Transcripts For CSPAN3 Hearing Focuses On Athlete Safety 201

Good morning, welcome to todays hearing. Its no exaggeration to say that americans love sports. We love watching them, playing them, collecting sports memorabilia, and even arguing about our favorite teams and athletes, whether its watching the super bowl with friends, joining an office bracket pool for march madness or stretching out for the turkey trot 5 k races on thanksgiving morning, we love our sports. Personally, im a dodger and a packer fan and some of my best moments have been spent competing in sports or cheering on my two daughters at their meets and games. This committee is committed to promoting american success in international competition, ensuring exciting play in our professional leagues, providing opportunity for our student athletes and maintaining a vibrant sports culture for the benefit of all americans. At the same time, protecting the health and safety of american athletes of all levels, professional, amateur, student and youth, is a longstanding priority of the commerce committee. The issue of sexual abuse within the United States Olympic Movement has received considerable Media Attention in recent months. The troubling nature triggered an investigation for individual sports to conduct impartial investigations into allegations of abuse. Im glad that shelly foal is here today to discuss the centers work to protect these athletes. While i believe that nothing in the current law prevents the usoc and ngb from taking immediate steps to remove a suspected predator from being in contact with athletes, it is also clear that certain stakeholders have at times its own confusion about the legal requirements of the ted stevens olympic and amateur sports act and manufactured am big uties behind which to hide. Im pleased that our colleagues on the committee have advanced this issue and i look forward to working with her to strengthen her bill as it advances to the full senate. Any legislation to address this issue must include language clarifying that it is the responsibility of our olympic leaders to provide an environment that is free from abuse. In the same way congress codified the United States Antidoping Agency to combat the use of performance enhancing drugs in 2001, i believe we should authorize the u. S. Center for safe sport as an independent organization with expertise to investigate and adjudicate abuse allegations as they arise. Speaking of antidoping, im pleased that we are joined here today by olympic medallist and true sport ambassador Lauren Williams who will testify on behalf of usada. The Committee Last reauthorized them in 2014 and has been active on a number of clean sport issues. In 2016 following the revelation of an elaborate doping Program Sponsored by the russian government, the Committee Conducted oversight of the world Antidoping Agencys response, prompting the agency to expand the scope of its investigation. Following a reanalysis of samples collected during the 2008 summer olympics games in beijing which revealed cheating in the mens poll volting, i road to the committee. The issue of prescription opioids to treat sports injuries is another growing concern. In particular because of the addiction and overdose risk they carry. Though Substance Abuse and misuse affects all demographics, athletes are particularly vulnerable. While the media has focused recent attention on the use of prescription oil yoids in professional Sports Leagues, this issue impacts all athletes. While i wish she were here under different circumstances, im glad that we are joined by marine deutscher and her husband jeff of south dakota who will testify about their family tragedy involving the loss of their son nick to opioid painkillers. Marine and jeff, im deeply sorry for your loss, and thank you for your bravery in sharing your story with us today. Finally, the issue of concussions in sports is a longstanding issue that this committee has sought to address. Concussions are common injuries among athletes participating in Contact Sports and are among the most complex injuries to manage in Sports Medicine. The Committee Conducted oversight efforts to prevent and mitigate the occurrence of concussions in sports including game rule changes, coaching and player education guidelines, as well as the development of brain injury and equipment research. Dr. J. Clarence butler of the Alaska Department of health and social services, mr. Scott sailor, president of the National Athletic Trainers Association and dr. Robert stern of Boston University school of medicine will be able to speak to this issue as well as many others that affect our nations athletes. I want to thank you all for being here today and i look forward to hearing your testimony and the opportunity for you to interact with members of this committee and give us a chance to ask questions. With that, i will yield to the distinguished senator from florida, the Ranking Member, senator nelson, for his opening statement. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I think this is an opportunity, as the chairman has said, to start a conversation about what more can be done to protect americas athletes. Obviously we must protect the Young Athletes, some of whom are children. Theyre starting early. Theyre training for the olympics. Obviously we were all shocked by the revelations of widespread sexual abuse in usa gymnastics, usa tae kwon do and other olympic sports, and even more appalling was evidence that responsible adults were indifferent and looked the other way. When so many young victims can be horribly abused by adults for so long without repercussions, its a stain on americas proud olympic heritage. So, we in Congress Need to respond to this travesty. I, along with many others, are sponsors of the act that has the bill that has been introduced, and this bill would require immediate reporting of sexual abuse allegations, require National Governing bodies to adopt strict protocols and measures to protect children, and make it easier for victims to come forward and report to the authorities. We also need, as the chairman has already outlined very well, to examine athletic doping at the interNational Level. There was a time when we thought of the olympics and we thought this is above reproach, and what now when we thi now. When we think of olympics, you think of the scandals that have been revealed in the doping. Over 100 russian athletes were banned from the Olympic Games in rio. We should address clean, drugfree sports and protect athletes who do things the right way. And then the issue of head injuries. Its something thats becoming alarming. Each one of us more than likely has had a fellow athlete friend along the way that has had concussions, and now at our ages later, were seeing the manifestations of those concussions. Concussions and cte are not limited to pro sports. Its about kids and the devastating effects on their still developing young brains. And i want to recognize and commend senator udahl who is with us today, who has been such a champion and a leader on this issue. His dedication to preventing conductions and youth athletic safety is well known to everyone here, and i want to thank him on behalf of the committee for raising awareness about this very troubling issue. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, senator nelson. I want to recognize for an introduction of one of our panelists today senator sullivan to introduce dr. Butler, followed by senator markey for a short statement to introduced dr. Stern. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you and the Ranking Member for holding this important hearing. I do want to recognize dr. Jay butler who came all the way from the great state of alaska to testify today. Dr. Butler does great work in the state of alaska. He is essentially the states Surgeon General, and although its not an uplifting topic, dr. Butler has committed his time and effort across the state, really across the country, to help stymie the Opioid Epidemic that is raging through alaska like it is in so many of the other states in the United States. His efforts have included education and awareness on the dangers of opioid use, especially for our young alaskans, aiding in the distribution of naloxone and nonmedical personnel and facilities and currently serving as the president of state and Territorial Health officials representing the state of alaska in his position as director of had been health and chief medical officer for the state. I wont go through his extensive resume but well mention briefly, mr. Chairman, my experience with dr. Butler. We worked together last year when we put on a summit, a wellness summit in the state that was focused on conquering the opioid crises. Dr. Butler was instrumental in the success of this summit. Over 500 alaskans with several more online showed up at this summit. He participated in planning on the steering committee. He interviewed the United States Surgeon General for a fireside chat and moderated the ending panel of this discussion and summit, and i just want to thank him for again traveling from alaska. All the work hes doing in our state and participating on the National Level on this important issue that crosses partisan lines. This is an issue thats impacting every single state in our great nation, and dr. Butler is a leading in this not only in our state but in the country. Thank you, senator sullivan. Senator markey . Thank you, mr. Chairman. Dr. Robert stern is a professor at the Boston University school of medicine and is the director of Clinical Research for the b. U. Chronic traumatic enexcept lop thee center, also known as cte. It is a neurodegenerative disease often found in athletes. While a lot of dr. Sterns research focuses on repeated brain trauma in athletes, i know him best through his work on alzheimers disease as he is the director of the clinical core at the b. U. Alzheimers disease center. So throughout his career, he has won multiple national and federally funded grants for his work. Hes published more than 250 journal articles, chapters and abstracts in his field, and he is a fellow of both the American Neuropsychiatric Association and the American Academy of neuropsychology, and i just wanted to thank you, doctor, for all of the work which you have done on the brain and helping to explain not only alzheimers and the pathways that are possible for finding a cure but also what youve done in becoming the center for the study of the impact on the brain that contact in sports has. You have become the national leader, and i just wanted to thank you for that. Thank you, senator markey. Welcome, dr. Stern. I want to introduce again for the panel in terms of the order of presentation, well start on my left and your right with dr. Butler who is the chief medical officer, as was pointed out by our colleague of alaska, of the Alaskan Department of health and social services. Ms. Marine deutscher on behalf of the south Dakota Department of health. Ms. Shelly foal who is the chief executive officer of the United