Announcements

Outside the Lines and FRONTLINE launch #ConcussionWatch website

Today’s launch of the Concussion Watch website offers fans an interactive tool to monitor concussions.

Continuing with a collaboration announced last month, ESPN’s Outside the Lines and PBS’ FRONTLINE today launched an interactive website to track NFL concussions.

“Concussion Watch” is a public website and database that will document every confirmed concussion identified by this season’s NFL injury reports.

In addition to the site’s debut, both Frontline.org and ESPN.com feature a story by OTL’s Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru that examines the NFL injury reports and looks at how head injuries are being handled by the NFL and its clubs.

From the story:

“Three years after Congress pressured the NFL to overhaul its concussion program, the league effort remains marked by inconsistencies in how it tracks, manages and even describes serious head injuries, making it difficult to assess the league’s progress on the issue, an analysis by ESPN’s Outside the Lines and PBS FRONTLINE shows.

“The analysis found that NFL officials this season have released conflicting data about head injuries, and medical personnel have sent some injured players back into games — possibly in violation of new league guidelines. . .”

“We realized there was a lack of information publicly available about player head injuries in the NFL,” said FRONTLINE producer Tom Jennings. “Seeing that deficit, we decided to find out for ourselves just what was happening. These trends will be explored, highlighted and written about more as the ‘Concussion Watch Tracker’ evolves.”

Fans are able to search the compilation by week, team, opponent and position. Additionally, there will be a database built from user “tips” to look at questionable hits and possible concussions. On Twitter, fans can contribute and follow developments in OTL’s and FRONTLINE’s reporting by using the hashtag #ConcussionWatch.

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