Busty Posey, star catcher of the San Francisco Giants, should be back in the lineup after missing the past six games due to a concussion. The Giants had announced that Posey would be activated after sitting for seven-days on the concussion disabled list.
Posey was injured on April 10th, when he was hit in the helmet by an errant pitch from Tiaijuan Walker, of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Posey had gotten off to a great start in 2017 before the injury, and has appeared in at least 146 games each of the last five seasons.
Although Giants fans are happy to see Posey back behind the plate, his story is a reminder to us all of just how dangerous head injuries can be. Even in baseball, where you don’t usually think of concussions orbrain injuries occurring as frequently as football or soccer, it is crucial that all brain injuries, whether there is a loss of consciousness, or not, be treated as serious, and that the team doctors provide ethical care, and not try and push the head injured athletes back into the game too early. As we learn more about the long term effects of traumatic brain injury, it becomes increasingly more evident that we must care for our players and their long term mental health, even if it means sitting an extra game or two. I am reminded of Aaron Hernandez and his recent suicide in prison. Who knows what brain damage contributed to Hernandez’ condition and state of mind?
Hello, I’m Claude Wyle, a San Francisco brain injury attorney. Have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered here? Feel free to contact me or visit www.ccwlawyers.com
