Tag Archives: GELDEFENDER

Perhaps it was just a matter of time—with over $750 million committed by the NFL to settle a lawsuit from over 400 players.  Now, three former college football players are suing the NCAA, saying it failed to educate them about the risks of concussions and didn't do enough to prevent, diagnose, and treat brain injuries.

The players who filed the class-action suit in federal court in Chattanooga are Chris Walker and Ben Martin, who recently played for Tennessee, and Dan Ahern, who played for North Carolina State in the 70’s.

The complaint alleges that the NCAA failed to meet its obligation to former players and that because of its neglect the players are suffering the consequences. While details are still in short supply, the suit asks for a medical monitoring program for former football players, to be funded by the NCAA.

A question yet to be answered is why the NCAA was targeted in the suit, but not the players’ respective universities, which may have had more direct knowledge of the players’ health and injuries.

Beyond that, if these players successfully execute suits involving the NCAA, their universities, their athletic departments, their trainers, and/or their coaches, then what is next?  Former high school players, middle school players, even youth players in the city leagues?  And who will be the target —schools, trainers, coaches, even city governments and school boards?

The NFL settlement was certainly the first major step in addressing some of the issues faced by the various participants in this complex subject. Where the next foot will fall will likely become apparent in the near future.

*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^TM 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.

GelDefender head pads have breached new frontier: the paintball field. Canadian paintball team Urban Conflict tried out our head pads on the field and performed their version of ballistics testing, and the pads passed with flying colors. The team even made two in-depth videos about the head pads’ usefulness and performance.

Paintballs fly at about 250 ft/sec, so getting hit in the head is no laughing matter. And since most wear only face masks for protection, their heads are left completely exposed to head shots. Though often these shots are celebrated by those who shoot them and worn as badges of honor by those who are shot, the risks associated can outweigh the benefits.

So Urban Conflict decided to do something about it. After researching products, they decided to get several head pads from us and put them through their paces. The results speak for themselves. Both in combat, where those wearing head pads had no injuries from head shots, and in the improvised tests, during which the pads were pitted against all manner of guns at all sorts of distances, the GelDefender head pads went above and beyond the call of duty in protecting the players.

In the first video, the team spends the first 5 minutes and 30 seconds or so discussing the need for head protection in paintball and the rest of the video talking about the merits of GelDefender head pads in particular. The second video chronicles their testing the pads on a dummy Styrofoam head. About 4 minutes in, one man even agrees to be shot in the head. His response: “I barely felt that.”

*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^TM 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.

Undefeated heavyweight boxer Amir "Hardcore" Mansour, the first boxer to train using GelDefender head pads, won a unanimous decision August 23 over Maurice Harris, improving his record to 19-0 (14 KO). The fight, which also was a defense of Mansour’s WBF Intercontinental title, was the feature of a nine-bout card at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino in Dover, DE.

The 12-round victory earned Mansour the USBA (United States Boxing Association, a division of the WBA) heavyweight title and an elimination fight for the WBF title at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino in November. The winner of that elimination fight becomes the mandatory opponent for WBF heavyweight champ Carlos Takam for a title fight in January or February of 2014.

This was the first time in his career that Mansour was pushed to fight a full 12 rounds, and only the second time that he needed to go the distance in a fight. The lengthy fight was made more difficult for Mansour due to a tough, veteran opponent and Mansour’s severe kidney inflammation and dehydration.

With his win, his spot in the computer rankings jumped to No. 5 in the U.S., No. 6 in North America, and No. 19 in the world.

*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^TM 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.

Japan became the 2013 Little League Baseball World Series Champion for the second time in a row yesterday after a 6-4 victory over Chula Vista, Calif., in front of 28,119 people. Chula Vista is the 2013 United States champion.

All the teams performed admirably throughout the tournament, the last little bit of summer for most of them. Eastlake Little League from Sammamish, Washington, the only team to be provided with GelDefender head pads, was unfortunately eliminated Friday in a 13-14 extra-inning nail-biter against New England. Congratulations to all players from around globe for a job well done!

*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^TM 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.

Correction: The game between Washington and Connecticut has been rescheduled for Friday at 3 p.m. Eastern on ESPN.

The 2013 Little League World Series is getting close to its climax with only two more days of elimination rounds before the championship game Sunday. Here’s the updated list of the teams still in it:

Tonight, the teams still in the series that have already lost will play elimination games, and the winners along with Chula Vista and Japan will play the semifinal round on Saturday.

Eastlake Little League from Washington pulled out another win Tuesday night against Tennessee and are set to play again tomorrow at 3 p.m. Eastern on ESPN against Connecticut. Be sure to watch the only Little League in the World Series to be given GelDefender head pads!

*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^TM 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.

The Little League World Series continues after a day filled with eliminations yesterday and yet another victory for the Washington Eastlake Little League team. Here are the teams still in the series:

New England
2-0
Northwest
2-1
Southeast
2-1
West
2-0
Asia-Pacific
2-1
Latin America
2-1
Japan
2-0
Mexico
2-0

Two more will be eliminated tonight as Chinese Taipei squares off with Panama and Eastlake takes on the team from Nashville. Remember to keep an eye on Eastlake, the only team in the series who have be given GelDefender head pads, as they play again at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.

