NFL — CT Numbers — Connecticut by the Numbers

A number of the nation’s most prominent youth sports organizations announced this week that they will be partnering with concussion specialists, sports medicine professionals and leaders at other levels of sports to create an unprecedented coalition to focused on concussions among young athletes.

The announcement comes the same week as a major report on the NFL’s two decades of denial of a connection between football and brain injury, aired on Public Broadcasting System (PBS) stations across the country, including in Connecticut, as part of the investigative “Frontline” series.

The National Sports Concussion Coalition expects to be "the most comprehensive alliance of its kind", with science and medical leaders in the fields of concussions, brain injury and sports medicine working directly with a cross-section of organizations and governing bodies that represent millions of athletes across major organized sports in the United States. The partnership aims to share data and identify best safety practices that can assist in coaching, playing and officiating across sports.

To help ensure the health and safety of young athletes, this past spring the federal government's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention developed the Heads Up: Concussion in Youth Sports initiative to offer information about concussions to coaches, parents, and athletes involved in youth sports. The initiative provides important information on preventing, recognizing, and responding to a concussion. A series of fact sheets and an informational video for players, coaches and families are available on the CDC website, www.cdc.gov/concussion.

The founding youth sports and medical members of the newly formed coalition include the National Council of Youth Sports (NCYS), Pop Warner Little Scholars, Sports Concussion Institute (SCI), US Lacrosse, US Youth Soccer, USA Hockey, American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), Amateur Softball Association/USA Softball, USA Basketball, USA Football and the Datalys Center for Sports Injury Research and Prevention. Coalition partners at the professional, college and foundation levels include the NCAA, NFL, NFLPA and National Football Foundation.

Connecticut Law

Just two weeks ago, Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy and Attorney General George Jepsen issued a news release reminding student athletes, parents and coaches that head injuries and concussions are serious and that Connecticut law requires students who suffer a blow to the head or receive a concussion diagnosis to sit out games and practices until cleared by a licensed medical professional.

“A concussion is a very serious injury, and an athlete who has suffered a concussion needs time to heal,” said Attorney General Jepsen. “While proper use of helmets and protective equipment is important, it’s critical to remember that no helmet can fully prevent a concussion. Preventing head injuries by limiting contact is key. Parents, athletes and coaches should educate themselves in order to recognize the signs of injury and prevent concussions in youth sports.”

Under Connecticut law, anyone who has a state-issued coaching permit and who coaches intramural or interscholastic athletics must be periodically trained in how to recognize and respond to head injuries and concussions. State law also requires coaches to take a student athlete out of any game or practice if the athlete shows signs of having suffered a concussion after an observed or suspected blow to the head or if the athlete is diagnosed with a concussion. Coaches must keep athletes out of games and practices until receiving written clearance from a licensed medical professional. Connecticut's youth sports concussion safety law was signed on May 18, 2010 by Governor M. Jodi Rell, and the state was among the first in the nation to enact a comprehensive policy.

“Sports have the power to change the lives of millions of young people in this country by encouraging a physically active lifestyle and by teaching lifelong lessons. We want to make sure no child loses that opportunity due to fear of injury,” said Jon Butler, executive director of Pop Warner Little Scholars. “By coming together in this very important fight against concussions we believe our collective efforts will transcend our individual sports and benefit everyone.”

"The NCAA is committed to broad concussion education outreach, and to research that will identify objective biomarkers and sound management guidelines. We are excited about our partnership in this important alliance," said Brian Hainline, M.D., chief medical officer of the NCAA.

Documentary Production

The PBS program “League in Denial” began as a joint effort between PBS and the ESPN program “Outside the Lines,” announced in 2012. Earlier this year, ESPN removed itself from the collaborative endeavor.

In a statement at the time, the network said “Because ESPN is neither producing nor exercising editorial control over the Frontline documentaries, there will be no co-branding involving ESPN on the documentaries or their marketing materials. The use of ESPN's marks could incorrectly imply that we have editorial control. As we have in the past, we will continue to cover the concussion story through our own reporting.”

