By Lauren Taylor Today’s New York Times featured a long exploration of “Headgear Rule for Girls’ Lacrosse Ignites Outcry.” As a former lacrosse player and health policy researcher, I read the piece with interest. Essentially what’s happened is that Florida has instituted a headgear rule ahead of the sport’s national governing body. Florida made this…
By Christine Baugh Youth sports participation comes with a variety of health and social benefits. The position statement put out by the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) indicates that over 27 million individuals age 8-17 participate in team sports in the United States, and over 60 million participate in some form of organized athletic…
By Christine Baugh On November 19, Judge Anita Brody will hold a fairness hearing in the class action lawsuit of National Football League (NFL) Players v. NFL re: concussion injury. This is one of the final steps toward final approval (or rejection) of the settlement in the case. Before final approval Judge Brody must determine that…
By Christine Baugh The most recent issue of the Journal of Law Medicine and Ethics (generously made available for free by the American Society of Law Medicine and Ethics) included several articles examining state concussion laws. One theme that arose across the articles is that although concussion-related legislation is on the books in all 50 states and the…
By Christine Baugh The recent concussion and sport special issue of the Journal of Law Medicine and Ethics (generously made available free by the American Society of Law Medicine and Ethics: HERE), edited by new Bill of Health contributor David Orentlichter, includes a number of important works discussing legal and ethical issues related to mild…
By Christine Baugh A recent British Medical Journal blog post by Dr. Michael Stone sheds insight into the professional trials and tribulations of physicians working with professional soccer teams in England. As described, it is not uncommon that the team physician is recommended by a team manager and hired by the team’s executive board without thorough review. This…
By Katie Kraschel The national press is buzzing after TMZ released a video of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice’s barbaric assault of his then-fiancee, Janay Rice. Much of the spotlight of the coverage shined on the NFL’s handling of the abuse, and perhaps even more time was spent yesterday questioning Ms. Rice’s decision to stay…
By David Orentlicher[Cross-posted at HealthLawProf Blog and orentlicher.tumblr.com.] In his New York Times op-ed today, former Denver tight end Nate Jackson explains why the NFL should prefer that its players use marijuana to medicate their pain rather than to rely on prescription drugs that can have serious side effects and promote dangerous addictions. Jackson explains quite…
By Christine Baugh As we enter into the fall sports season, it’s unlikely that a week will go by where we don’t hear the current buzzword in sports community: concussion. Whether in reference to an acute player injury, an untimely death, new or ongoing litigation, or rule changes in sport, the athletic community and…
[Blogger’s Note: I am very pleased to share this post by my colleague at Seton Hall Law, Tara Adams Ragone. This post was cross-posted at Health Reform Watch.] By Tara Adams Ragone Social media recently focused my attention on two very different law enforcement interactions with people with mental illness that reinforce the need for…
