Youth Football Player Suffers Traumatic Brain Injury

Case Overview

This case involves a teenage boy who played on a youth football team in Mississippi. His coach, who had limited coaching experience with regards to safety and traumatic brain injury, insisted that he play the duration of a game against a much larger, more physically imposing rival team. The players on the opposing team were notorious for spearing, and on several instances the young man involved in this case was speared directly in the helmet. After sustaining these tackles, the player complained to his coach that he did not feel well and the coach advised that he ought to play through the end of the game, and to take a Motrin or Tylenol once the game was finished. As a result of this repeated helmet to helmet contact, the young man had sustained a severe subdural hematoma, and suffered a traumatic brain injury.

Questions to the Sports & Recreation expert and their responses

Do you have experience authoring / developing safety protocols for a youth football league?

I served a one year tenure as a Division 1A Director of Athletics at a major University in the Big South Conference (2005) where student-athlete safety of various persuasions was always very high on any sports leader's mind.

Does a coach have an obligation to his/her players to ensure their safety in the instance of spearing by a larger, more physically adept opposing team?

Football coaches, and especially youth football coaches, absolutely have an obligation to take a player out of the game if that player is complaining after suffering a significant helmet to helmet hit.

If a youth player complains after a significant helmet to helmet hit, does a coach have an obligation to take the player out of the game and ensure he hasn't suffered a severe concussion or traumatic brain injury prior to insisting that the young adult remain in play for the duration of the game?

About the expert

This extremely qualified expert has been involved with the game of football for over 50 years. He holds a Ph.D. in Counseling and Sports Psychology from Florida State University, where he also completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Sports Psychology. He has been an active member of the American Football Coaches Association for over 40 years and completed a Governor-appointed six year term on the Board of Directors of the Florida Sports Foundation. He coached football for 15 seasons at West Chester State College, the University of Maryland, the University of Connecticut, and The Citadel, while he also served as the Athletic Director for Liberty University, a Division I university. He taught Sport Administration at Florida State University Law School for 25 years and has authored 100+ articles and four books. Currently, this expert is a Managing Partner at a financial consultancy, as well as the President of a firm that advocates and provides contract advisory services for coaches and athletic directors.