Kevin Kolb, Stewart Bradley's Concussions: Why Rick Burkholder Should Be Fired

Philadelphia head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder should be fired on the spot.

Any Eagles fan knows that he has the reputation as one of the best trainers in the NFL and I'm sure he is very good at his job, but after the events that transpired during the Eagles/Packers game on Sunday there is no doubt that he should lose his job.

In the second quarter, Burkholder put two players at serious risk of life-threatening brain injuries. Both Stewart Bradley and Kevin Kolb suffered concussions on the field and both players were inexplicably put back in the game.  

This was completely irresponsible and outrageous conduct.  

What makes it even worse is the professional credentials that Rick Burkholder has within the concussion "community".   For a trainer of his stature to be so blatantly incompetent is unforgivable on so many levels.  

On this day, Rick Bulkholder and his staff dropped ball and it could have come at the cost of Kevin Kolb's and Stewart Bradley's livelihood.

Unfortunately, this monumental oversight was not some mistake in the heat of the battle.  The warning signs have been in place for a significant amount of time now and the Eagles medical staff are supposed to be leaders on concussion matters within the NFL.

The following quotes are from Rick Burkholder in a press conference conducted last season on October 29th, 2009 following the Brian Westbrook concussion situation.

In 2001 in Vienna and then follow up in 2004 in Prague and then 2008 in Zurich a group of physicians and clinicians worldwide got together to put to rest some of the myths and some of the different grading systems, return to play, that kind of thing to make it easier for parents, coaches, athletic trainers, therapists physicians to come up with universal treatment plan for concussions. We follow that. We follow their guidelines.

"Also, I am one of two athletic trainers in the National Football League that sits on the NFL's committee on concussions. I see it two or three times a year in those meetings and I take that part of my job as one of the highest levels of concern for our players and for me as a clinician. That injury has a lot of focus within the media and within the players union and within the players' safety group, but it's a big issue with their livelihood and that's one of the things that I concern myself with as their healthcare provider. We've gone to great lengths to make sure that we know what we're dealing with.

One thing that the Concussion Committee and the National Football League has determined is that, for the most part, the physicians for the NFL teams are doing a great job of managing these things on the sideline.  We don't try to put people out there hurt and we try to do the best medical job we can to get guys healthy as quickly as possible.  If I can carry the torch for my profession a little bit because I've been fortunate enough to have been named to that committee by the commissioner and able to work with the commissioner, I will.

Kevin Kolb suffered a concussion from a Packers linebacker Clay Mathews midway through the second quarter.  He was put back in the game for the final offensive series of the first half and eventually taken out of the game completely after being officially diagnosed with a concussion in the locker room.

Middle linebacker Stewart Bradley suffered a more visibly obvious concussion after colliding with fellow teammate Ernie Sims.  Gasps filled Lincoln Financial field after Bradley attempted to get up from the hit, only to stumble awkwardly back down to the ground.  It did not take a medical professional to know what just happened.  For reasons that I cannot provide, he was also allowed to re-enter the game.  Like Kolb, he was ruled out of the second half due to further examination in the Eagles locker room.

This is absolutely absurd practice and the Eagles organization need to address the situation as soon as possible before another player gets put at serious risk.  I might need to double check the calendar, but I don't believe Sunday's game was the Super Bowl.  This was not a situation where circumstances called for all hands on deck no matter what the cost.  It was the first game of a long 16 game schedule. 

After the game, head coach Andy Reid was quoted saying, "Well, they were fine," Reid said after the game. "All the questions they answered and the things they did with the docs registered well. Then as it went on they weren't feeling well so we took them out."

Ok, Reid may get a bit of a pass because he is going on the medical clearance provided by his staff.   However, even he should have recognized what happened to Bradley was not your average hit.  Would it have killed them to hold them both out a few more minutes until halftime?

Just so we all know how serious the risks are, what Kolb and Bradley could have suffered is what is known as 'second-impact syndrome'.   It is defined as, "the result when an athlete who has suffered a concussion returns to activity too soon and receives another blow to the head that can result in much greater trauma to the brain than that initially experienced."

Translate another way, these players could have suffered permanent brain injuries and in the most severe case - death.   The consequences of a second impact following a concussion are often many times more damaging than the initial blow.  

If Rick Burkholder is such a leader in this matter, what the heck were these players doing back out on the field?   Given his expertise in the topic, there is no other alternative but to let him go.  

Some may say that firing the guy is a bit extreme, but consider what could have happened on the field?  It would not only have had potentially dire consequences for the players and their families, but it would have also put the organization and league in a spotlight that they have no interest in.  

To the league's credit, they have put into effect more strict guidelines regarding player removal following a concussion.  In the offseason they distributed posters in every locker room raising even more player awareness of the importance of disclosing symptoms during a game. 

So what gives?  Does someone need to experience brain damage before this is taken seriously?  We are not talking about flag football here.  Anyone who has seen a game from the sidelines know that every collision is like a car accident. 

With Michael Vick getting all the headlines on Monday, it's a shame that an issue like this gets included as a footnote.  In retrospect, this may be a good thing because this situation could have very easily been front page news.

Not surprisingly, Rick Burkholder was not made available to the media following the game.   One can only hope that he publicly apologizes for his lack of utter professionalism on Monday.  

He should be thankful that this is the worst consequence of the situation and that he still has a job in the morning.