We appreciate your arguments today, thank you. The court may call the next case. Over the next few hours we will show you congressional hearings on professional and student athletics. Up next house hearing from brain injuries from football, hockey and other sports. Then we will look at scholarships, sex assaults and whether student athletes should be paid. Earlier in year a House Sub Committee looked into brain injuries from football, hockey and other sports. Officials with the nfl and National Hockey league talked about how their industries address the issue. We will also hear from professional and student athletes. This hearing is about three hours. All right. I want to thank everyone for being here. We are now at the full Committee Ranking member, the gentleman from california joins us. We now have the ability to start our hearing. So ill introduce you after my statement and before you start your testimonies. So ill open with my opening statement. Morning jan. So good morning and welcome to this mornings hearing. Today its my hope to learn what steps are being taken to make Sports Participation safer for all athletes. Every day parents make choices about whether or not to let their son or let their daughter play soccer or what kind of mouth piece to buy their son for thinks first day of pop warner football. Unfortunately it seems like every day we hear about how participation in certain sports could be dangerous. Its easy to understand how what parents see in the news affects Youth Participation and sports. Case in point, earlier this year, president obama said publicly that if he had a son he wouldnt let him play profootball. Then the first lady wants us all to move. Seems to conflict. Messages. So. Now, we want a better understanding of the innovations being made by sports leagues, equipment manufacturers and the medical community to make all sports safer. One clear example is the nhl working to make hockey safer. Dating back to 1997 took the proactive step of joining a joint committee and also established a department of player safety at its headquarters, the first of its ingd kind for any professional league. U. S. A. Hockey and u. S. A. Football two organizations that help oversee youth sfort caleb porters in the United States ha. Safety information, education, proper techniques, u. S. A. Football which is endowed by the generosity of the nfl was the First National governing body to head up concussions in sports. Also engaged in providing youth with nontackling alternatives to develop their skills. Additionally u. S. A. Heads up Football Program encompasses six elements meant to make youth football safer including coach education and concussion recognize. Proactive actions are exactly what parents need in order to be insured Everything Possible is being done to keep their child as safe as possible while they are on the field or ice. Researchers are also hard at work. For sexample, dr. Dennis malfousi, who runs the university of nebraska brains, biology and behavior center, located inside the huskers stadium, has been developing an mri machine that could be used on game day to assess a head injury, this could be used to determine if a player suffered a concussion and if that player can return. Equipment manufacturers are making changes to helmet, foot guard and other equipment to reduce injuries. I feel confident given the recent rule changes and the Rate Technology is advancing, playing a contact sport today is likely safer than it has been in the past. However we must accept there is no silver bullet, no helmet or pad will prevent 100 of the injuries 100 of the time. We need to keep your kids safe while still promoting Youth Participation. In sports. This involves listening to how leaders in top tier researchers are partnering with nhl and nfl to make youth safer. These are the types of innovations needed to give parents assurance that all possible steps are being take tone improve the safety of their child on the field. Id like to thank our panelist for joining us today willing to answer our questions. Would especially like to thank the two doctors for making the trips to washington, d. C. From lincoln, neb northbourasknebras. I will now recognize Ranking Member jan from illinois. Thank you. This is a very important hearing on improving sports safety. I look forward to hearing from all of our witnesses on both panels about the perspectives, experiences, and proposals about how to make sports safer for everyone from children to professional athletesx athletes are continually becoming bigger and faster and stronger and despite some efforts to make sports safer must work remains. Hundreds of thousands of sports related traumatic brain injuries occur annually in the United States. Sports are the second leading cause of traumatic brain injury among people age 15 to 24 years old. Second only to Motor Vehicle accidents. He. We will here hear from high school athlete. His story should serve as a reminder that uj you sports injuries can have devastating and lasting consequences. We will also hear on this panel from an olympic champion forced out of her career after a traumatic brain injury almost four years. Her story illustrates that even our sports heroes are vulnerable to sports injuries. I thank you both for your courage and willingness to testify on this critical issue. Proball safety tragically committed suicide just over four years axg he shot himself in the chest to avoid any impact on his brain to allow science to study the brain trauma he suffered over his career. He suffered from a moderately advanced case of chronic traumatic disease linked to repeated blows to the head that could suffer memory loss and