Concussions Change Face Of Football In N.C.

News Observer

http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/09/29/2375925/concussion-deaths-have-changed.html

High school football has changed in North Carolina since two fatal brain injuries shook the sport in August 2008.

Jaquan Waller at Greenville Rose and Matthew Gfeller at Winston-Salem Reynolds died days apart after head injuries suffered during high school football games that season, and their deaths have led to changes in awareness, medical protocols and legislation.

“Concussion awareness is one of the best things to ever happen to high school football in North Carolina,” veteran Northern Durham coach Gary Merrill said. “Nothing is more important than the players’ safety.”

Waller, a 16-year-old running back for J.H. Rose High, suffered a concussion during a practice, but the traumatic brain injury was not diagnosed and he did not see a physician. He played in a game later that week and died of second impact syndrome when a collision jarred his already injured brain.

Gfeller, a 15-year-old sophomore linebacker for Reynolds High, died after suffering a severe head injury during a game that same year.

The deaths of Waller and of Gfeller led the N.C. High School Athletic Association to call an emergency meeting of North Carolina health professionals that created a revolution in how the state deals with concussions.