Video Script
Introduction
JULIE GILCHRIST: I'm Dr. Julie Gilchrist with the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention—A Federal agency charged with protecting
the health and safety of people in the United States.
A concussion is a brain injury caused by a blow or bump on the head, or
an unusually forceful head movement. Concussion occurring in high school
sports is a serious, often overlooked public health issue… And they can
happen in any high school sport.
Many concussions, especially those that don't seem serious at the time,
go undiagnosed and untreated. But ANY concussion can lead to serious,
long-term consequences.
In the video you are about to watch, you'll see the effects concussions
have had on the lives of one high school football player, Brandon
Schultz, and other high school athletes. The video features a segment
from PBS News Hour with Jim Lehrer, which originally aired on January
26th, 2000.
Video Clip
LEE HOCHBERG: It's hard to imagine Brandon Schultz was once a
fine high school athlete in Washington state.
BRANDON SCHULTZ: (Laughs) That's actually the best I've done in a
long time.
THERAPIST: Come on. Speed this time, Brandon, speed.
LEE HOCHBERG: Six years ago, Schultz, a high school sophomore
with an a- minus grade average, suffered a concussion, a trauma-induced
alternation in his mental status, while playing in a football game. He
doesn't remember it, but his mother does.
LANE PHELAN, Brandon Schultz's Mother: He got on the bus, came
home. We picked him up at school to bring him home, and he's complaining
of a headache, you know. He said "I took a hit. Got a headache."
LEE HOCHBERG: The headache persisted the next day and the next.
He skipped football practice, but nobody told his family to take him to
a doctor.
LANE PHELAN: Pretty much, you know, "Take a Tylenol. We'll see
how you're doing," you know? That's really all we knew.
LEE HOCHBERG: Her son wanted to play football. As days passed, he
wrote his father that his head had ached for six days. But he needed
only a few games to qualify for his varsity letter.
BRANDON SCHULTZ: Getting my varsity letter my sophomore year,
that was my ultimate goal, you know. I just had to get it.
LEE HOCHBERG: Doctors say concussion victims with ongoing
symptoms should avoid sports while symptoms are present, and for a week
after. But Schultz pulled on his number, 61, and played his next junior
varsity game. His brain, not yet healed, was vulnerable to this second
impact, captured by his parents on videotape. The impact wasn't violent
but something clearly was wrong.
LANE PHELAN: I looked back down in the end zone, and Brandon was
laying flat on the field. He wasn't responding to anybody saying
anything to him. He was just laying there.
LEE HOCHBERG: Schultz was a victim of rare, and often-fatal,
second impact syndrome. His brain was hemorrhaging. He went into a coma
for four days and underwent four brain surgeries. Doctors say he tried
to return from concussion too soon.
BRANDON SCHULTZ: Dang it.
LEE HOCHBERG: Six years of rehabilitation leave him, today,
partially blind, physically disabled, and unable to think quickly.
BRANDON SCHULTZ: I'm not Brandon Schultz anymore, you know. Now,
I'm Brandon Schultz, the same guy, but different. And it's very, very
difficult at times.
LEE HOCHBERG: It's a dramatic case of not treating a concussion
seriously enough. But new research suggests there are other reasons
concussions demands more attention than they've previously received.
DR. STAN HERRING: I think what used to happen in sports is people
got their bell rung, or they got dinged, and that was part of the game.
LEE HOCHBERG: Dr. Stan herring was Schultz' physician and is team
doctor for the National Football League's Seattle Seahawks.
DR. STAN HERRING: What we know now is that when you get your bell
rung or get dinged, that there are consequences.
LEE HOCHBERG: Herring says there are more than 300,000
sports-related brain injuries a year, mostly concussions. And it now
appears their impact can be lasting.
DR. STAN HERRING: It's clear that if you have a concussion, the
chance of getting another one is higher -- two times, four times, maybe
even as much as six times higher. That's clear. If you have a
concussion, the chance of having other episodes is higher.
LEE HOCHBERG: That's important, because a new study in the
"Journal of the American Medical Association" found college athletes,
who sustained repeat concussions, performed poorly on tests of memory
and concentration, information processing and coordination-- especially
those who already had learning disabilities.
DR. STAN HERRING: They may find school a bit harder. They may
find their memory's not quite as good.
SPORTSCASTER: Third down, and nine. Young throws, and that's
incomplete at the feet of Phillips. And... Down.
