By Ken Reed
League of Fans and the American Museum of Tort Law are presenting a panel discussion on the legal aspects of brain trauma and how it might change high school and youth football as we know it.
The panel of experts includes: Patrick Hruby, a journalist who has written extensively about brain trauma in sports; Chris Nowinski, one of the foremost educators, advocates, and researchers in the field of sports concussions and brain trauma; Jason Luckasevic, an attorney and consultant on sports brain injuries who filed the first two CTE lawsuits against the NFL; and Mary Alexander, an attorney who specializes in personal injury and consumer rights. The panel is moderated by Joanne Doroshow, a civil justice expert.
While a few thousand adults play in the NFL, hundreds of thousands of young people play football at the high school and youth levels. Brain trauma at these levels is very concerning due to the fact that most high school and youth games and practices don’t have a trained medical professional on site. Moreover, in most cases, the coaches at these levels lack adequate training in concussion identification and safety protocols.
There’s a real threat that lawsuits brought against schools, school districts and youth football programs (in most cases by parents of young athletes suffering various brain trauma injuries) could result in many schools/school districts dropping the sport due to rising insurance premium costs related to an increasing number of lawsuits.
The panel discussion can be viewed at the American Museum of Tort Law site and on YouTube.
Please feel free to share this panel discussion on this important sports issue widely.
— Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans
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