It was recently discovered that Penn football Captain Owen Thomas, who committed suicide in the spring, had a brain disease caused by head trauma and linked to depression. Thomas’ parents wanted the findings made public to educate people about these risks of athletics at the amateur level, and the NCAA should further ensure that athletes and schools are taking the right precautions to keep athletes safe.
Doctors can’t be sure that the disease — known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy and commonly experienced by football players — caused Thomas’ death. But what we do know is that Thomas is the youngest-known player to be confirmed with CTE. And since Thomas’ mother said he didn’t knowingly have concussions, he likely either hid his injuries or his injuries were overlooked.
The NCAA has a policy going into effect this fall that requires universities to have concussion management plans. However, the plan could do more to protect players. There could be stronger mandates on the amount of time players have to rest after experiencing concussion-like symptoms beyond sitting out for the rest of the day. The NCAA should also require athletes to be educated about the dangers of playing with head injuries beyond making material available on its website for athletes to read before they sign statements accepting responsibility for reporting injuries.
