Michigan releases response... Can't say that I'm surprised
Michigan releases a statement defending Brady Hoke's actions. "We're confident proper medical decisions were made."
— Pete Thamel (@SIPeteThamel) September 29, 2014
https://twitter.com/SIPeteThamel?original_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.si.c…September 28th, 2014 at 10:26 PM ^
Are you serious? This has been explained multiple times. It doesn't matter if he did or did not have a concussion. If an athlete shows concussion symptoms they must be removed from the field of play and evaluated by a trained professional. This evaluation takes upwards of 20 minutes. It is the ImPact testing system. This is not debateable. Michigan promotes this type of testing.
No sane or logical person is debating that Shane looked "off" after he took the hit that drew the personal foul. His teammates were trying to get him off the field. You could see it in his eyes that he wasn't focusing. He was wobbly. Even with the pre-existing injury to his leg, a coach should be thinking worst-case scenario in this instance and get the kid off the field.
September 28th, 2014 at 11:17 PM ^
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September 28th, 2014 at 11:58 PM ^
You're kidding, right?
Coaches, at all levels, are given a cheat sheet to use because they aren't doctors.
Here is one from the CDC.
http://www.cdc.gov/concussion/pdf/TBI_schools_checklist_508-a.pdf
He appeared dazed or stunned.
He had balance problems. (No, it doesn't matter if it could have possibly been from the leg injury.)
On the left of the sheet you'll notice that it instructs ONE OR MORE of these symptoms should be referred to a medical professional if they occur after "bump, blow, or jolt to the head." It also says that he should have been monitored for at least 30 minutes. Do you recall how long it was between him leaving the game and the going back in? Pretty sure it was a lot less than 30 minutes.
And it doesn't matter if all of his symptoms were simply an expression of pain from his leg injury. He took a blow to the head/thorax region that is a known cause of concussion. As soon as that happend and he then presented any of the symptoms listed, it was the duty of the coaching staff to remove him from the game and not allow him to compete again until cleared by a full neurological exam.
September 29th, 2014 at 7:21 AM ^
So, given that most people on the sideline didn't really see the hit and especially didn't see it make contact with his head, then immediately tried to pull Shane out anyway, then succeeded, then immediately sent him to talk to a trainer who would have had a far greater opportunity than you or I to note any concussive symptoms, but that trainer did not hold him out.... That trainer, one assumes, is trained to recognize concussive symptoms and instructed to hold guys out if necessary. At no point thereafter did we see Shane assessed for a concussion. Does this mean he continued to exhibit signs--as he likely would, right?--but that the staff was simply blind to it? No one on the medical staff that treated him noticed symptoms after he came off for good?
I guess I just have a problem with arm chair diagnoses. It takes a vast leap of faith to assume that every adult on that sideline saw and ignored the signs. It takes a slightly smaller albeit still enormous leap to assume that everyone did not see or note symptoms that were there. It seems more likely that everyone on the sideline did their job as it relates to recognizing signs and symptoms of a concussion and failed to recognize any. It's possible that they missed something and we're all onto something, but I'm not counting anything as conclusive, and I don't mean conclusive that he had a concussion. I mean conclusive evidence suggesting that he exhibited clear signs of a concussion after a hit to the head that every staff would have been able to recognize. Remember: the refs also only made a roughing the passer call, not a targeting call which seemed more appropriate, and if your eyes are on the ball, you don't even see the hit. So there seems to have been--at least--breakdown on many levels leading to this issue.
I frankly think this discussion is a waste of time; without seeing it in person, I think it's unreasonable to attempt to recognize signs and symptoms, and anyway Morris should've been pulled far sooner for the leg, and he should've been iced immediately for the leg rather than after he went back in. That pulls him out and puts Bellomy in. Letting Morris go back in was gross and stomach-churning because he was clearly hurting. But he didn't seem dazed, stunned, off balance, or amnesiac when he went back in. I have to imagine that he didn't seem to be slurring, delaying responses, amnesiac, etc. when he was with the trainer.