dimensionia. The impacts of brain trauma can become more severe over time. We will hear about the importance of taking athletes off the field of play as soon as there is suspicion of a brain injury and keeping them off until trained by a responsible individual. Final will he we will hear from the nhl and nfl and leagues responsible for mitigating brain injuries from their sport. I will like to hear what changes they will implement to reduce the risk of brain injuries moving forward. We should take reasonable steps to reduce the risk in sports. I hope we better understand what we can do to limit these risks. I yield back. Thank you very much. This time recognize the vice chairman of the committee. Thank you very much mr. Chairman and thank you for holding this extremely important hearing. I want to thank dr. James johnston who will be one of the witnesses who came to my office earlier this morning. Thank you dr. Johnston. Experts generally agree aa concussion ranges in seriousness from mild to dramatic. The centers for Disease Control states a concussion is caused by a blow to the head or body that causes the head to move quickly. According to the cdc, the sport thats reported the highest number of brain injuries are bicycle, football, play groungd activities, basketball and soccer. From 2010 through 2013 the Participation Rate of children in youth soccer and football dropped considerably. And some have pointed to the increased risk of tbi as a result of participating in these sports. Increased spot light has resulted in an increased amount of research in brain injuries as well as research on how to improve Sports Equipment in order to prevent such injuries from occurs. Nhl have required players to to wear helmets. Since 2009 all 50 states in the district off columbia have infliekt. This hearing will focus on what more can be done to prevent injuries in sports, in the youth level, amateur level and professional level and i look forward to the testimony of our distinguished panel. Thank you mr. Chairman. I have two and half minutes remaining. Any other member on the republican side who would like to speak with an opening statement. Does missouri play sports . On behal of the big ten i want to welcome rutgers. Thank you very much. Thank you very much mr. Chairman. Decades ago many thought head injury was serious only if a player was completely knocked out, unconscious or suffered a severe contusion after frequent painful blows even a young athlete could continue to play. But we now have strong indications that the effects of repeated brain trauma in sports, even though received during ones youth could accumulate with consequence thats are long term debilitating and even life threatening. They could stem from minor injuries injuries injuries. Researchers have found evidence of the disease cte when examining the brain tissue of dozens of decease the players. New technologies have shown the metabolic changes in the brain associated with concussions and sub conclusive blows. Brain injuries in sports could occur in a wide variety of situati situation. It is a complex matter. Requires addressing many interconnected issues. We have to take multi facetted approach on improved safety, i couldnt agree more. We need nor research. Methods can lead to earlier and more accurate diagnoseis. Better understanding of the risk factors and maybe better Treatment Options for brain injuries. Second doctors lead to associations, coaches, players, need to Work Together toest ashl lish health regulations, game rules and a sporting culture that reflects the seriousness of brain injury that puts the Athletes Health first. Third must pursue a better understanding of how this equipment might be improved. Three years ago congressmen butterfield and i wrote in calling for hearings about inadequate testing standards, and economic disparity regarding the safety of millions of athletes. We will touch on those issues today. Likely might hold a separate hearing on these matters. The National Football league tested today giving recent disputes. On this very topic. Unfortunately the late notification of the nfl testified made it difficult for us to secure players with this. Mr. Chairman todays hearing is important. I appreciate the Sub Committee review of sports related brain injuries and i look forward to working together. All of us on this issue in the months ahead. Thank you for holding the hearing and look forward to the testimony of the witnesses. Yield back my time. Still have a minute left. If gentleman in utah wanted to use it. I might just point out that moving physically and conditioning the body is not anywhere near dangerous as subjecting one self to brain injuries. Its interesting but the issue is we want kids to go out and play. We want them to join youth leagues. And we want sports but we want it to be as safe as possible. Absolutely. And to use your last 26 seconds, this is one of those where jan and i both i. We have Deputy Commissioner of nhl. Next to him executive director of u. S. A. Hockey. Then we have mr. Jeff miller, Senior Vice PresidentPlayer Health and safety policy. National football league. Thank you very much for being here. And executive director u. S. A. Football. Then a face of brain injury within soccer. Former professional goal keeper. U. S. A. Womens National Soccer team. And we have another face from High School Level concussions. With that mr. Daily, you are now recognized for your five minutes. Thank you. I would like to thank the chairman and Ranking Members and Sub Committee members inviting me to testify today for the proHockey League. As its playing surface is kurnded by glass hockey is a physical game. At the