CLEAR THE AIR
Goodell needs Brady after concussion bombshell
Even if Roger Goodell and Tom Brady never double-dated with their wives, they were friendly and the commissioner had great admiration for the quarterback. Goodell needs Brady now more than ever as his go-to guy on concussions but Deflategate destroyed their relationship.
If Gisele Bundchen’s revelation earlier this week that her husband Tommy suffered a concussion last season and also in prior years is accurate, then he beat the system because he was never checked out for a head injury during any of the 15 games he played last season, including the playoffs and Super Bowl, and has never been on the injury report with a head injury in his 17 seasons.
If he’s suffered concussions and kept it from the Patriots doctors, he put his future at risk. Or if the Patriots covered it up, they not only will be in more trouble with Goodell, but they will have done a disservice to their most important player.
If Goodell and Brady were on even moderately good terms, then the first thing Goodell should have done when the Gisele story broke Wednesday was get Brady on the phone and ask him to come to 345 Park Ave. to meet with him and the health and safety department and the league’s new chief medical officer at the NFL office.
No threats. No fines. No suspension. Just information.
But Deflategate cost Goodell a potential ally who happens to be the best quarterback in NFL history.
Goodell was determined to punish Brady. He was adamant that Brady broke the rules and had to pay for it, even if pre-Deflategate, he said of Brady and Peyton Manning, “They are great ambassadors of the game because they love the game. You can’t ask for two better guys.”
Now Goodell should reach out personally to Brady and attempt to set up a fact-finding meeting that would allow Brady to educate Goodell on how the trainers, doctors and independent neurologists missed out on the head injury his wife is referencing and how they can do a better job on the sidelines during the games.
Brady has benefitted greatly in all aspects of his life by playing in the NFL. He does a lot of charity work. This would be a chance to pay it forward to this generation of players, from high school to college to the NFL, about what he was feeling when he suffered a concussion, when the symptoms came about and why he didn’t tell anybody. Letting the executives and doctors in on this dark secret would be invaluable.
After studying reports related to Brady from 2016, the NFL said, “There are no records that indicate that Mr. Brady suffered a head injury or concussion, or exhibited or complained of concussion symptoms.”
Nobody knows Brady better than his wife. It’s hard to believe she would make this up. Perhaps Brady complained to her during the week following a game that he was dizzy, nauseous or light sensitive but didn’t tell the Patriots, which, of course, would be a mistake. He may not have felt any of the symptoms during the game, which would explain why he wasn’t immediately checked out.
If Brady, who has more job security than any player in the league, despite Jimmy Garoppolo looking over his shoulder, is hiding concussions to remain on the field to protect his job, then there’s a good chance that more than few of the other 1,595 players in the league are doing the same.
The concussion problem is not going away. It’s only intensifying. Last week, it was Hall of Famer Nick Buoniconti, 76, who revealed he’s having cognitive issues. He needs help going to the bathroom. “I feel lost,” he told Sports Illustrated. “I feel like a child.”
Who will it be next week who steps forward? Who will be the next player to commit suicide and then be diagnosed with CTE? This is like a runaway train and as much as the NFL is trying to make the game safer, it’s going to have a hard time getting it back on the tracks.
Goodell can endorse rule changes to further protect quarterbacks against shots to the head and late hits and push through more penalties, ejections and suspensions for cheap hits and brutal shots against defenseless players.
Even so, this is a violent sport, and he can’t legislate that out of the game. It’s not just the brutal hits that knock players silly that cause concussions. Offensive and defensive linemen are banging heads on every play. Those add up and do damage. Buoniconti, a hard-hitting linebacker who played at just 220 pounds, estimated he took 520,000 hits to the head during his 14-year career.
It’s impossible to eliminate concussions. But immediate removal from games and immediate entry into the concussion protocol can potentially help avoid long-range issues and even save lives.
Brady is a smart guy. But if he beat the system, he’s hurting himself. Now that Goodell really needs Brady on an issue that is extraordinarily important and threatens the future of the game, well, it’s not likely to happen. The air has come out of that football.