McVey Forced to Quit Football

Beaumont, TEXAS-  On the last day of school in May, Duncan McVey’s purpose for going to Lamar University took a hit he couldn’t ward off.

No longer would McVey, a junior tight end for the Cardinals, be able to play college football. He had sustained five concussions, including two since last August.

Lamar athletic trainer Joshua Yonker told McVey that neurologists medically disqualified him over fears that another concussion could do permanent damage.

The severity of McVey’s diagnosis was a jarring reality for his Lamar teammates, who saw the immediate and potentially long-term effects up close and personal.

A study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association in July found traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) – the degenerative brain disease caused by repeated head trauma – in 90 percent of all deceased players’ brains studied and 110 of 111 NFL players. CTE can only be diagnosed after death.

The revelations are having an impact. NFL players have begun retiring early – Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman John Urschel retired last month at 26 – because of long-term health concerns.

McVey’s shortened career hit home with teammates because it happened to one of their own.

“I wish I was 6-foot-6 and real lanky so I could play basketball,” Lamar junior wide receiver DeWan Thompson said. “But I’m not, so I’m playing football.

“I know the risks involved with the sport and it’s definitely scary. Something like what happened with Duncan doesn’t make it any easier.”

More awareness, greater danger

McVey’s first concussion occurred in junior high, when he passed out in his bathroom and hit his head on the tile floor.

Two more concussions in high school, including one in the final game of his career at Deer Park High School, didn’t deter him from football.

McVey’s fifth and final concussion came during spring practice in April after a

defender caught him by back of helmet and threw him to the turf.

“I knew I was concussed right away,” McVey said. “It wasn’t a good feeling at all.”

Sophomore quarterback Adam Morse received a concussion after taking a hit in Lamar’s game against McNeese State last November.

He doesn’t remember the incident, which was serious enough that Morse could not walk off the field without assistance.

It was the first concussion for Morse, a three-year starter at Port Neches-Groves High School.

“It was definitely a scary situation,” Morse said. “It made me more concerned about getting another one in the future.”

Morse’s concern is valid, according to Yonker.

Yonker, in his 12th season as Lamar’s athletic trainer, said concussion recovery time generally increases with each one.

Morse said it took him two weeks to fully recover from his concussion.

McVey was still feeling effects from his fifth concussion a month after the incident.

Morse and McVey are good friends, so the quarterback saw firsthand the effect it had on McVey.

“You want to go out there and play each game and not worry about stuff like that,” Morse said. “It’s not an easy thing to do, though.”

Thompson, who at 5-foot-7 is Lamar’s shortest player, said he hasn’t had to deal with a concussion but that his first concern on the football field is his safety.

He’s seen the football movie “Concussion” with Will Smith and is aware of studies that link head injuries in football to long-term health problems.

Of the 53 college-level players who were involved in the July study, 48 (91 percent) had CTE.

“There’s more awareness from athletes now because of how much information is available to them,” Yonker said. “That’s the biggest change I’ve noticed in the last 10 to 15 years.”

Junior cornerback Rodney Randle, who has sustained one concussion, said he’s more willing to disclose a head injury because of McVey.

“I haven’t talked to Duncan much since everything happened with him,” Randle said. “I need to do that and really see what he’s gone through.”

Yonker isn’t allowed to speak about the condition of Lamar’s student-athletes because of HIPAA laws, but he said medically disqualifying a player from a contact sport because of concussions is “very serious.”

Lamar conducts a pair of preseason neurological baseline tests – the ImPACT assessment and the NeuroCom VSR Sport Stability Evaluation Test (SET) – to assess players’ condition.

The ImPACT assessment is a computerized test that allows a training staff to test for head injuries, like concussions.

The test is administered again after a player is suspected of sustaining a concussion, Yonker said.

Yonker said the football team’s concussion protocol begins when a player suffers a hard blow to the head or complains of potential concussion symptoms, like headaches, dizziness and nausea.

Yonker said technology like the ImPACT assessment lets players understand the severity of concussions in a tangible way.

McVey said it was Yonker’s idea to have him undergo further neurological testing after his last concussion.

“I know Yonker had my best interest in mind,” McVey said. “I was hard-headed about the whole situation but just seeing his concern made me realize a bit more it was a big deal.”

First-year Lamar football coach Mike Schultz said his team has employed a “tag” strategy during practice to limit contact.

That means defensive players will touch offensive players to count as a tackle instead of hitting them.

Yonker constantly reminds defenders that proper tackling technique – not leading with the head – will keep them healthy.

The hope is less contact will lead to fewer injuries, especially head injuries.

“Concussions are going to happen in football because of how the game is played,” Schultz said. “But there are things we can do to limit the amount of repeated contact and we’re going to continue executing those things.”

Schultz biggest concern is players speaking up if symptoms aren’t apparent to the naked eye.

Communication is key, according to Schultz, in limiting serious head injuries.

“Every time we step on the field there are risks,” Randle said. “Everyone knows that, which is why you have to tell the trainers and coaches when you’re not feeling good.”

Schultz has kept McVey in the football program since his diagnosis last May.

McVey does video work during practice and will be on scholarship until he graduates next summer.

McVey said he doesn’t feel effects from his concussions on a daily basis but concerns over his long-term health have begun to arise.

While working as a waiter at The Rodair Roadhouse in Port Arthur over the summer, he would try to memorize smaller tables’ orders.

He said he often couldn’t remember the orders and would have to go back and ask to have them repeated.

“I don’t know whether that happened because of the concussions or just because I was busy and got a little flustered,” McVey said. “That wasn’t fun in any case, though.”

The July study that linked 91 percent of college football players with CTE is worrisome to McVey and his former teammates.

Thompson said he is most concerned about head injuries’ lasting and undetectable effects.

CTE sufferers don’t usually start feeling its symptoms – paranoia, memory loss, suicidal thoughts – until years after they are through playing.

“We’re not in school and playing football just for four years of our life,” Morse said. “We’re here to set a foundation for at least the next 10 to 15 years and hopefully more.

“The more aware we are of what we can do to help ourselves is better.”

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