WASHINGTON
- At an oversight hearing of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall, D-N.M., raised the pressing safety issue of football helmet safety for young athletes with CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum.
Showcasing University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University football helmets on the dais, Udall highlighted the need for improved standards to protect younger athletes from not only direct blows to the head, but also other hits that can cause concussion, such as blows that spin the head and brain.
"Fall is football time in America. Every year, more than one million high school kids put on their gear and take to the gridiron - including about 8,000 in my home state of New Mexico," Udall said in his remarks. "But football is a contact sport and thousands of student athletes are injured every year. Many of those injuries are concussions."
At the hearing, Udall asked Tenenbaum for CPSC to review the adequacy of voluntary industry standards for football helmets, specifically for high school and younger athletes. To watch a video of Udall's question and answer with Tenenbaum, click here .
Tenenbaum confirmed that the CPSC is taking initial steps on the issue and that CPSC safety experts will meet with the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) to ensure that the Committee works to improve its safety standards for football helmets.
Earlier this week Udall called attention to the issue in a letter to Tenebaum. To view the letter, click here .
New Mexico is one of nine states that has adopted a sports concussion law to help prevent brain injuries to student athletes. The state law requires that coaches receive awareness training and that any student athlete who suffers a concussion stay on the sidelines for at least one week and until a medical professional approves their return to play. Football has the highest incidence of concussions, which also occur less frequently in other sports such as baseball and soccer.
