Yes, we are actually helping with the nfl evolution. Set each day you see some of the tips, which i am the publisher of that site. I am also the author of home team advantage, the Critical Role of mothers in youth sport and i have a great new hat as a producer of a documentary about the. I keep hearing great pieces about parents. So yes, moms team is the website that i run. For the past 12 years weve been leading the way, i believe, in concussion education at these Sports High School level. Moms are very concerned. As a matter of fact a year ago, nine months ago i received a letter from my mom in oklahoma and she wanted moms seem to parachute in with our of experts to set up a concussion Risk Management program. That is a very common question we have received over 12 years is can you help us . We been halted by the long, but this time of what to document every step of the way. One of my triplet sons was taken out of football because of concussions years ago. Now knowing what i know, the game can be made safer. The game is being made safer. So very quickly what we did is we parachuted into oklahoma. Weve been following 18 for the entire season. We started in february at each monthly visit them for a week. Weve been filming them. Their concussion rate has plummeted to we put together our Risk Management program, 15 different steps. We have a celeron matters, hit sensors on their helmet at the High School Level, so we are tracking heads. We are tracking everything that these boys walk we been able to get them. No helmets, not just a correct fit but how to measure it. Most import message i have is that the kids want these ether and their helmet or as an earbud or mouthpiece. They want that responsibility taken away from themselves. So right now they are underreported and this this is really helping. Let me bring bill maher to this conversation. As we mentioned as an owner in the usl. You have a unique perspective on the downstream consequences of concussions and other injuries. Theres a place youre endorsed or a . Talk to me about that. And like a lot of people you end up worrying about something sort of from the back Going Forward. And in this case, its the cost of Workers Compensation in football and it is a real problem. Part of it is the state of california and how its structured to take claims. But the insurance companies, you know, the point is the cost of Workers Compensation for our Little League as they had to go through the state senate was about 1. 5 times the entire compensation of the players and we had a conversation recently with the National Football league and i think if you asked them, they would tell you its a similar program. Why is a problem . They think of inheriting a word player played last, the whole thing and nobody objects of course because there are players that have been hurt. If you go back and say you want change this, you and up were dr. Cantu is talking about. And then i say wow, we basically have an entire generation we have to deal with because who knows somebody in the southeast conference has perhaps already occurred tmh that isnt going to manifest itself in 15 or 20 years. I think you were telling me that the last team that employs the player is the one that picks up all the workers comp. And thats not right or wrong. It happens to be the law. Im interested in your conversations as i always found with the National Football league have the same situation. Im not speaking for the National Football league. The great thing under our cpa is the cost of workers conversation is actually borne by the players. So we live in a world under the cba with the insurance cost is basically estimated every year and that is a benefit that goes to the team. So the good news that these for our football teams and im always worried ill Say Something good about nfl owners, but this is one of them. When it comes to the cost of insurance is something reimbursed. The world we live in the mix is somewhat ironic as even though costs are reimbursed, the teams nonetheless finds that workers comp, which is interesting. I could probably choose another word other than interesting, but its a family show. Im always interested in this issue of Workers Compensation, but going back to these big ideas, recognizing when our players get hurt, our leadership refuses to call it an accident. If you are a running back scoring up in ray lewis is coming out you or if youre a cornerback and Stephen Jackson is heading towards you, what happens after you tackle one of those individuals in the sun accident . That is a necessary and foreseeable consequences of the recall playing football. The day that we actually turned the corner on making this game better for youth is the same day that we recognize that players, when they are engaged and get her to work, albert, not playing a game, i work, when we accept that responsibility can choose were going to compensate them take care of medical injuries for those players who get her to her, thats the data will be much better for youth football because they will have moved beyond the gladiator phase i thought all, where we all used to say, think i got a broken leg itches happened and that was tough for him to which i should move on. Let me finish a course thats why they call a Workers Compensation because it is work. My point is not necessarily Workers Compensation per se, but as a symbol for the cumulative impact of trauma from the youths. We talk about 180 Million People watching football and your players that you represent on the field working and they are the role models for youth sports. Part of what she do this point obviously influence. From both ends. Absolutely. My last point is something i said at the beginning of my comments. You know, i am a big fan of looking at trends as opposed to snapshot. And so you arent able to join us utterly, but its clear the discussion is