Chris Borland Retirement Decision: 3 Lessons for Sports Parents (Link to HuffPo Blog)

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Tue, 03/24/2015 - 18:42. | comments

The decision by San Francisco 49er Chris Borland to retire from the NFL after just one season out of concern for the long-term effect of head trauma has predictably generated a media firestorm. But lost amid the hoopla is what it means for sports parents.

Here are two lessons I think parents with kids playing -- or considering playing -- football or other contact and collision sports can take away from the Borland retirement, and one lesson they shouldn't take away:

The decision by San Francisco 49er Chris Borland to retire from the NFL after just one season out of concern for the long-term effect of head trauma has predictably generated a media firestorm. But lost amid the hoopla are the lessons for sports parents.

Brooke de Lench

"The Smartest Team": Staking Out The Sensible Middle In The Polarized Debate About Football

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Wed, 10/02/2013 - 15:36. | comments

It has been an exciting week for those of us who worked so hard over the past two years to produce The Smartest Team: Making High School Football Safer.

After kicking off with our premiere on Oklahoma Educational Television (OETA - PBS) in August, and with stations in North Carolina and Colorado having aired the documentary in September, the beginning of October marks the first full week of broadcasts on PBS stations in more than ten states.

The buzz about the PBS documentary, "The Smartest Team," has been overwhelmingly positive, but some appear to be working overtime, on Twitter, through a whisper campaign, and via other back-channel means, to cripple MomsTEAM's ability to get its message out. Brooke de Lench explains.

Brooke de Lench

Talking Concussions with Gay Culverhouse

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Tue, 08/30/2011 - 14:56. | comments

There has been a flurry of books in recent years about concussions in sports, an issue MomsTeam and I began covering in depth back in 2001, way before the crisis grabbed the attention of the media, politicians and the sports establishment. So, when I received a review copy of Throwaway Players: The Concussion Crisis from Pee Wee Football to the NFL by Gay Culverhouse, I was a bit skeptical that it could add anything new to the discussion.

I couldn't have been more wrong! I loved this book!

Throwaway Players: The Concussion Crisis from Pee Wee Football to the NFL by Gay Culverhouse offers an oftentimes painfully honest, up-close-and-personal glimpse into a world of concussions.

Sharing and Learning: A Constant for Sports Officials

Becoming a top sports official requires hard work, dedication to skill development, and a never ending desire to improve, whether for a teen starting out, to high school officials, all the way to the pros.

NFL Players with Concussions Now Sidelined Longer

NFL players with concussions now stay away from the game significantly longer than they did in the late 1990s and early 2000s, according to new research.

NFL