Playing with a concussion still a no-brainer for NFL players

In advance of Sunday’s Super Bowl, ESPN and NFL Nation have released the results of a new anonymous survey in which 85 percent of 320 NFL players (10 from each team) said that they would play in the Super Bowl if they had a concussion.

The statistic is not surprising to long-time players like Washington Redskins linebacker London Fletcher (who has never missed a game in his 16 years of professional play). According to ESPN, his first comment after being asked the survey question was, “Did 100 percent say yes?”

Tennessee Titans safety Bernard Pollard played last season with the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens. On the first play of arguably the biggest game of his career, Pollard re-broke several ribs that had been injured earlier in the season. He remained in the game.

Pollard told ESPN:

"We are competitors. We want to go out there and entertain. That's all we are. We're entertainers. Guys want to go out there. They don't want to let themselves down. They don't want to let their teammates down. They want to go out there and play, not thinking about, 'OK what can this affect later on down the line.’"

As the dire effects of concussions and other head injuries become more clear, the NFL and other professional sports organizations have worked to implement new rules and protocols to prevent long-term damage to players. In fact, in the same NFL Nation poll, 60 percent of players said that they thought the NFL is committed to player safety.

From Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo:

"They took tremendous steps toward the future of this game as far as violent hits, as far as protecting defenseless players, as far as concussion protocol. I'm proud of the way they handle concussions. I'm proud of the way the NFL is going."

As for players in this year’s big game, several stars have already been outspoken about their intentions to play in the Super Bowl, despite injury concerns.

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Percy Harvin, who sat out all but one game of the regular season with a hip injury, missed the NFC championship game with a concussion, but plans to play in Sunday’s game.

Denver Broncos wide receiver Wes Welker, who has also missed time this season due to concussions, was unflinching in his answer to the concussion question at Media Day.

“You want to be out there,” Welker told FOXSports1 correspondent and former teammate Randy Moss. “It's the Super Bowl. Like, this is what you dream about. You're gonna be there. I don't care what it takes."

ESPN team reporters wrote independently on the 10 players surveyed on their respective teams, and most cited players responding to the concussion question immediately, as though it were a no-brainer. However, many reporters also seemed to come away with a sense that, despite medical reports, concussions are still not viewed as seriously as other injuries.

Said Houston Texans reporter Tania Ganguli:

“Getting to the Super Bowl is an experience most players don't want to miss, no matter what the consequences. I also don't think the consequences of a traumatic brain injury are as concrete to those players who say they would play with a concussion as injuries that prevent physical movement.

This is part of why it's foolish to say players should be held accountable for following the league's concussion protocol. Sure, their cooperation is needed for the protocol to work properly, but a player's motivation might differ from the doctor's. Further, how clearly can someone suffering from concussion symptoms be expected to think?”

It’s clear that, while current players may recognize the dangerous impact of concussions and other injuries, the importance of playing in a Super Bowl outweighs any concerns about their health in the short or long-term.