Proactive Protocols at Zanesville High School

Zanesville High School claims they are being proactive when it comes to the concussion protocol in their school district.

Zanesville High School Football field

Concussions have been recognized as a medical issue since 1928, but in December 2015, Dr. Bennet Omalu published an Op-Ed that explains how football is causing long term damage in high school students. 

With Omalu's study published, what do high school's think of these dangers? Is anything being done about the dangers of concussions happening at a young age?

I was a part of a group of reporters that wanted to answer this question. We were each given a different school district in the state of Ohio and asked to interview the principal and school board president on what they thought of the Op-Ed. We also requested the districts' concussion policies and the paperwork that must be signed by students and parents prior to participating the sport.

The district I was responsible for was Zanesville. I was able to interview the principal, Ms. Laura Tompkins. I was never able to get a hold of School Board President Vicky French. I sent repeated emails, but no one was able to give me a good phone number for her. She was not interviewed.

Laura Tompkins
Zanesville High School Principal

When I asked Tompkins about her opinions on the Op-Ed, she agreed that is was dangerous and worrisome that young children are playing tackle football, but disagreed with Omalu, saying tackle football should begin in middle school. She explained that in the Zanesville area, but not through the schools, tackle football begins for Kindergarten-age children. 

Tompkins is also a parent of two children that play tackle football. She said, "It makes me worrisome, but I believe if the coaching staff is doing what they do best, proper techniques and the way to tackle properly, I think that some of the risk can be minimized."

According to the principal, in recent years the school has taken more "proactive protocols" when it comes to athletic concussions. She said the school has two full-time athletic trainers and a doctor present at all of the football games. In addition, they have student athletes go through concussion protocol and concussion pretesting prior to every season, in order to have data to compare to if an injury occurs. Team-Parent and Conduct meetings are also held to explain the concussion precautions and protocols.

The district website also has links to Ohio's concussion protocol and health information about head injuries.

Tompkins and the athletic trainer, Steve Shroyer, said so far this year, as a school district there have been about eight concussions due to football, soccer and volleyball.

Interview with Laura Tompkins

_________________________________________________________________________

This project opened my eyes to a few different things. 

For example, I did not know how difficult it was to get in contact with people you have no connections with. Like I said above, I was unable to get in contact with the school board president. Over half of our reporters could not get an interview or in contact with their assigned principal. At least 10 of our 17 reporters could not get an interview with the school board presidents. It really takes persistence and time to get what you need for a story.

I also didn't realize how much of an effect concussions have on youth. I knew concussions were bad, but I did not know the extent of it. 

Theodore Roosevelt High School principal agrees with Omalu recommendation, but students continue to play football

Photo courtesy of http://roughriderathletics.net.

In Theodore Roosevelt High School’s last football game, Barberton High School defeated the Rough Riders in a 14-28 loss.

Yet, as the season progresses principal Dennis Love agrees with Dr. Bennet Omalu’s recommendation that high school students should not play football.

Reporters in a Computer Assisted Reporting class at Kent State University reached out to principals and school board presidents across Ohio requesting concussion policies, student/parent forms and a reaction to Omalu’s 2015 New York Times Op-Ed advising high school students not to play football to prevent "irreversible brain damage," better known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.

Dennis Love, principal of
Theodore Roosevelt High School

Love disclosed he was a former football player and coach during the interview.

“Of course I would agree with what [Dr. Omalu is] saying, but what next then?” Love said.

Theodore Roosevelt High School follows head injury recommendations from the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA). Following a head injury, parents receive home instructions and a notification sheet explaining the incident. They are offered two solutions in order for a student athlete to return to the sport.

A. The student needs a doctor’s release before being permitted to return to the field.

B. The student needs to be re-evaluated by the athletic trainer and Dr. Nilesh Shah, the team physician.

Additionally, the athlete and a parent or guardian must acknowledge receiving the Ohio Department of Health Concussion Information Sheet by signing the bottom of the form. The athletic department uses the SCAT3 concussion assessment tool for pre and post concussion testing as well.

On top of handouts and being provided with an athletics handbook, parents can attend an informational meeting held before the start of every football season. This year’s took place on Aug. 2.

Love feels, however, that despite the evidence presented by Omalu removing the program would cause more of an uproar. College football and the NFL continue to be two high rated sports. The 2015 Super Bowl alone garnered 114.4 million viewers, according to Sports Illustrated.

“It’s a tough thing, so I’d imagine a lot of principals feel that … you’re kind of damned if you do and damned if you don’t,” Love said. “Nobody wants to see anybody ever get hurt, but the reality is people will and people have died on the football field.”

While the information presented in Omalu’s Op-Ed is indisputably researched, Love said by getting involved with a sport “the risk is worth the reward,” even if it that means damaging a vital organ unable to regenerate.

Kent School Board President Marlene Dorsey declined to comment on this issue regarding student safety.

