News
Chris Nowinski talks concussions in sports on recent podcast
Source: Newsday/Audrey C. Tiernan
If anyone can claim the title of being a brain injury expert, it is Chris Nowinski. He played football while studying at Harvard. Then, he went on to become a professional wrestler until a brain injury derailed his career.
Rather than let his story end there, Nowinski then got a doctorate in behavioral neuroscience, wrote ‘Head Games: Football’s Concussion Crisis’ and worked with Boston University to create the largest brain bank in America.
This means he has been on the receiving end of concussions as well as deeply studying every facet of them, including everything from the culture in military and sports organizations that put people at risk, the potential dangers of subconcussive hits, and how rule changes have shaped the current risk for brain injuries.
All of this makes Nowinski one of the most unique figures in both the worlds of sports and brain injury advocacy. He is not a zealot preaching for football to end or urging people to pull their children out of sports, nor is he willing to sugarcoat the reality of concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
In a recent podcast for The Mercury News, Nowinski sat down with Jon Wilner to talk about all these issues and lay out the current state of concussions in sports.
“The reality is all the changes we make at that highest levels are going to make a big difference on CTE risk unless we change what happens to them at the college and pro level,” Nowinski explained, noting that while the NFL has made sweeping changes to prevent concussions and change the locker-room culture surrounding injuries, most college organizations have not followed suit.
Listen to all of Chris Nowinski’s interview to hear him explain in his own words how he sees the current and future state of football and his thoughts on the best way to prevent concussions in sports. You can hear the podcast on The Mercury News here.