But that doesn't mean that Hoke made the right call! And there are still player management issues to question. There's just a lot of excessive moralizing Hoke that seems irrational going on on this blog.
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September 28th, 2014 at 10:28 PM ^
Based on the symptoms that were observed when Shane came off the field, he was evaluated for a concussion and cleared by the medical staff.
To me that would be the end of the story! Unless of course, he actually has a concussion and they are avoiding the topic!
September 28th, 2014 at 11:18 PM ^
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September 28th, 2014 at 10:38 PM ^
Just answering your first question - they could announce a review of player safety protocols by a credible 3rd party or by a credible faculty group. Universities have structures and protocols for all sorts of situations that have ethical questions, ie research involving human subjects, etc. It doesn't have to be an extraordinary thing for a University to study itself.
September 28th, 2014 at 11:20 PM ^
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September 28th, 2014 at 10:16 PM ^
I'd love for hoke to be fired, but people here are misguided.
Neg away
September 28th, 2014 at 11:37 PM ^
You cannot just guess and hope for the best. As a coach you need to err on the side of cautious. Call a fucking time out and have him checked. We are talking about the health of a 19 year old kid.
September 28th, 2014 at 10:29 PM ^
It's ridiculous to attribute this statement to Hoke. It says "our coaches" in it. The lawyers wrote it for Brandon. Brandon ducked it. Fire Brandon. Well, fire Brandon first.
September 28th, 2014 at 10:30 PM ^
September 28th, 2014 at 10:31 PM ^
September 28th, 2014 at 10:41 PM ^
Well that's just like hopping in the DeLorean, going back in time and fixing the problem. Thanks Brady, all our concerns are accounted for. Oh by the way, please make your reservation with 2 Men and a Truck whenever it's convenient. Thanks
September 28th, 2014 at 11:13 PM ^
How can this continue to get worse?!
September 28th, 2014 at 11:38 PM ^
If a respectable journalist, someone like a John U Bacon, convinces some players to sit down and talk. At that point, Mark Emmert will have no choice but to send in the NCAA goons.
Dave Brandon needs to manage the Morris family TODAY.
September 28th, 2014 at 11:21 PM ^
Not that the sun should rise or set on my individual decision, but I'm not watching another Michigan football game until we have a new coach and AD. Straw, meet camel's back.
I will continue to follow the team here because I'm a fan and graduate of my university and because of the immense respect I have for the staff here for whom covering this team has got to be beyond painful. I have the luxury of not having to watch this team and after this weekend I cannot do so as long as Brandon and Hoke are in charge. I just can't.
September 28th, 2014 at 11:31 PM ^
Well said. It's hard to find fufillment in following an organization led by people you can't respect.
September 28th, 2014 at 11:35 PM ^
"We always knew what the right thing to do was, so we just did it. And we slept well at night! Really, it was that simple"
― Bo Schembechler,
“Every coach, every executive, every leader: They all know right from wrong. Even those Enron guys. When someone uncovers a scandal in their company, I don't think they can say, "I didn't know that was going on." They're just saying they're too dumb to do their job! And if they really are too dumb, then why are they getting paid millions of dollars to do it? They know what's going on.”
― Bo Schembechler,
September 29th, 2014 at 12:33 AM ^
I know that during a crisis (read: loss) this board seems to go ape and we all seemingly over-react. In turn, so-called "rationalists" post about how this board is "effing depressing," and that we're all pulling a chicken little. The fact is, Hoke was at best negligent and at worst malicious in his treatment of Morris on Saturday. His mis-handling of the situation is a fire-able offense and should be treated accordingly. Make no mistake, Hoke took M football to a new low this past weekend, and I think the only way forward is for the program to distance itself from this incompetent dweeb.
September 29th, 2014 at 10:38 AM ^