What I learned:

I learned not to accept everything that was said as useful information for the article. (Don't be a human microphone.) At points, my conversation with Mr. Love went on the verge of PR as he spoke about how talented the athletic department is. Mr. Love couldn't name any specific concussion cases and I realize I should have talked to the athletic director to get that information.

Talawanda High School principal hopes kids focus more on academics than sports

Talawanda High School principal hopes kids focus more on academics than sports

Put “Talawanda High School” in your Facebook search box; you will see all public posts about this school in rural, southwestern Ohio. But most of the posts, especially from individuals, are about sports. There are videos about football games, photos of girls holding soccer balls in their arms and words from parents about the excitement watching their kids’ games. You can hardly find a post about students' courses or any academic achievements.

Photo: Talawanda High School
Source: https://talawanda.org/ths

“It would be my desire that kids concentrate more on being good students academically and going to colleges based on their academic accomplishments as opposed to their athletic accomplishments,” said Tom York, the principal of Talawanda High School. “But parents don’t see it that way.”

What parents want is to let their kids involved in sports, get scholarships from universities, play footballs in universities, then go to NFL and make millions of dollars, said York. “The real truth of matter is that’s not gonna happen.”

What parents might not see is that “repetitive blows to the head in high-impact contact sports like football, ice hockey, mixed martial arts and boxing place athletes at risk of permanent brain damage,” according to an opinion piece published in New York Times, written by a neurosurgeon, Dr. Bennet Omalu.

Photo: Tom York
Source: Tom York

Omalu recommends not to let kids play football. “Our children are minors who have not reached the age of consent,” writes Omalu. “We should at least wait for our children to grow up, be provided with the information and education on the risk of play, and let them make their own decisions.”

York was requested to read this Op-ed, together with principals and board presidents from 17 high schools around Ohio. Only six principals and three presidents agreed to make comments.

“I won’t recommend that we stop playing football,” said York. “I think that with appropriate instruction and techniques that keep kids safe can get better.”

In Talawanda High School, all athletes and parents/guardians should sign on the Ohio Department of Health Concussion Information Sheet to indicate that they have understood the signs and symptoms of a concussion. Before students play football, both student and parent/guardian need to sign another form called Preparticipation Physical Evaluation, made by Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHHAA), an organization that regulates high school athletics.

For the principal, the technology might not include helmets. “An attempt to make helmets safer... also allows them to become weapons in terms of how they are used,” said York.

“The technology to protect kids has created a false sense of protection that’s not there,” York said. “I played football in high school and college, from my generation the helmet technology was such that we knew we could not stick our heads into people like what they do today.”

York didn’t think concussions would cause limiting football. Only the high cost of playing football games, the academic needs and students' involvement in other activities could make it happen. 

According to York, the issue of athletic concussion has been discussed at Talawanda Board of Education meeting, in terms of the adoption and following the protocol for training athletes for any sports that concussion could occur.

Photo: Mark Butterfield
Source: https://talawanda.org/boe/members

Talawanda High School relies OSSAA on guidelines about how to operate its programs. The principal has not asked attorneys to come up with any policies and rules. 

Mark Butterflied, the president of school board, has not responded to the interview request sent by either phone call or email. Linda Wendt, the Administrative assistant of the Board of Education, said Butterflied has no office in the board office. 

For more information, please watch the video. 

                 

Video: Tom York on high school football

Source: Hao Hao

Hao Hao
Graduate Student
hhao@kent.edu

What I've learned: 
Always think and act as a reporter. 
This means a lot. A reporter should make plans and figure out who to contact. Asking one resource to recommend others can save a lot of time. A reporter should make good preparations before contacting people. When calling someone, make sure you have all paper drafts ready to be sent right away. A reporter should not be afraid to make phone calls, especially calling to the same person in multiple times. They might hate you personally, but reporter's job is not to make friends. A report should know how to ask questions. No matter what people answer, never hesitate to ask for evidence. 

Smashing into the Safety of High School Football

  Smashing into the Safety of High School Football

     Sure, smoking can lead to cancer. We've known that for years. Also, under age drinking can lead teens to drug abuse. Research also shows us that receiving multiple concussion's at a young age can lead to amnesia, depression, and suicide. But hey, we can't give up football just because of a few surgeon general and CDC warnings, right?

     

Computer Assisted Reporting: Kent State University

The computer assisted reporting class at Kent State University was given a simple assignment. To reach out to Ohio high schools with a football program and get the principal and school board president to comment on an article on concussions written by Dr. Bennet Omalu. While you may not be familiar with the chief medical examiner of San Joaquin county, California, it is possible you are familiar with a movie based on his work; Concussion featuring Will Smith. 

     Omalu likens concussions to smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol. We know they're bad for us, and have a government that set clear laws to prevent children and teenagers from harming themselves with it. According to Omalu, research proves that damaged brain cells cannot be repaired, and multiple concussions have lasting negative effects on a student athletes brain. The CAR class set out to ask principals, school board presidents, and in my case, parents, whether or not they had seen Omalu's Op-Ed piece before we shared it to them, and whether or not they disagreed with it. 

