed a law making it mandatory,” Quinn said. “The law changed the culture. I hope it doesn’t take decades but we need this concussion law to change the culture too.”