The Bristol-based sports network has initiated major stories on the concussion issue in recent years, and ESPN reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru have written a book – published this week - about football and brain injuries -- "League of Denial: The NFL, Concussions and the Battle for Truth," and are prominently featured in the PBS program.

Three members of professional football's Hall of Fame roster began their illustrious careers in Connecticut. Floyd Little, inducted in 2010, and subsequently honored by his hometown of New Haven, is among 280 gridiron stand-outs included in a new interactive internet feature that allows fans to see where inductees in the Pro Football Hall of Fame are from, and learn the highlights of their careers.

The interactive map was developed by Esri, a technology company in the state of Washington that “inspires and enables people to positively impact the future through a deeper, geographic understanding of the changing world around them.”

Inducted in 2010, New Haven native Floyd Little’s multidimensional talents quickly translated into success at the pro level. As a rookie he led the American Football League in punt returns with a 16.9 average on 16 returns. Little also returned a career-high 35 kickoffs for 942 yards. His combined rushing and receiving yardage total that first season was just shy of 400 yards.

In 1971, he became the first 1,000-yard rusher in Denver Broncos history. He won the NFL rushing title that year as he finished with 1,133 yards on 284 carries and scored 6 touchdowns. Little was named to two AFL All-Star Games and three AFC-NFC Pro Bowls. He was also named All-AFL/NFL twice and All-AFC first- or second-team four straight years.

In all, Little amassed more than 12,000 all-purpose yards and scored 54 touchdowns during his career that spanned from 1967 to 1975. He gained 6,323 yards on 1,641 career carries and scored 43 touchdowns. He added 215 receptions for 2,418 yards and 9 TDs. Little totaled 893 yards on 81 career punt returns and a pair of scores; and returned 104 kickoffs for 2,523 yards in his nine-season career.

The New Haven Athletic Center was officially renamed the Floyd Little Athletic Center in an impressive, two-ho ur ceremony in October 2011 that attracted some 200 people. A trophy showcase featuring uniforms, helmets and pictures from Little’s playing days at Hillhouse, Syracuse, Bordentown Military Institute and with the Broncos was unveiled, along with a wall plaque and, of course, the building’s new name.

“The Hall of Fame is one thing,” Little told the New Haven Register. “But having your name on a building is something different. It’s a great joy to have. No one could ever believe that a guy who came from this area, with very little means, could rise up to be an all-city, all-state, all-American, all-pro, College Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame. It’s an unbelievable story, but I feel that I’ve been truly blessed.”

In addition to Little, Connecticut residents to reach the NFL and the Canton, Ohio Hall of Fame are Ken Strong, who played in the 1930s and Andy Robustelli, a league standout during the 1950’s.

Halfback Ken Strong's most publicized performance in 14 years of pro football came in the 1934 National Football League Championship Game. In that now historic game, Strong contributed 17 points on two touchdowns, two extra points and a field goal to lead his New York Giants to a 30-13 victory over the Chicago Bears. He was born in 1906 in West Haven and died in 1979 at age 73.

The Los Angeles Rams drafted Andy Robustelli, an end from tiny Arnold College, in the nineteenth round of the 1951 National Football League draft. A long shot to make the team as an offensive end since the Rams already had such stars as Tom Fears and Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch, Robustelli responded in the only way he knew how - to go all out to make good at what was available to him, the defensive unit.

He went on to become one of the finest defensive ends in pro football history, playing five years with the Rams and then nine years with the New York Giants. He was a regular for the Rams’ 1951 championship team, and the one game he missed that season was the only one he missed in 14 NFL seasons. He is credited with molding together the 1956 Giants team that won the NFL championship.

He was named All-Pro seven times and was named to the Pro Bowl seven times. In 1962 the Maxwell Club selected Robustelli as the NFL’s outstanding player, an honor that up until then was generally reserved for an offensive player. The honor was indicative of the high regard that fans, teammates and opponents all held for the future Hall of Fame defensive end. A Stamford native born in 1925, Robustelli died in 2011 at age 85.