The NFL has been wrestling with its concussion issues for some time now and this story that has been flying under the radar shows why it’s so important.
Panthers tackle Michael Oher suffered a concussion early on in the season and was placed in concussion protocol on September 30th before Carolina’s Week 4 game against the Atlanta Falcons.
It’s six months later and according to the Panthers website, Oher remains in concussion protocol. While he has been working out and the Panthers are optimistic about his condition, it’s still a startling revelation. Here are details from the Panthers website:
Offensive tackle Michael Oher has been in the NFL’s concussion protocol for a long time now, but he is showing some encouraging signs of progress.
“He looks great, he sounds great, but he’s still in the protocol,” general manager Dave Gettleman said. “He’s working out five days a week. He’s working his fanny off. He’s doing NFL workouts. He’s fully engaged in that weight room.”
Oher was placed in the concussion protocol two days before the Panthers’ Week 4 game at the Atlanta Falcons on October 2 and ended up sitting out the final 13 games of the season. He was inactive for seven games as the team held out hope he’d return before spending the final six games on injured reserve.
While the Panthers haven’t shared specifics about Oher’s condition (like most NFL teams and anything injury-related) they say he is taking part in NFL-style workouts and his condition is progressing. The team is optimistic that he’ll be able to play on in 2017.
During the season, the Charlotte Observer reported that Oher was experiencing sensitivity to light and facing other issues associated with a concussion. The paper also reported that Oher was seeing a concussion specialist in Pittsburgh:
Oher has missed the past six games and the team has said little about the nature of his symptoms during the time he’s been sidelined.
But a league source said Oher is experiencing sensitivity to light, as well as issues involving his vestibular ocular system, which is responsible for integrating vision, movement and balance.
Oher visited a highly regarded concussion clinic in Pittsburgh on Tuesday for the second time in recent weeks, the league source said. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s concussion clinic sees more than 17,000 patients each year, including many college and pro athletes.
We’ve seen multiple stars across sports miss significant time with concussions. Most recently, Dale Earnhardt Jr. missed the second half of last year’s NASCAR season dealing with concussion-related symptoms. Sidney Crosby has also had his well-documented troubling history with multiple concussions.
Hopefully Oher is able to get back to 100% and play in 2017. But his situation shows that concussions are definitely not something to be taken lightly and no one person is going to deal with a brain injury in the same way. Thankfully the NFL has taken a number of steps in recent years to better document and treat concussions and hopefully that progress continues.
