Jamie Squire
Sidney Crosby has a brain injury because of a massive blind spot in hockey. Millions of people watching on television saw him absorb a blow directly to the head, a blow deemed among the most dangerous in hockey - from the so-called blind side (he was looking the other way). The man who hit him in the head with his shoulder, David Steckel, is 6 feet 5 inches and 217 pounds, and had a head of steam behind him.
Yet Mr. Crosby's hockey team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, apparently did not observe the National Hockey League's head-injury protocol before putting him back on the ice. Now he is sidelined with a concussion - perhaps even two concussions, since he absorbed a second blow in the next game, and has not played in the seven days since.
Mr. Crosby's concussion is a telling moment for hockey at all levels. He is the game's most important player. His team's future - even its survival as a franchise - depends on his health. If even Mr. Crosby can receive a crushing and direct blow to the head without receiving medical attention, what athlete - of any age, at any level - can be sure of receiving proper care?
Anyone who thinks this point is exaggerated is welcome to review the hit on the Internet (http://bit.ly/i9ir2X). It is painful to watch. Mr. Crosby struggled to stand, skated doubled over to the bench. Use of the NHL's protocol should be automatic in such a case. A trainer is supposed to ask: What just happened? Who are we playing? What was the score of the last game? If the answers aren't clear, the team doctor probes his concentration, memory, balance and co-ordination.
Paul Echlin, a leading expert in concussions, had this to say: "When I see a player have contact with a shoulder to the head area, and then after he's slumped over, he has poor co-ordination, his speed is gone, I look at that player to evaluate him. If as a physician I have any doubts, I pull him from the game." (He stressed that he was not commenting on the Crosby hit.)
Mr. Crosby says he felt only a sore neck. But an athlete struck in the head is in the worst position to be making decisions. In a groundbreaking study led by Dr. Echlin in which independent physicians observed two youth hockey teams, and tested them at rinkside, only three of 21 players who suffered a concussion reported the problem themselves. "The athlete has been conditioned not to admit anything," says Dr. Echlin, based in London, Ont. In that study, there were 21 concussions in 52 games observed by physicians - seven times the highest rate of concussions previously reported in hockey. The Crosby concussion explains why. It's hard to find what you don't look for.
Sidney Crosby, the most valuable player in hockey, was hit a powerful blow directly in the head, and no due diligence followed. All the protocols in the world won't protect athletes until those on the sidelines understand the brain's vulnerability, and act promptly.