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House Judiciary Committee member Linda Sanchez criticized the hiding of injuries in sports after hearing testimony Monday on Texas Tech's firing of coach Mike Leach.
Referring to the Texas Tech incident involving wide receiver Adam James that led to Leach's dismissal in December, Sanchez, D-Calif., said at a Manhattan forum that players, assistant coaches and trainers should not have been silent concerning James' concussion.
``It emphasizes the culture within sports of hiding injuries,'' she said.
Added NFL Players Association medical director Thom Mayer: ``Where was the medical staff? What are the qualifications and what are we demanding of the medical staffs on the professional, NCAA, high school and youth levels?''
James was sent to a dark storage shed last December by Leach after the player said he couldn't practice because of a concussion. Leach didn't believe James had a concussion and, according to the school's associate vice chancellor, Charlotte Bingham, Leach told team trainers to tell the doctors ``there'd be no more concussions at Texas Tech.''
Bingham says the school was not aware of the situation until James' father, former NFL running back Craig James, spoke up.
``Players do have access to others to make complaints about it,'' she said at the forum.
``Athletes are discouraged from reporting injuries. That's a very serious component of strategizing someone who reports an injury. If we don't do something ... we still have people who think this is how it's supposed to be.''
