The NBA saw another case of high stakes overriding health concerns last week when LeBron James careened head-first into a sideline camera during Game 4 of the Finals.

After the impact, he immediately began rolling on the ground clutching his head in pain. When he finally made it back to the sidelines, he was bleeding from the head, but he was not taken out of play for evaluation. After getting a quick once-over, during which he told trainers that he was alert and only had a slight headache, he was sent back onto the court.

Now, this was a particularly tricky situation, in that James was due to shoot free-throws immediately after the injury. If he had not returned to shoot those, he would have been unable to return to play for the rest of the game. And taking the best basketball player in the world out of an NBA Finals game without the possibility of return seems foolish unless a head injury is confirmed.

With that in mind, perhaps it wasn’t absolutely essential for him to be evaluated before those foul shots. But after he took the shots, no move was made to send in a sub so that he could be checked out. A blow to the head that had left him practically writhing on the ground in pain mere minutes before had been seemingly forgotten as the game surged forward.

The NBA protocol requires that anybody exhibiting symptoms of a concussion be evaluated before returning to play, but the vagueness of that language and the unreliability of players’ self-reporting creates too much room for error. Perhaps it’s time to rethink those protocols.

*Scientists have no conclusive evidence as to whether or how the reduction of g-forces during impacts reduces the number or degree of concussions and head injuries. GelDefender products provide supplemental padding as well as cooling and comfort benefits when used with helmets and caps. Participants in activities in which head impacts can occur should always use tested and approved helmets for protection. However, no helmet or supplemental padding can protect the user from all serious head or neck injuries that can result from impacts.