States safe sport. Scott sailor, the National Athletic Trainers Association. Dr. Robert stern, professor at Boston University school of medicine. Ms. Lauren Williams Well save for last, a true sport ambassador and United States Antidoping Agency. If you would proceed in that order, dr. Butler, and if you could confine your oral remarks to as close to five minutes as possible, it will maximize the opportunity that members of the committee will have to ask questions. Thank you all for being here. Dr. Butler. Good morning, chairman thune, Ranking Member nelson, members of the committee. Its an honor to speak with you today. In my role as chief medical officer in alaska, i oversee staterelated prevention preparedness and response activities. During the past three months, in addition to the roles that senator sullivan has described, ive also served as the Incident Commander of governor bill walkers opioid response. In alaska were responding to the Opioid Epidemic much as we would to any other disaster, whether an earthquake or tsunami, use it in an incident command structure to coordinate communication across state government. This response is addressing the three to four fold increase in opioid Overdose Deaths that have occurred in alaska over the past two decades which mirrors an increase across our nation. It started with gradual increases in deaths caused by prescription painkillers. The problem has been compounded over the past decade by the increased availability of heroin and more recently elicitly produced fentanyls. The majority of people who use heroin and fentanyl report that they first became addicted through use of prescription opioid pain relievers. I want to be clear at the outset of the discussion that the Health Benefits of participation in sports and physicaltensive a well documented. Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, certain types of cancer, better musculoskeletal strength, improved sense of wellbeing and connectedness to community. Youth who participate in sports historically have been shown to be less likely to use elicit drugs. Unfortunately, athletes have not been immune to the devastating effects of the Opioid Epidemic. Too often sportsrelated injuries managed with opioid pain relievers have been the beginning of a path to addiction. One coach expressed her frustration to me by describing that she had seen too many times an injury leading to a prescription for pills, leading to additional prescriptions for pills, leading to a friends pills and leading to any pills which can be obtained by any means and unfortunately sometimes leading to use of heroin and Overdose Deaths. High profile stories of professional athletes who began using prescription opioids for injury and then struggled with addiction or died of overdose may grab headlines but we need to recognize that the problem is occurring at all levels of competition. One adult recreational soft ball league in alaska with roughly 750 participants has had five players die of opioid overdose. An epidemiological study of High School Students in michigan found that boys who participated in organized sports were more likely to be prescribed opioid painkillers than those who did not. As a result, participation in organized sports actually increased the risk of subsequent opioid misuse. With over 4 million youth sports and recreationassociated injuries occurring each year in the u. S. , theres a reason for concern. So what can be done . There are no easy answers and no magic bullets. We need to be clear about that. But id like to highlight three areas of opportunity. First, we can promote evidencebased Pain Management strategies and more rational use of opioid pain relievers. Opioids can be useful for the management of acute pain, and many people who receive these medications use them without problem. However, opioids should not be the first line of treatment following any sports injury, and these medications are used best when theyre prescribed in the lowest effective dose and for the shortest period possible, generally for less than three to seven days. Larger firsttime prescriptions have specifically been associated with higher risk of longterm use and thus greater risk of dependency and addiction. A school nurse recently told me about a student who came back to school after ar throw scopic surgery for an athletic injury. In line with school policy, he checked in with her and turned his prescription medicines in. She was shocked to find that he had a bottle of 120 oxycodone containing pills. Special care needs to be taken when prescribing these medications to teens. Adolescence is a particularly high risk period and use of opioids, even as prescribed by a Health Care Provider by High School Students has been linked to increased likelihood of subsequent misuse. Second, we can provide more information on the risks of opioid pain relievers for both Health Care Providers and the public, including coaches and trainers. In talking with teens, i frequently hear the sentiment that if opioid pain relievers are really dangerous, then why do doctors prescribe them. In talking to people in recovery, i frequently hear, no one told me, and, if i had any idea how dangerous these drugs were, i never would have taken them. We can do a better job not only describing the risk of opioids but also providing information on what can be done in our communities to address the problem, including promotion of leftover drug return and disposal and talking openly about recognition and management of dependency and addiction a