Student Athletes with Concussions Could be kept from getting back on the field
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Student Athletes with Concussions Could be kept from getting back on the field

Date: February 9, 2010
By: Max Reiss
State Capitol Bureau

Intro:  Concussions have been a topic controversy for the National Football League, and now one Missouri Representative wants to prevent student-athletes from suffering further damage.
RunTime:  0:40
OutCue:  SOC

Wrap: St. Louis Democrat Don Calloway proposes keeping student athletes who suffer concussions off the field until they get checked out by a licensed healthcare professional.

Actuality:  CALLWAY1.WAV
Run Time:  00:08
Description: "We as laypeople - coaches, parents - are not in a position, and certainly the athlete is not in a position to make the determination of when the kid's ready to return to play."

Calloway spoke to the House Healthcare Transformation Committee.

Republican Mike Lair agrees with the bill and says student safety is paramount.

Lair says football. . .

Actuality:  LAIR1.WAV
Run Time:  00:03
Description: "It's important to a lot of people, but it's just kids playing a game."

Committee members recommended keeping athletes out as least 1 full day after suffering a concussion.

From the state Capitol, I'm Max Reiss, Newsradio 1120, KMOX.

Intro:  Keeping student-athletes off the field if they suffer a concussion could become law if a certain bill makes its way through the legislature.
RunTime:  0:40
OutCue:  SOC

Wrap: High school athletes may have no choice but to take it easy in the days immediately after suffering a concussion.

Washington University's Dr. Mark Halstead specializes in treating young people who suffer head trauma.

He says a proposal to keep high school kids who suffer concussions on the sidelines is a good idea.

Actuality:  HALSTEAD.WAV
Run Time:  00:09
Description: "Athletes will frequently use the terms getting dinged or having their bell rung and that's a concussion but they don't actually equate that with being a concussion and they feel that's just part of the game."

According to Halstead, no two concussions are the same, and that he's not sure exactly how long students who suffer concussions should stay off the field.

From the state Capitol, I'm Max Reiss, Newsradio 1120 KMOX.