Reality, this is the NFL; NFL, this is Reality, now shake hands and come out with real plans to deal with concussions.  After years of studies that were performed in a manner similar to those conducted by cigarette manufacturers into the safety of long-term tobacco use, the NFL has finally acknowledged that concussions can lead to long-term problems in the brain. 
 
In a telephone interview on Sunday, league spokesman Greg Aiello said, “It’s quite obvious from the medical research that’s been done that concussions can lead to long-term problems.”  Of course, he wasn’t referring to the league’s own studies which have been so badly mismanaged and biased that the league has been forced to suspend them and receive the resignations of the co-chairmen of its concussion committee.

The NFL has finally begun to revamp its rules regarding concussions.  Players now must be cleared by brain-injury experts unaffiliated with the team, and cannot return to a game or practice in which they have shown any significant sign of concussion.  Hopefully, these rule changes will be implemented at all levels of football and other contact sports including hockey and maybe even lacrosse, although the incidents of concussion in lacrosse are certainly not as frequent.  The long-term cost of concussion is present no matter what, the severity of the brain damage is usually determined by the frequency of the concussions or the closeness in time between multiple concussions.  Any rules and practices that can minimize those factors should be welcome by all sports administrators for the benefit of the sports and all those who play them.