While Im glad that concussions and the ramifications of how they affect long term health is being discussed more and more in modern day society, I'm not entirely sure how far the discussion can go without changing the nature of sports entirely.
A seatbelt is a pre-caution for a car accident and as we all know, they're pretty pointless after certain speeds. Pre-cautions for sports have gone as far as they can since there is a fine line where safety affects performance and vice versa and we're already be at the best spot for that spectrum.
Treating concussions properly after the fact is great and long overdue but its not a solution to the growing problem. I think the key here is the fact that while players don't expect to get hurt, they know its a possibility and by simply being on the field, it should be noted that they accept the consequences of the chaos that inevitably results from full contact sports. After all, safety is not prioritized by the player but by the organization of the sport because the players are only and should only focus on performance, strategy, and pushing their and their teams limits. If the organization has done all it can to make the sport safer WITHOUT players complaining about how those changes affect performance, then the last step is changing aspects of the sport...which is a conservation that no one is willing to have.
Excellent points. That is one of the primary debates right now. Leagues are looking at how much they can change the rules of the sport to make the spot safer. There is a great deal of resistance from some because these changes would change the game immensely. One of the biggest debates is fighting in hockey. Hockey is the only sort that allows full fist to face fighting. These blows to the head can be extremely dangerous. Many want to eliminate fighting but hockey purists want to preserve the history of the game.