The TV Column

AETN film takes on sports-related brain injuries

Girls soccer produces a surprising number of traumatic head injuries. That and other concussion facts are discussed in Bell Ringer: The Invisible Brain Injury airing at 7 p.m. today on AETN.
Girls soccer produces a surprising number of traumatic head injuries. That and other concussion facts are discussed in Bell Ringer: The Invisible Brain Injury airing at 7 p.m. today on AETN.

Many of us remember that macho junior high coach who grabbed us by the shoulder pads and growled, "Geez, son, you only had your bell rung. Walk it off and get back in the game."

Fortunately, times have changed and the education process concerning head trauma is well underway -- education that just might keep that kid from becoming a statistic.

Bell Ringer: The Invisible Brain Injury is an enlightening documentary exploring concussions. It premieres at 7 p.m. today on AETN. The hour is well worth the time for anyone who plays sports, or parents with children in activities involving contact.

It should come as no surprise that serious contact can -- and does -- occur in seemingly innocuous "safe" sports.

An hour-long panel discussion follows the special at 8 in Arkansans Ask: Concussions.

The documentary, written and directed by AETN's Justin Blake Crum, was produced in response to the Arkansas Concussion Protocol Act of 2013, as well as Act 1214 of 2011, which, among other things, requires coaches and athletic trainers to complete and periodically update their training on the symptoms of concussions.

"We have to all work together to identify those scenarios and situations that can be dangerous to student athletes," says Joey Walters, deputy director of the Arkansas Activities Association, in the film. "You cannot ignore concussions. You cannot ignore the effect they have on students."

The special, which is fast-paced and engrossing, also has interviews with former pro athletes, medical experts and researchers. Bell Ringer illustrates the short-term effects and long-term dangers of concussions, explaining how to deal with them when they occur and the best methods of preventing them.

Sadly, the film's most poignant segment deals with Star City football player Zack Towers.

Towers was injured in a game on Nov. 1, 2012, and spent months in a coma. The head trauma led to his death on Feb. 14, 2014, at the age of 19. His mother and stepfather, Christy Rasico and Roger Rasico, and brothers Ty and Jon Taylor Towers, share their deeply personal testimonies.

Also featured are Arkansas native Monte Coleman, three­-time Super Bowl champion and current University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff football head coach, and former soccer player Michelle Akers, two-time Women's World Cup champion. Both received multiple concussions during their careers.

They aren't alone. The special informs us that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as many as 3.8 million brain injuries occur in athletics every year. They are more common among children and students than star athletes.

"Two years ago when someone mentioned the word concussion to me, I immediately thought about football," Crum says in his producer's blog. "But concussions happen in a variety of sports and rates are particularly high in soccer, specifically girls soccer."

About his interview with Akers, who said she has suffered "double digit" concussions, Crum adds, "When she began to describe the concussions she received during her playing career, everything I saw on the field beforehand was reaffirmed."

"She told us about one impact in particular that broke her face, specifically her orbital bone, nose and cheek, because just like the young players I just mentioned, she headed her opponent's skull rather than the ball."

Akers describes playing with headaches, feeling foggy and having debilitating migraines after tournaments. She even felt as if her head was frequently swollen, which persisted until she finally retired.

"Players will always want to play," Crum says, "no matter how they feel. The greatest danger is a player continuing to play with concussion symptoms. A brain injury that is mishandled, that isn't reported or detected (and therefore not allowed to heal) has the potential to lead to post-concussion syndrome or even diminished cognitive function later in life."

AETN executive director Allen Weatherly adds, "AETN produces programs like Bell Ringer to help inform Arkansas educators, students and families and positively [affect] health and safety in our state."

Weatherly also says Bell Ringer will be available online for professional development credit for Arkansas state licensed educators via the ArkansasIDEAS portal at ideas.aetn.org.

Among other places, Bell Ringer was filmed at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, University of Central Arkansas in Conway, North Little Rock High School, Little Rock Hall High School, West Memphis High School and Cabot High School.

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Weekend on 04/07/2016

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