different than it was three years ago about the whole issue of youth sports and the risk up until call it 14 years old when the brain and the shell is fully formed or maybe fully formed. Just made up of research, but from the standpoint of logic, it is very clear to me this has to be viewed as a threat or an opportunity and clearly most people would say with things seem to be changing over there more information, you would want to be in control of the situation address the situation is supposed to be an outside. So theres big differences of opinion amongst everybody doing this research for the seven to 14yearold. But it was sure hope you are working together because the outcome is going to be what it is an sooner or later there will be a point commonly called Malcolm Gladwell calls it the Tipping Point. It is usually reach not necessarily the individual those that because some person has an abnormal amount of influence on the opinion of others. That person is probably in this room. A day to bring to nfl players into this conversation. I want to go to a formal nfl kicker, wrote a book about kicking in the nfl. Give me her thought on what youve heard. I spent a summer with the Denver Broncos as a kicker on the team in the locker room. I was never hit because if anyone ever hit me i would not be sitting here today. Is a concussion free position you know, just about. I did have a tight end coach on a tackling dummy one day and i got her. They dont tell anyone that got her. Theres two points i wanted to make and one is the reality of the professional level and useful of us are different some scenarios we are laying out here. Players are not, for all the excellent impressive changes in the initiative in conjunction the nfl, players are still at the mercy of coaches and unwilling to tell doctors when they are hurt. They are still unwilling to demand medical records when they have rights to them if they are still unaware of longterm consequences of injuries they are asked to play through. But the one term proposition and a mother suffers me to do that. Players arent willing to just make changes overnight because their livelihoods depend on getting back of the field. At the youth level, kids dont help those in parents are terrible. They are the worst judges of what their children need or are capable of. Coaches in the sports are uneducated and for all the Educational Opportunities and efforts you make, theres still the majority of coaches will not try to implement these things. We talk about a sport, putting accelerometers and equipment were want Equipment Specialist to outfit our children, where we talk about having independent observers of coaches on the sidelines for practices and games to monitor whats going on. Im going to throw a general question, which is at what point are we kidding ourselves about youth football, that is not a sensible proposition for you superstructure of equipment for medical testing and Trained Medical observers for every youth Football Game in the country. Maybe the lawyers decided commended the school board, maybe journalists decided, but how do we know we are at the point . Of a tear hear from eddie mason. You want to respond . Thank you for the work youve done for the players. If it wasnt for 10 years ago id still be playing. Ltd. Practices, delete, as i stated earlier the main thing about youth sports is safety. We all agree we need to make the game safe for for youth, high school, college and i think theres been many measures and a lot of research, a lot of discussion here. Appreciate the research you guys are doing, but the reality is we live in a Football Community and its everybodys responsibility in this room, that is why we are here, to come together to embrace the research, embrace the wisdom, have people that will fight for change and represent. Perfect example as i stated earlier, i am commissioner of an overaged Football League and i also work with three tackle the end of virginia area. The reality is this, that football were always taught to fight or a comet to go the extra mile, keep working and keep pushing. Another separate your point, the Tipping Point of where you come the realization of okay, we meet this responsibility . To do with this responsibility to . At some point we have to take responsibility away from the coaches and even leaks because many of the links i work with our code. They are not governed by u. S. A. Football for pop warner. These guys cant come down. Scott cant come until every coach in the United States of america this is the way you need to do it. So what we try to do at the league had to share this as an example that this is what youre fighting with the aggressors level is number one, coach Kerri Campbell and i went to a lake. We said this. You know i want to do . We played at the highest level, so there is a model standard. Authority out there. The nfl authority set a standard for Youth Coaches in america. The problem is they dont embrace the changes because its all about winning. Win at all costs mentality. Winning is good, but nobody remembers years from now. What matters is the effects of the game. So what we tried to do was, okay, if you guys want to improve safety and you want to improve coming you know, making sure coaches are responsiblefor me being accountable and credible, then implement the leagues are just like the nfl pa. They protect the west players. They work alongside with the nfl to come and say okay, these are things we want to give. These are the things most important and these are the issues. They may have to be legislative. I dont know. If we serious about making changes to the game and making safety paramount, we need to get serious about okay, if these issues exist and the sleep residents dont want to make changes, your indeed cant exist. Your league cannot exist. You are irresponsible and youre been irresponsible to