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On Thursday morning, President Obama hosted a White House summit on concussions. In his address, Obama highlighted the benefits of sports and the need for additional research on the effects of traumatic brain injuries. One of the bigger announcements of Obama's speech was that the NFL is donating money in search of strategies to reduce concussions, including funding NIH studies and clinical trials on the effects of repeated concussions. The NCAA and the Department of Defense are also combining forces to begin a large, unprecedented research study on concussions in over 37,000 college athletes. The push to protect athletes has also materialized in every state in the nation passing legislation requiring athletes with concussions to obtain medical clearance before returning to sports. The CDC has a public awareness website about concussions full of information for parents, athletes, and coaches.
I think that it's great to see big sports organization like the NFL and the NCAA dedicating money to brain research. Hopefully this trend will continue in the interest of finding better ways to keep athletes and the public safe.