Soldiers and football players have more in common than we think, and Commissioner Roger Goodell and General Raymond T. Odierno agree. The football commissioner and the Army Chief of Staff announced their cooperative initiative at the U.S. Military Academy on Thursday, August 30th.
Both football players and soldiers face stressful situations that can lead to traumatic brain injury, and both the culture surrounding football and the culture in the military prevent those involved from admitting the severity of their injuries. Odiermo and Goodell agree that the cultures need to be changed, so players and soldiers can receive timely, thorough treatment, and prevent long-term physical and mental damage.
“We can bring greater awareness not just to our two organizations, but to the general public,” Goodell said of the program. “We will do all we can to get our players and the soldiers to under what each other goes through. We’ll work to change our cultures by working closely together.”
The NFL has come under fire with nearly 3,000 former players filing lawsuits against the league, claiming that concussion statistics and problems were covered up over several years. In response, the NFL has been extremely pro-active in discussing diagnosis and treatment of head trauma.
“A lot of attributes are quite alike between soldiers and NFL players,” Odierno said. “We’ve come together, two groups of people who are dedicated and courageous, to see how we can help both players and soldiers to deal with this important issue. With nearly 1.1 million soldiers, we have a wide audience we have to deal with. I think this (program) will help bring more awareness to these issues.”
The Concussion Lawyers at the Strom Law Firm are currently accepting cases involving brain damage and concussions for former players. Call today for a free consultation. 803.252.4800