LEE HOCHBERG: The ramifications of the new study are profound for
professional athletes like quarterback Steve Young of the San Francisco
49ers.
SPORTSCASTER: It looks almost as if he's out cold.
LEE HOCHBERG: Young has been slammed to the turf dozens of times
in his pro career and is currently recovering from a concussion. His
agent is Leigh Steinberg.
LEIGH STEINBERG: Steve Young told me once that he'd had seven
official concussions. And I said, "well, what's an official concussion?"
He said "well, that's where they cart you off the field." But they have
dozens of mini- concussions where the mental state is not quite there
and there's a lot of haziness.
LEE HOCHBERG: Steinberg says he's advised Young to retire, but
Young hasn't. He says he's also told another client, Dallas cowboy
quarterback Troy Aikman, whose incurred nine concussions, to be smart
and preserve his long-term health. Aikman, though, has returned to play.
TROY AIKMAN: I'm not considering walking away from the game. I
still feel like I've got years left in me.
LEE HOCHBERG: Steinberg worries about the influence his clients
have on young athletes.
LEIGH STEINBERG: There are millions of young kids out there
watching this and taking as their model the athlete who plays with nine
concussions, who goes back into a game after he's had a concussion. And
I'm scared that we're going to have a group of high school athletes,
collegian athletes, and professional athletes, who end up having real
impairment.
SPORTSCASTER: ...Team was eliminated. Great job. Ho, look at
that!
SPORTSCASTER: Two down.
SPORTSCASTER: Emmett got... Look who's down, too. Oh, boy.
LEE HOCHBERG: Indeed, the culture of downplaying or glorifying
concussion is widespread throughout sports.
SPORTSCASTER: He's out.
SPORTSCASTER: He is out, Billy. He is out cold.
SPORTSCASTER: That was chin-to-chin. You're going to see a crash.
Oh!
SPORTSCASTER: And I tell you what...
LEE HOCHBERG: University of Oklahoma basketball star, Eduardo
Najera, suffered a concussion in this violent, on-court collision in
last year's NCAA basketball tournament. He lay motionless for 90
seconds, eyes closed, before being helped off the court six minutes
later.
SPORTSCASTER: Look who's jogging back out.
SPORTSCASTER: No.
SPORTSCASTER: But 14 minutes after the collision, he returned to
the gym.
SPORTSCASTER: He's going right to check in.
SPORTSCASTER: How tough are these two kids?
LEE HOCHBERG: Najera reentered the game seconds later. Even as
the CBS announcers questioned the decision, they applauded his courage.
SPORTSCASTERS: I don't think Najera should be back in the game. I
really don't. He's running with... What looks like... Whoa, he's setting
a solid screen! Unbelievable! Wow, you talk about some guts, now. You
know, you just... This is unbelievable.
LEE HOCHBERG: The moment makes doctors like Herring shudder.
DR. STAN HERRING: It is not heroic to return to play before
concussion has cleared. It's foolish. We need to educate people so they
understand that.
LEE HOCHBERG: What all agree on is a need for more awareness of
concussion's seriousness. As part of a legal settlement, Brandon
Schultz' school district set up a trust to pay the $12 million his care
will cost for the rest of his life, and to send his mother on a speaking
tour to publicize the risk of second impact syndrome. She's urging
schools to send coaches to seminars about concussion and to issue
handouts on concussion to parents, including a warning to take young
athletes to the doctor if they incur one.
Closing
BRANDON SCHULTZ: Hello, I’m Brandon Schultz. I was 16 years old
when I was injured. Before I was injured, I imagined that at 26—the age
I am now—I would be a college graduate and living on my own. But my life
is very different today. I am finally in college.
But each day is a challenge for me. I use aids to help me with simple
everyday activities—things most people do without thinking—like
remembering what to do next, and getting to class on time. And I
currently don’t drive a car because I have vision problems and slow
reaction times. My injury didn’t end my life, but it changed the choices
I have today.
I wish now that my school, family, and I could have had more information
on concussion injury and some guidelines about when to return-to-play.
With proper precautions, many concussions can be prevented and permanent
injuries can be minimized.
JULIE GILCHRIST: There are things you can do to prevent a
concussion.
Make sure that you use the right equipment for your sport and use it
consistently. The equipment should fit and be in good condition.
Learn safe playing techniques from your coach and practice them.
Follow the rules of your sport.
And be sure to tell someone—your coach or your parents—if you think you
have a concussion.
Don't hide it—report it.
Take the time to recover.
It's better to miss one game than the whole season.
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