The NFL as well as many other professional sports have begun to crackdown on concussions now that medical evidence has shown how damaging they can be. MLB has enacted a disabled list specifically for concussions, the NHL is cracking down on head shots, and the NFL is penalizing players for head shots in addition to holding most players out at least a week after sustaining concussions. While many people realize how serious concussions are, there are still some people who question them. There are also players who don’t want to miss any game action because of them and they’ll do anything to ensure they’re on the field.
One strategy players may use to “beat” concussion tests may be trying to fudge their baseline exam. Another strategy players may use is taking Ritalin after concussions to help them pass post-concussion tests.
BeyondChron.org says players taking Ritalin to pass concussion tests has already started happening at the NFL level. According to them, using Ritalin “makes perfect sense. Ritalin is the medication prescribed most notoriously for “hyperactive” kids and sufferers from ADD (attention deficit disorder), with the goal of improving mental focus. Inevitably, professional athletes and their handlers would seize on Ritalin’s ability to mask the fact that they hadn’t entirely “cleared the cobwebs” from recent blows to the brain.”
Great, as if having players and trainers making efforts to beat drug tests isn’t bad enough now we have people scheming to beat concussion tests. You know what? There’s only so much you can do to protect a person. If they want to have scrambled eggs for brains I guess that’s their business.
