McCoy: Lion or Lamb?

            This past season of the NFL was marked by a nasty controversy over Cleveland Brown’s quarterback Colt McCoy. In a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Steeler’s linebacker James Harrison launched himself at McCoy. Having watched the game live, my initial reaction to the hit was the unquestionable feeling that McCoy was concussed and would be removed from the game. After the hit McCoy lay still on the field, and needed assistance to get to the sideline. McCoy was replaced for two plays by the back-up quarterback, but was then found healthy to play and put back into the game only to throw an interception. After the game, McCoy was diagnosed with “concussion like symptoms”, however, after further medial examination, he was found to have a mild concussion.

McCoy’s father, infuriated at the Brown’s medical staff for allowing his son to get back on the field was quoted the day after the hit saying:

"I talked to Colt this morning and he said, 'Dad, I don't know what happened, but I know I lost the game. I know I let the team down. What happened?' …He was basically out (cold) after the hit. You could tell by the rigidity of his body as he was laying there. There were a lot of easy symptoms that should've told them he had a concussion. He was nauseated and he didn't know who he was. From what I could see, they didn't test him for a concussion on the sidelines. They looked at his hand."

Pat Shurmur, Brown’s head coach, defended his medical team, saying medical precautions were taken and McCoy told the staff he was perfectly fine to play.

The Colt McCoy concussion controversy raises several issues. First off, the fact that the trained professional medical staff cleared him to get back in the game questions the extent to which health is more important than a win. Secondly, if McCoy’s father’s account is accurate, stating that Colt felt “he let the team down”, highlights the belief in sports of playing through injury as heroic, rather than threatening. Lastly, the concussion raises issues of injury prevention. Harrison, who laid the hard hit on McCoy, was suspended for 1 game without pay, losing $73,529. Many believed the hit to be in the ‘gray area’ of what defines an illegal hit.

After watching the hit in the above link, you will be shocked at the thought that the staff allowed him to get back in the game. What do you think of the medical staff’s decision? Also, what do you think of the Harrison suspension?