Two Former Birds Support Student-Athlete Concussion Protections
HARRISBURG (CBS) - Pennsylvania lawmakers will try again to pass legislation aimed at protecting student athletes who've suffered concussions.
Legislation to address student athlete concussions fell a few yards short of the goal line in the last session. To show they remain serious, lawmakers backing the proposal held an event last week featuring former Philadelphia Eagles Harold Carmichael and Mike Quick.
Carmichael quipped about his experience with concussions. "People ask me – I don't want to make a joke out of this – but they ask me if I ever had a concussion. I tell them, 'I don't remember,'" Carmichael said.
Quick, who is now the team's radio analyst, talked about the need to protect student athletes from self-imposed pressure. "When a kid gets hurt, the kid doesn't want to let the other kids around him down," Quick said. "So, the kid's going to want to get back into the game."
Tracy Yatsko, a former high school basketball player from Tamaqua, suffered a concussion during a game six years ago. "I went to school the next day because, of course, I couldn't miss practice," Yatsko said. "But, I was very dizzy and nauseous."
Because of such pressure, lawmakers have introduced bills that would prohibit student athletes showing concussion symptoms from returning to play until cleared by a medical professional.
Reported by Tony Romeo, KYW Newsradio