*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^TM 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.

The Little League World Series is officially underway after its start last Thursday and will continue until its climax Sunday, Aug. 25, with the championship. Here are the records to this point (keep in mind that this is double elimination):

US Teams

Great Lakes
0-2
Mid-Atlantic
1-1
Midwest
1-1
New England
2-0
Northwest
1-1
Southeast
1-1
Southwest
0-2
West
2-0

International Teams

Asia-Pacific
1-1
Australia
0-2
Canada
1-1
Caribbean
1-1
Europe & Africa
0-2
Latin America
1-1
Japan
2-0
Mexico
2-0

But the team to watch for is Eastlake Little League of the Northwest from Sammamish, Washington, which has been provided with 29 GelDefender products to finish out the tournament. Eastlake beat the team from the Southwest Thursday 8-4 but lost yesterday 7-9 against New England. However, the team is not out of the tournament yet, and they play again tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern against the Midwest team (to be televised on ESPN2). Keep an eye on these players as they advance, and check in with us periodically for updates on both their progress and the rest of the World Series!

*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^TM 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.

Our final GelDefender Impact Player is Class of 2006 Hall of Famer Harry Carson. During his 13 years with the New York Giants, Carson suffered his share of concussions (about 10), and now he’s paying for it with post-concussion syndrome.

He has made it his mission to educate others about the dangers of head injury in sports, having experienced the consequences (even, by his own admission, suicidal thoughts). He speaks at high schools and concussion forums to raise awareness and reaches out to those who are already suffering to get them help. He says if he knew the cost when he first started playing, he wouldn’t have played football at all. And though there’s nothing he can do about that decision now, he can and is spreading the word both to those who are now making that choice, so they can make educated decisions, and to those who have already suffered head injury.

It was almost assumed that, when 4,000 other former NFL players started a lawsuit against the NFL, the outspoken Carson would join up – he was even asked to be a lead complainant. But he said no. Asked why?

“People will think that I'm only speaking out for my own financial well-being," he said to Newsweek. "It's more important for me to deliver the message but allow it to stay pure and not have it be influenced by money."

So for his tireless efforts to promote head injury awareness and his open and honest participation in the conversation surrounding the consequences, we name Harry Carson our final Impact Player.

*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^TM 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.

The next GelDefender Impact Player is former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner. Though he is no longer playing, he still is heavily involved in football conversation and has a significant voice.

In his last season playing, Warner was the target of a suspected bounty hit – a very hard hit – in a game against the Saints. He knows more than anyone how the football’s culture has traditionally encouraged magnifying the violence inherent in the sport, rather than tempering it. He knows what it’s like to play through a potential head injury because stepping out of the game would be frowned upon. He also knows the long-term effects TBI can have, because one of his sons has suffered nearly his whole life from head injury.

So, knowing what he knows about head injury and with these experiences under his belt, he said on the Dan Patrick Show in 2012 that he worried over his sons playing the game that gave him his livelihood. He said that he had come down definitively on the question plaguing the minds of parents everywhere: Do I want my child playing football, knowing what I know about the risk of long-term head injury? He said no, he doesn’t, but that it’s still his children’s decision.

He came under heavy fire for that assertion. His critics called him uneducated and accused him of “throwing football under the bus” after all it’s done for him. And though Warner later issued a statement detailing all the things about football he still loved, he held firm that the violence is a serious matter that needs thought and attention.

"I think it's going to take a whole culture change from top to bottom to say our No. 1 priority is the player," he once told CNN. "That it's not money and it's not how far you go in the playoffs."
And so for his honest and open discussion in regard to head injuries and his continued insistence on the need for greater head safety for players, we name Kurt Warner as the third GelDefender Impact Player.

*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^TM 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.

Our next GelDefender Impact Player is the current highest-paid player in the NFL, the record-setting Drew Brees. As quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, he is making a stand against head injury, particularly in youth sports.

One of the biggest initiatives he’s taken is a recent partnership with the Dick's Sporting Goods Foundation’s program called PACE – Protecting Athletes Through Concussion Education. The program supplies more than 3,300 middle and high schools and youth sports organizations with free concussion testing using the ImPact system. The concussion evaluation device, used by all NFL and many NHL teams, takes a scientific baseline measurement of cognitive function before a potential concussion to compare with after a hit.

That’s not the only step Brees has taken in educating young players about head injury. In April, he dropped in unexpectedly on a Helmets on Heads program in New Orleans to talk with students about helmet safety and the importance of academics. And last Tuesday he joined a was part of a panel discussing head injury issues, along with former U.S. national goalkeeper Briana Scurry, former NHL goalie Mike Richter, and former NFL linebacker Carl Banks.

It’s no secret that young athletes pay attention when high-profile players like Brees talk. So when he tells them that “getting their bells rung” could really mean “concussion” and shouldn’t be brushed off, they’ll listen, possibly better than when their parents or even their coaches tell them. And for his willingness to dedicate time and energy toward raising awareness among our youth, he has earned his place as the second GelDefender Impact Player.

*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^TM 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.