Advocates: Student athletes need bill of rights



While many of the requirements are already standard practice in many places, the document being presented Wednesday to lawmakers on Capitol Hill is the first comprehensive and national plan aimed at protecting students who participate on their schools' teams. The group is urging each state to adopt the "Secondary School Student Athletes' Bill of Rights."




The decline is in part because 43 states have passed laws that require a doctor's note before an athlete returns to play after a concussion injury.



"Think about this: You get an injury in the NFL, you have two guys at your side right away," the former Harvard football player and WWE professional wrestler added. "We do not provide a single professional medical person to half of high schools. ... Every time we don't have an athletic trainer, we're leaving 80 percent of concussions on the field. The number one place where we're failing them is we aren't getting them off the field."



"You wouldn't put a football team out on the field if you don't have enough money to buy helmets. Why are you putting a football team on the field if you don't have enough money to hire a fulltime certified athletic trainer?" asked Dawn Comstock, an expert on school sports who teaches at the Colorado School of Public Health.



President Barack Obama himself weighed in recently of the safety issue, saying that he'd think twice if he had a son who wanted to play football.



"There's not a concussion-proof helmet that's out there," he said. "My colleagues think I'm crazy for letting my kids play football."