The Texas Longhorns are currently in a weird spot. Concussion expert, Dr. Chris Nowinski, and founder of Boston University's CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) program, is putting the program on blast for how it handled Sam Ehlinger being mauled last weekend.
Long story short: Ehlinger's head went to the ground on a tackle. He would then lay motionless on the sideline for several seconds. Despite that, Sam Ehlinger was back in the game for the Longhorns' next drive, the game's last.
This is (partly) where Chris Nowinski has issue.
Not moving for 30 sec after hitting your head is a #concussion sign and injury can't be ruled out that quickly. Do we care @NCAA? @NCAA_SSI https://t.co/FW5FCr9hqU
— Chris Nowinski, Ph.D. (@ChrisNowinski1) October 16, 2017
For clarity, issue is breach of protocol, not misdiagnosis. #Concussion sign (staying down after head impact) requires minimum 8-10 min eval
— Chris Nowinski, Ph.D. (@ChrisNowinski1) October 17, 2017
After the game, Ehlinger said he received a precautionary check for a concussion during the plays he sat out.
“I wasn't ever confused where I was at all,” he said. “It was a hard hit. My head hit the ground pretty hard. … I told them immediately I could go back in. I felt fine. They just took me into the tent to make sure everything was OK, go through the protocol and send me back out there.”
For what it is worth, folk with medical degrees (as opposed to football players) have long argued a player or coach shouldn't determine how “well” their own health is doing. Pride usually gets in the way of stuff like, you know, science and facts.
Texas coach Tom Herman described the team's injury policy as: “When it comes to injuries, we do what the doctor tells us to and when he says he's fine, he's fine. And then yeah, we followed up.”
Herman also pointed out that Ehlinger was cleared for practice Sunday and reported that he feels great.
No matter who is correct here, maybe a conversation is worth having here. Nowinski did make some good points, even if Texas did follow the proper protocol to the letter of the law.
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