nfl level. Is your mic on. It was. Our players and fans want us to be physical but more importantly safe. This including safe play and working together with the National Hockey league weve gone to elaborate lengths to do that. We are pleased to share with this Sub Committee some of the measures enacted. National Hockey League was the first to launch a comprehensive leaguewide program to evaluate players after head injuries. All players are required to under go preseason testing and will have preand post injury test results to determine when the player is safe or returns to relevant base line, allowing player to return to play. It was confirmed early on that nural psychological testing results had added value and should be taken into account along with player reported symptoms. The nhl and pa Concussion Committee have taken active steps regarding the diagnose and management and treatment of concussion, education regarding concussions and risks of returning to play before the recovery from a prior concussion is complete have been a core component of the nhl Program Since its inexception. Education is required to all officials. In addition to enforcing additional player rules, such as checking and high sticking, several new playing rules have been adopted to prohibit contact involving a players head. Current rule prohibits body contact with the head when the contact is orange otherwise avoidable. Changes this season. Fighting remains a small part of the game but its roll is diminishing. 68 of the games played in last season have been completely free from fighting. In addition the number of major penalties assessed for fighting is down 15 from last season and down 31 from 200910 season. It would be the leagues intention to raise any changes regarding fighting directly with the National HockeyLeague Players association. Ultimately discipline is in the hands of the players safety. The first of its kind in professional sports. It monitors every one of our regular season games plus every playoff game antonio sure the leagues standards for safety and responsible play are being atd hered to. When the department determines standard has been violated discipline comes in way of fine. And video is shown. As we can see on a nightly basis players are avoiding play thats they no doubt would have engage in just a few years ago. The n the nhl along with nhl pa, are most recently adopting a rule to reduce head injuries. The league support and assistantance for youth and junior inage hockey players. The National Hockey league will be committed to the safety of its players. We firmly believe it is not only the right thing to do for our flares but for our business both in promoting participates at youth hockey and by maximizing interest at the professional level. I thank the chairman, Ranking Members and Sub Committee members for your time. Thank you. Mr. Oger you are recognized for your five minutes. Thank you. It is a privilege to discuss a issue that is top priority every day at u. S. A. Hockey that is the safety of our participants both on and off the ice. We have two particular leaders we wish to thank and who guide a great deal of our decisionmaking. One is our chief medical officer in rochester, minnesota. And the other is doctor in boston who is chair of our safety and protective Equipment Committee. That committee has been in existence at u. S. A. Hockey for 40 years and it is an Important Group helping guide our board in making its decision. We have a Risk Management committee which is concerned with the safety of the surrounding area. In 1999 we began an Organization Called serving the american ranks, or star, which is a trade organization for facilities focussing on a variety of aspects including safety issues. In terms of the safety of our participants we believe we affect the landscape through education, rules and rules enforcement, and Risk Management. Education related to safety happens on a ongoing basis at u. S. A. Hockey and utilize many avenue oohs to communicate. We have direct communicate with every home, player in our organization in our database. We are constantly in communication with them with bulletins and news. Our Coaching Education Program has long been heralded for golden education. Two seasons ago we added an online module which includes safety education. Officials play a Important Role as well and they receive education electronically in our certainty video clips and also in our recording system which tracks penalties to help us assess behavior trends. Over the years our posters have focused on concussion prevention and education, playing rules and our heads up, dont duck program, to name a few. We have modified our rules to adapt on an ongoing basis. In june 2011 we changed from body checking from pea wee to bantamweight level in 2013. Nobody seems to like but research on safety guided our board decision. It is worth noting two years late Hockey Canada followed our lead. Frds regarding equipment. Mission is to seek out and evaluate testing procedures for hockey equipment. It is a completely independent body of attorneys, doctors, manufacturers, testers and sports people. It validates the certification that the equipment they produce has been tested and meets the kwirmts of standards and has been an important part of our Safety Standards for 35 years. In the early 1990s we were one of the first youth organizations to require screening of all adults to have regular access to our youth participants. We follow up on 100 of calls we receive around the country of alleged abuse and our affiliations each have a coordinator that helps us as boots on the ground to help with safest possible environment for your parti