WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) welcomed passage of their bill in the Senate Commerce Committee aimed at protecting young athletes from the dangers of sports-related traumatic brain injuries. The senators, all members of the committee, introduced the Youth Sports Concussion Act earlier this year to help ensure that safety standards for sports equipment, including football helmets, are based on the latest science and curb false advertising claims made by manufacturers to increase protective sports gear sales.
"Today's Commerce Committee passage of our Youth Sports Concussion Act marks an important step toward cracking down on misleading claims and ensuring New Mexico kids can have fun and play sports safely," Udall said. "Sports are an important part of staying active and learning the value of teamwork for many kids. Parents and coaches want to do everything they can to keep their kids safe on the field or the court, and they deserve to have the facts needed to make knowledgable safety decisions. Our bill would help stop companies that take advantage of parents and athletes' concerns about concussions and falsely market products as 'safety' equipment, despite little evidence that the products protect players."
"One thing's certain about Minnesotans - we love our sports. But whether it's football, hockey, or the many other sports we play and love, parents, coaches, and young athletes must be equipped with the facts and informed of the risks when making safety decisions," Klobuchar said. "Today's Commerce Committee passage of our bill will protect our athletes and help make sure they can continue to compete on and off the field safely."
"I am proud that the Senate Commerce Committee voted to advance the Youth Sports Concussions Act," Blumenthal said. "We know all too well that the dangers of head injuries are real. As the science around prevention develops, this important bill will ensure our federal agencies can crack down on athletic equipment manufacturers that peddle quackery. No company should be able to use deceptive claims to exploit parents' natural instincts to protect their children. Our youngest athletes ' our future sports heroes ' deserve accurate information to make informed decisions so that the sports they play today can be sports they play for a lifetime."
Udall, Klobuchar and Blumenthal introduced the Youth Sports Concussion Act ahead of Super Bowl 50, amid discussion among doctors, players, researchers and others about the need to protect players ' especially young athletes ' from experiencing debilitating head injuries. Athletes suffer up to 3.8 million concussions every year, and sports are the second-leading cause of traumatic brain injuries among youth ages 15-24.
An extensive National Academy of Sciences report previously found a lack of scientific evidence that helmets and other protective devices designed for young athletes reduce concussion risk ' yet some manufacturers continue to use false advertising claims that prevent athletes, parents and coaches from making informed safety decisions.
In 2012, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warned nearly 20 sports equipment manufacturers that they might be making deceptive concussion prevention claims, but the FTC's actions thus far have not deterred companies from making these claims. The Youth Sports Concussion Act would empower the FTC to seek civil penalties in such cases.
Udall has led efforts in Congress to improve equipment safety standards and curb false advertising claims, focusing on ensuring parents, coaches and players have the information they need to make important decisions about how to prevent head injuries. A previous version of the Youth Sports Concussion Act passed the Senate Commerce Committee in April 2014. Last year, Udall and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) called on the FTC to investigate potentially misleading safety claims used to sell soccer headgear. Udall also worked to include several concussion prevention provisions in December's appropriations bill.
Many sports, medical and consumer organizations have supported the Youth Sports Concussion Act, including:
American Academy of Neurology
American Academy of Pediatrics
Brain Injury Association of America
Brain Trauma Foundation
Cleveland Clinic
Consumer Federation of America
Consumers Union
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball Players Association
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer Players Union
National Association of State Head Injury Administrators
National Athletic Trainers' Association
National Basketball Association
National Collegiate Athletic Association
National Consumers League
National Federation of State High School Associations
National Football League
National Football League Players Association
National Hockey League
National Hockey League Players' Association
National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association
National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment
Safe Kids Worldwide
United States Brain Injury Alliance
US Lacrosse
US Soccer Federation
USA Hockey
Xenith