Former high school football star sues over concussions Blog Post

Former Parkrose High school football star Jonathan Boland, has filed a lawsuit against the Parkrose School District alleging the district committed child abuse and negligence by failing to protect him under Oregon state concussion law. The lawsuit alleges that Boland showed signs of a concussion throughout high school and should not have been allowed to return to play, despite receiving a medical release. When his mother, Renee Boland, asked the district for all records relating to her son’s concussions in January 2019, the school requested she sign a waiver stating the district would not be held accountable, which Boland refused to sign.

On top of the world. Until one too many concussions Blog Post

Jonathan Boland went from star quarterback to state inmate. Did concussions play a role? Boland suffered four concussions in his 12-year football career in Oregon, leaving him mentally and physically changed. “What’s portrayed in these robberies is not my son,” his mother Renee said.

Oregon’s ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’: Concussion investigation highlights role of athletic trainers Blog Post

Oregon public high schools with athletic trainers are better able to identify athletes with concussions and reduce overall injury rates. Over a two-year period, there were 566 football concussion evaluations at schools with athletic trainers and 34 at schools without trainers, according to an analysis of records by InvestigateWest, Pamplin Media Group and Reveal of records from 119 high schools.

Rattling the data: Concussion investigation gleans lessons from public documents Blog Post

A key finding of the yearlong investigation was that student athletes in Oregon get more frequent and more thorough medical evaluations for concussions at schools that employ athletic trainers. Schools with athletic trainers reported twice as many possible concussions per student athlete as did schools without a professional trainer. Football players at schools with trainers were more than three times as likely to be kept out of play until medically cleared.

Student athletes aren’t the only ones getting concussions — and needing classroom help Blog Post

Due to three tragic cases showing the impact of recurrent concussions on the sports field, many states now have protections for kids in sports. But often forgotten are the kids off the field. In today’s story, InvestigateWest and Pamplin Media Group explore four programs that provide brain injury education for the teachers and school staff who help kids in the classroom.

Colorado’s concussion approach combines education, medicine, a team approach Blog Post

The death of a high school football player after back to back concussions inspired a Colorado school psychologist to develop a holistic program to ensure that any student with a concussion had a support team and an action plan involving their parents, coaches, medical professionals — and teachers.

The Concussion Gap: Head injuries in girls soccer are an ‘unpublicized epidemic’ Blog Post

National research has found girls are more likely to suffer a concussion than boys in any sport. And research in 2017 found concussion rates among young female soccer players were nearly as high as concussion rates for boys playing football — and roughly triple the rate of concussions in boys’ soccer. “In a lot of ways, it’s a growing epidemic for young girls that I think has gone unpublicized,” said Jim Chesnutt, a medical expert on sports concussion. InvestigateWest and Pamplin media group crunched the numbers in Oregon.