Streetsboro High School Football Field

  The assignment turned out to be more arduous than expected, as eight of the fifteen student reporters found their respective principals and/or school board presidents unavailable for comment or unwilling to respond. 

     

John Kelly - Streetsboro School Board Presdient

John Kelly, the Streetsboro school board president, was difficult to contact and impossible to reach for comment. Three secretaries (Joyce in Streetsboro high school, Arlene in the Streetsboro school dispatch office, and Sue in the superintendents office) declined my request to receive a direct number to John Kelly, each encouraging me to E-mail him instead. It took several phone calls and two emails across 13 days for Mr. Kelly to reply. When I explained that I needed his number to make the call via Skype, and set a final date for us to speak on this public safety issue, Mr. Kelly stopped responding. My final attempt to reach Mr. Kelly took place via E-mail on October 4th, 2016, and as of this blog post, have not received a response.

     I was, however, able to speak with Streetsboro Principal, James Hogue, about this issue. Hogue also facilitated my public records request to view all of Streetsboro high school's concussion documents. 

James Hogue - Principal - Streetsboro High School

"Winning isn't our priority; safety is. We're always playing to win, but we're not going to compromise safety."

"if you play in a program, like Streetsboro high school's program, there is so much value. The risk outweighs the reward."  

 

Principal Hogue disagrees with Dr. Omalu's findings, but to a certain degree. He follows the belief his father instilled in him as a kid, that kids shouldn't play football until the 9th grade level, and that they shouldn't tackle what-so-ever before that age.
     "The [Cleveland] Browns didn't tackle as much as we did." said Hogue of a younger football league he pulled his son out of.
     Streetsboro's eight page concussion policy that spells out the symptoms, monitoring techniques, and post-injury assessment of a player. Hogue went on to say that safer helmets might encourage players to use their heads more, increasing the odds of a concussion. He expressed his desire to add better mouth-guards into the Streetsboro program, citing that a proper mouth guard can do as much to prevent a concussion as a helmet. The policy, and documents required by the Ohio Revised Code are all suited to make the players, players, and coaches as informed as possible. Hogue is worried about the possibility of high school football leaving the public school system in place of private clubs because he doesn't think they'll have the same restrictions. Having a son that has suffered multiple concussions and since retired from wrestling and all impact sports, he believes that policy and safe practices are just one area to focus on. 

Stacy Marinelli - Parent

 "I think there have been a lot of steps taken, that help protect our kids." 

"During the week now, there's no hitting...There have just been a lot of things we've done, where I feel like we're being active in protecting our kids." 

     I also spoke with the parent of two student football players, Stacy Marinelli, about Dr. Omalu's Op-Ed. Marinelli also disagrees with the finding that kids shouldn't play football. Her oldest, Alexander, played for six years, and her youngest has played for four. Her stance is that the coaching and parent staff are so sensitive to the potential injuries a student can endure, that the chances of a missed diagnosis are small, preventing secondary impact syndrome. Marinelli feels that the worst thing a parent can do is push their kid into sports when they don't want to be there. To her, that is the most dangerous position a student can find themselves in. 
     I was surprised to learn that the decision for Alex to stop playing football prior to middle school, came from Alex. 
     "He was concerned about getting hit and getting hurt," said Marinelli of a conversation with Alex. "Knowing that he was going against these boys, that are young men, that might be 140 or 150 pounds...he chose to do cross country instead." 
     Taking a moment to unpack the weight of that statement from a middle school student is daunting. We can look at Omalu's research. We can look at the CDC statistics log. We can talk about tradition and safety. But when it comes from the mouth of a player, stating the conflictive choice between his personal safety and the idea of letting his team and community down, that is a strong indicator of just how big of a conundrum this safety vs football discussion is. As much as the role of the adult and administration in it. 
          The goal of the high school football reporting project was to share and gain information involving student safety in a high impact athletics program. It was enlightening to us to see the amount of people that refused to comment what-so-ever, and how the ones that did seemed certain that football was okay since it was as safe as possible. We will follow this story going forward and you can be sure to see some safety legislation surrounding high impact sports in a public setting in years to come.
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Devon D. McCarty - Reporter KSU
Dmccar13@kent.edu

I learned that there is as much tradition as there is research in the area of high school football. We aren't just dealing with high end researchers, we're dealing with fourth and fifth generation football players. The content becomes difficult to be object about when your dad's dad's dad coached the first football team. 
Personally, I get the dilemma. You want your kids to play a game, learn team work and discipline, but you also want them to be safe. This is an ethical case of right vs right. It is right to want to hold onto your history. It is equally right to favor the safety of your child. Which is why I find it so frustrating that a matter of safety goes unanswered by the school board president since there is such a split.