Concussion related injuries have been impacting the world of sports for a long time. The NCAA took steps toward making their athletes safer on Tuesday morning when it reached a $75 million settlement in federal court.
This settlement came in a class action lawsuit in which a dozen college athletes claimed the NCAA had not done a sufficient job in protecting their health.
The settlement also establishes new rules for limiting the amount of activity athletes will be allowed to participate in. For example, players will not be able to return to practice or a game the same day they get a concussion, according to The Chicago Tribune.
Also, doctors who are trained in concussion diagnosis will attend every game in contact sports such as football, basketball, soccer and lacrosse.
“This offers college athletes another level of protection, which is vitally important to their health,” Steve Berman, the lead plaintiffs’ lawyer, said, reports The New York Times. “Student-athletes — not just football players — have dropped out of school and suffered huge long-term symptoms because of brain injuries. Anything we can do to enhance concussion management is a very important day for student-athletes.”
The NFL has received a lot of attention regarding its concussion policies and protection of its players. By contrast, a settlement in the NFL surrounding concussions would impact about 20,000 former players, while the NCAA settlement impacts 4 million athletes (including 1.4 million in contact sports).