When teams and leagues fail to advocate for the players, it falls on the fans to do so. Too often the sports industry fails to adequately protect the players from heat-related illnesses, concussions, or other injuries. As fans, we recognize these kinds of harms aren’t always avoidable, but they certainly can be mitigated and treated properly once they occur — not covered up.

Concussions

Concussions are possibly the most dangerous sports injury, leading to dangerous consequences for players and their loved ones. When players and fans began to learn about Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), instead of helping players and their families, the NFL engaged in a cover-up that could only be compared to that of Big Tobacco’s cover-up in ‘90s and early 2000s. We called out the NFL and the more than 40 Members of Congress who took the league’s money in the wake of this scandal to ensure that players received fair compensation. Following a class action lawsuit, the NFL agreed to pay our billions of dollars to claimants to tens of thousands of class members.

Youth Sports

There is no bigger sports fan than a parent. That makes youth sports injuries all the more disheartening. Too often youth couches, youth leaguest, and schools are ill-equipped to monitor and treat injuries, especially heat-related ones. We support legislation that provides these kinds of organizations the resources and training necessary to protect youth athletes.