families and to these kids if you are unwilling to adhere to the standard because at the end of the day thats what its all about. Its about standards and raising the standard and expectation and implementing. If we dont get that it will continue to be the same. 15 years from now, little jimmy, little johnny might be having some problems if we dont all come together as a Football Community. That is what this is all about. Mike wise, weve heard a lot here today and youre a good listener because you are a journalist. You are also a skeptic. How optimistic are you that the culture of football can change, that we can get coaches trained, that quality decisions can be made at the youth level, that high schools can come again no come use the bundled with that permits Public Health . Its a tough one because while i think this is a start and a huge star, and dr. Cantus work is seminal and a lot of things said today here are very important. Im a little disappointed that eddie is one of the only players here. I would love to see a more active players be a part of this and i think if there is i think he said yes. I dont think culture change is a bad watchword at all. I wonder from jeffs perspectives, is it possible for the league to get it into the thick heads of guys whose job is to hit people, people like ray lewis ima lake James Harrison who viewed this new culture of not killing the quarterback and calling the specification of the league and people who say snitches get stitches during mckay, is it possible to come down on these people . Is it possible to get it through their heads that it is not okay to hurt your fellow competitor. Its one thing to play a guy out. And like anyone else jump out of my couch when a guy makes a big hit. But when that player stays down, its as sick as anything i can remember. I was at the afc championship game a few years ago in pittsburgh Edward Willis he went down, nobody thought he was getting up. So i dont know if theres a tsa thing for grant hill came out and said, using slurs are bad. If something can happen like that in the nfl, where ray lewis and some of the most violent hitters can come out and say point link, kid, the same right. Its one thing to knock a guy down. Its another thing to want to willfully hurt him. The culture change needs to start the level. If hes allowed out on the field, what it all means. Are here you and thats a great point, but again, going back to responsibility and accountability and you and i had a chance to chat aside and you know my feelings about the importance and the obligation of smart journalists and Good Journalism in america and that is the debate come at a fully people are again. But my question is always, while you identified two individuals who set things that i would rather they not say, i will be dead honest with you. I have to hunt for a story about a guy like mike crapo who is as vicious a linebacker is possible, but coaches use football in the way everybody in this room would want them to. Going back to the fact that theres two dozen Football Players in the National Folk elite if we wanted to come up with the worst examples of things that happened that we would wish that have been, my guess is we would be numbering in the tens and 20s, not the thousands. So as i look at guys like Stephen Jackson and guys like ryan clark, those are guys who i think do do with the right way when it comes to teaching their youth football people. So while i agree 100 on the idea that psa is, id love to have a little bit of good news, but that some of the players you never hear about because they dont drive their car at a thousand miles an hour, dont get in fights at clubs. They dont throw people out of windows. Unfortunately, those are the stories are never hear them the good thing about jeff and i shove this was the tv is off, those are the guys we meet and to me the greatest psa we could possibly do and maybe im putting a little bit of this responsibility on us as well in her import they have overt indications to part and is for us to tell those stories because we have thousands of great ones. For the guys that she played with, for those guys on your teams, more often than not those are the same guys you would entrust you teach your kids how to place the analysis story we need to hear. If i can just jump in the quick. Ill be brief. She makes a good point. The stories to get the lead to further revolution in how we address these issues are essential to be told. They are essential because they lead to changes. We have athletic trainers and skyboxes and video boards on the sidelines. I dont know whether we would. But its interesting lasher in the championship games, the nfc and afc, two hardhitting games, the ravens and teachers, giants beat the niners and in the super bowl. Go back and watch those games. Was there an illegal hit . Was a penalty . World for his hard, solid making your brain jump off the couch . They were. Go back and watch. I present to you that it is changing. James harrison said publicly he was going to avoid hitting the quarterback in the head because he didnt want to draw a fine. Anecdotal, not statistic. And ill probably get in trouble back at the lake when i mention these things. But anecdotal as proof. Again, the stories also access and the great part of football can be done and they can continue to encourage the following bands in that part of us who enjoy his hard they dont have to be in anybodys head either. We need to wrap up here. I would love to get to everyone at the table. Two quick closing comment from scott and lets go to bob at the yen. I just want to comment on the idea that getting players engaged is very important and this is not advertising. But the three programs we have, one of the aspects really beneficial with nfl alumni players came out and they were genuinely presenting their feelings about the game. They were tal