NBPA Plans to Investigate League's Concussion Protocol

On the heels of Golden State Warriors guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson suffering head injuries in the Western Conference Finals, the National Basketball Players Association is set to investigate the effectiveness of the league's current concussion protocol.  

Curry took a scary spill onto his head in Game 4 against the Houston Rockets last week, while Thompson was diagnosed with a concussion after taking a shot to the head in Game 5 of that same series. Both players were permitted to return to action, and the NBA union is concerned that the league isn't doing all it can to protect players from further head injuries.

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

According to Josh Dubow of the Associated Press, NBPA union chief Michele Roberts wants to make sure safeguards are in place to ensure players aren't being put in harm's way after suffering concussions:

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That number [of players with head injuries returning to games] is sufficient to make us all look at whether we want to risk a player's health for a game. To say it happens so rarely or doesn't happen frequently enough to change the rules is not enough. We're talking potentially about someone's life. I don't think we should play an odds game when it comes to a player's life.

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While NBA Commissioner Adam Silver concedes that the league is always in favor of improving its protocol, he revealed on ESPN's Mike & Mike (via ESPN.com) Tuesday that he is confident about the way the NBA handles head injuries:

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We're always looking to improve. I mean, we're very satisfied with our protocol. I just saw those comments this morning. (Roberts) didn't call me and tell me she wanted an investigation, but I read that this morning that she wants one. If somebody has a better way of doing things we always want to improve and listen to it, but we've been very satisfied with the way we've treated concussions. People know that concussions—and you know from the NFL—often they manifest themselves later and don't come up in the initial testing, which is why part of the protocol is to continue to test for concussions for several days to see if it then later manifests itself.

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That style of testing led to the discovery of Thompson's concussion, but it didn't prevent the on-court physician from allowing him to re-enter Game 5.

Concussions are volatile and difficult to diagnose, which makes settling on the perfect protocol extremely difficult, but Roberts clearly doesn't feel as though the current one is working.

While Silver maintains that he is comfortable with the current means of testing, he also seems open to possible changes. There is incentive to keep players healthy from the NBA's perspective, as they are the league's moneymakers, while the NBPA's primary focus is protecting the players it represents.

With such obvious common ground between them, there is hope that the two sides will be able to settle on something that is mutually beneficial as more is learned about concussions and how to treat them.

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