Concussions
Our Responsibilty
As officials, our biggest priority should be player safety. There are very specific protocols and requirements around concussions that should should be aware of, primarily to ensure player safety, but also to minimize our liability. To do so, we must be cognizant of the specific rules and requirements of the governing body of the level we are officiating, but also be able to quickly recognize the signs and symptoms of a concussion.
The following link, courtesy of Marasco & Nesselbush Law Offices, highlights some common symptoms of concussions, as well as concussion danger signs, to bring awareness to this serious injury. It is strongly recommended that all officials be aware of these, and to have the courage to send a player out to be evaluated, in any game, at any time, regardless of the situation. We may be the only line of defense that player has between a critical injury, and receiving timely, potential life-saving treatment.