# Doctors have become the nanny police for the NFL? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 10, 2014, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-have-become-the-nanny-police-for-the-nfl/678472 "2014-01-10T21:30:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-have-become-the-nanny-police-for-the-nfl/678472/21 "2014-01-10T22:13:35Z")
As I said in the other thread, the team should be fined for allowing these players back on the field (even if it was an oversight). If you let them get away with it, teams will start to ignore the rule due to the lack of consequences and the opportunity to have your best players out there during an important game. Then injured players start to feel pressured to go out there and help the team at risk to their own health. If you going to have a rule - and it’s a good rule - it needs to be strictly enforced. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-have-become-the-nanny-police-for-the-nfl/678472/22 "2014-01-10T22:14:04Z")
SO what is the actual rule? Is the player restricted from returning to the sidelines for the remainder of the game or is there like a 30 minute observation period after which they can watch the game? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-have-become-the-nanny-police-for-the-nfl/678472/23 "2014-01-10T22:14:22Z")
> [@Enginerd](#): > > Neither of those is an acceptable reason for a player with a concussion to be in the game, and they both would have been prevented by following the concussion protocol. But the players might have been disappointed. If you think about it, isn’t disappointment much, much worse than the risk of serious brain damage? ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-have-become-the-nanny-police-for-the-nfl/678472/24 "2014-01-10T22:15:55Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > But the players might have been disappointed. If you think about it, isn’t disappointment much, much worse than the risk of serious brain damage? Just tell him he played fine - he won’t remember. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2014, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-have-become-the-nanny-police-for-the-nfl/678472/25 "2014-01-24T12:42:27Z")
If the doctor says you can’t play, then they should simply take your helmet and put it in a locker. Then go ahead and stand with the team for the rest of the game. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2014, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-have-become-the-nanny-police-for-the-nfl/678472/26 "2014-01-24T13:23:37Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > SO what is the actual rule? > Is the player restricted from returning to the sidelines for the remainder of the game or is there like a 30 minute observation period after which they can watch the game? I recently saw a PBS: Frontline program about this. The bottom line is “you get a concussion, you’re out of today’s game.” ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2014, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-have-become-the-nanny-police-for-the-nfl/678472/27 "2014-01-24T15:10:33Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > If the doctor says you can’t play, then they should simply take your helmet and put it in a locker. Then go ahead and stand with the team for the rest of the game. Or…you know, maybe if the doctor has a medical reason the player should be away from the game, we should listen to the doctor. It’s not like they’re arbitrarily deciding these things. The way some posters are going, I might as well have my car mechanic perform brain surgery on me. Not like the trained professionals knows what they’re doing or anything. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2014, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-have-become-the-nanny-police-for-the-nfl/678472/28 "2014-01-24T15:15:55Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I don’t object to not letting them play. > > I object to dragging a guy off the bench and locking him into a quiet room. They want the guy to stay calm and not raise his blood pressure? Just try dragging him off the bench in a play off game or championship game. That will do nothing except infuriate him. Guys on the sidelines can get hit by a stray ball or teammate. Keeping them there is too risky. I guess I could see the point of advocating to let them sit in the stands or something, but it’s really not that big of a deal. ---
**Author:** ![Pixel\_Dent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Pixel\_Dent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixel_Dent)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2014, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-have-become-the-nanny-police-for-the-nfl/678472/29 "2014-01-24T16:01:18Z")
Treatment for concussions involves removing as much stimuli as possible. That’s the reason the doctors send them to a quiet room. Concussion patients aren’t supposed to even read a book or watch a nature documentary much less watch their team play. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2014, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-have-become-the-nanny-police-for-the-nfl/678472/30 "2014-01-24T16:07:01Z")
> [@Pixel\_Dent](#): > > Treatment for concussions involves removing as much stimuli as possible. That’s the reason the doctors send them to a quiet room. Concussion patients aren’t supposed to even read a book or watch a nature documentary much less watch their team play. Thanks for that- makes sense to me. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-have-become-the-nanny-police-for-the-nfl/678472/31 "2014-01-25T21:08:00Z")
> [@Pixel\_Dent](#): > > Treatment for concussions involves removing as much stimuli as possible. That’s the reason the doctors send them to a quiet room. Concussion patients aren’t supposed to even read a book or watch a nature documentary much less watch their team play. Exactly. I have two kids who have suffered sports related concussions and they were both treated by the concussion doc for the Colts. One way he explained it is if you injure your ankle you go to the sideline and rest it. If you injure your brain and go to the sideline it is still actively working. They need to be pulled away to shut down as much stimulation as possible and let the brain rest. And yes they really do make the patients “shut down” for several weeks. Nothing more fun than telling a teen they can’t read, watch TV, text, surf the internet, play video games, go to practice… etc. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-have-become-the-nanny-police-for-the-nfl/678472/32 "2014-01-25T21:54:57Z")
Everyone’s missing an important point about this. The rule is not just for the NFL players. It’s for the thousands of high school and college players who watch NFL games and take their cues for what the pros do. If a 17-year-old high school player sees a pro go back into the game after a concussion, he’s going to insist on going into the game after a concussion. A 17-year-old is still growing, and the concussion could be more serious. Seeing his favorite pro player being “tough” will make him want to be tough, too. (And HS and college coaches don’t have a good track record of protecting their players with concussions.) If pros leave games after any concussion, it will show the HS and college players that there’s no shame in leaving the game after a concussion. The rule not only helps NFL players; it helps anyone who plays football in the US. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-have-become-the-nanny-police-for-the-nfl/678472/33 "2014-01-26T05:15:13Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Injured players have always returned to the sideline and sat on the bench. Unless the injury required a ambulance to the hospital. And now the ones with concussions have all gone on to have slurred speech, dementia, pain medication addictions, outlandish medical bills and early death. Hooray for the way things used to be done! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-have-become-the-nanny-police-for-the-nfl/678472.md?page=1)