Concussions and Sportsmanship

Apparently some people understand the new NFL rules on concussions. During Saturday’s game against the Bears, Cowboys tight end Jason Witten sustained a concussion after being hit by two bears defenders before hitting his head on the turf. He then was seen to be stumbling as he made his way to the sidelines.

After the doctors made the diagnosis and told Witten that he could not return to the game, Witten could be seen berating the training staff for twenty minutes. This included him getting right up in their faces and pointing his finger at them and reportedly saying that if the Cowboys lost that it would be their fault. The medical staff held their ground. I hope that Witten will come to understand why they did what they did, although he does say he will play this weekend.

However, I do have to wonder where the coaching staff was during this? Why did they not come over and tell Witten to shut-up and sit down that the doctors were doing the right thing? The impression it certainly left with me was that the coaching staff does not agree with the new policy and so are not going to defend their medical personnel when they follow the NFL rules. So a hearty thumbs up to the training staff for their actions, and a hearty thumbs down to the coaching staff for theirs.

Another hearty thumbs up go to the coaches for the Atlanta Falcons. They were blowing out the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday and were again in the red zone when they decided to take a knee of four consecutive plays. They could have just as easily tried to score more points in order to make the game even more lopsided. That would certainly have been what most teams would do, but they didn’t. It’s not often you see good sportsmanship like this in the NFL and so when it happens it should be pointed out. Good job Falcons.

The same could also be said of the coaching staff for the Wisconsin Badgers. Up 20-19 over my Arizona State Sun Devils and with time running out, they too took a knee in the red zone rather than scoring more points. This was the #11 team in the nation squeaking out a victory against an unranked opponent. Certainly a 27-19 score would look better in the sports pages, but that is not what the coaches did. Instead they did the right thing and took the victory, which is really what mattered. So congratulations to the Wisconsin Badgers, you are playing the game correctly.