University of Michigan football coach Brady Hoke and athletic director Dave Brandon have come under fire after Michigan quarterback Shane Morris continued to play in a game even after exhibiting signs of a concussion. According to Inside Higher Ed, thousands of students have signed a petition demanding these athletic officials be fired. It is not clear what the University of Michigan’s response will be, but this incident has revived a debate about whether the National Collegiate Athletic Association should regulate how coaches handle injuries.
Currently, the NCAA only recommends best practices, but these recommendations must become regulations in order to be at all effective. The NCAA has authority over college sports teams and therefore has power to influence their behaviors. Sanctions against schools who compromise the health of their athletes would provide stronger incentives to abide by the “best practices” that already exist.
We opposed the NCAA’s sanctions against Pennsylvania State University following the Jerry Sandusky abuse scandal in part because individual universities can better establish and regulate policies about reporting sexual misconduct. The NCAA does not have any expertise on that matter.
The Penn State case proves the NCAA has the power to reprimand an athletic program with financial penalties and sanctions, but they must exercise this power only in response to matters where they do have expertise; procedure for athlete injuries is one of those matters. The NCAA ought to take a codified moral stance against compromising athletes’ well being, as they attempted to take a moral stance against covering up child abuse. Fines or harsher sanctions, like revoking post-season capabilities, would discourage coaches from putting students at risk, and send the message that such practices are wrong.
Some argue that athletic departments can be rebuked by other parties that are more reliable than the NCAA. The demand of 10,000 Michigan students could be an example. But relying on individual schools to hold their coaches accountable would likely not result in consistent practices and punishments, especially since football is such a lucrative sport. Schools with high-profile football programs may be more reluctant to fire a coach who has successfully led the team to many championship titles, even if he has mishandled situations with injured players.
Another potential concern about NCAA sanctions is that they would create more incentive to hide injuries in order to avoid penalties. This is why doctors must play a crucial role in assessing players’ health and delivering professional opinions during games. The doctors would have to be paid by the NCAA rather than the team, to ensure their recommendations are made objectively.
Protecting the health of athletes may be a collective responsibility which also involves universities, lawmakers and regional conferences. But that does not mean the NCAA can refuse to take a stand on the issue, assuming another party will handle the problem. The NCAA has the opportunity to affect the widest change because it has the broadest reach over college athletics. With so many new concerns emerging about the physical damage sports, especially football, can inflict on players, now is the time for the NCAA to make safety a top priority.
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