Jerome Bettis has a pretty strong opinion when it comes to the information NFL players received regarding concussions during his playing days.
The NFL has been the subject of criticism by former players, who feel they were not educated as well as they should have been on the dangers of head injuries. Many have come out in recent years saying they wish the league did more. Among them is Bettis, who went as far as to say he feels players were “taken advantage of.”
“You definitely feel as though you were taken advantage of in a way that you weren’t given that information, and you always want to have the choice of knowing, and when that is taken away from you, you feel as though you were taken advantage of,” Bettis told the Associated Press, via ProFootballTalk.
Thankfully, players today are more informed and the NFL has heavily invested in the research of head injuries. However, while being armed with all available knowledge is certainly a benefit, if players don’t report them it can’t be put to good use. We’ve heard of numerous instances of players hiding concussions, including Calvin Johnson. Hopefully, as Ben Roethlisberger urged, that mentality changes.
