Should Sports Agents Recommend Safer Equipment For Clients?
We have blogged about it before, and we’ll blog about it again. The NFL concussion problem is not going away.
Leonard Shapiro, a retired sports writer who is in the NFL Hall of Fame, recently put together a chilling story about a retired player who is taking medication to stave off Alzheimer’s. Shapiro’s article does a stellar job of encapsulating the entire NFL debate about concussions when he summarizes the NFL’s response to a study released earlier this fall about concussions. The study revealed that former football players have increased dementia and memory problems. Surely, this caused the NFL to mobilize its vast resources and spring into action, right? Not quite:
Strangely, the NFL's initial response was that the study was scientifically flawed, and that further work needed to be done before a definitive link between on-field hits and dementia can be made.
In many instances, the right thing can be accomplished by utilizing safer equipment. Shapiro’s article references a special helmet, the Xenith X1, which is designed to soften and moderate blows to the head. The helmet is pictured at right.
I hope you understand the reason we continue to blog about this subject. An agent is a fiduciary who is charged with looking out for the best interests of his client. To be sure, football players are grown men who are responsible for their actions and choices, but sports lawyers and sports agents need to get involved to help pressure the league to do the right thing. If nothing else, agents and lawyers should at least make their pro athlete clients aware of the options such as the new and reportedly safer equipment options.
