@@ Good sportsmanship v. Bad medical care

[whattheheck]

amp.cnn.com/cnn/2022/08/10/us/little-league-hug-batter-pitcher/index.html

In a regional little league playoff game a batter was hit in the head with a ball when the pitcher lost control of the ball. The batter immediately hit the ground and was attended to by medical staff. The batter eventually got up, went to first base, and after seeing the pitcher having difficulty dealing with what had happened went over and gave him a hug. Great. Wonderful sportsmanship and my heart does go out to the pitcher.

BUT BUT BUT - hello?!?! Concussion protocol?!! How was the batter allowed to remain in the game given all we know about concussions and youth and repeat concussions and CTE? Nobody else is mentioning this in the stories. My pediatrician posted this on his Facebook page and I asked if in his medical opinion the batter should still have been playing? No answer. Maybe I’m overreacting.

[Susie]

I saw this, I think on WaPo, and while I don't claim to think I know best and I wasn't there, I had the same reaction.  I would think a hit to the head hard enough to knock a helmet off would warrant being benched until medically cleared.  This isn't an area I would be comfortable brushing off.

You might want to @ the post title.

[whattheheck]

Aug 10, 2022 10:10:22 GMT -5 Susie said:

I saw this, I think on WaPo, and while I don't claim to think I know best and I wasn't there, I had the same reaction.  I would think a hit to the head hard enough to knock a helmet off would warrant being benched until medically cleared.  This isn't an area I would be comfortable brushing off.

You might want to @ the post title.

Edited title - thank you for the reminder.

[osulori]

My hope is that, regardless of how much of the hit was absorbed by the helmet versus the batter's head, the coaches would have done at least basic concussion checks before letting the batter take his base. But in my experiences with rec baseball, if the batter ultimately gets up without issue and doesn't show overt signs of concussion outside of the obvious then coaches will usually let them continue if they feel they can. I don't think it's okay and the batter should have obviously been pulled for a more extensive exam but I wouldn't be surprised if that's what happened.

It's also possible that more of an examination went on than has been shown in the video, or at least the video I saw.

[whattheheck]

Aug 10, 2022 10:16:27 GMT -5 osulori said:

My hope is that, regardless of how much of the hit was absorbed by the helmet versus the batter's head, the coaches would have done at least basic concussion checks before letting the batter take his base. But in my experiences with rec baseball, if the batter ultimately gets up without issue and doesn't show overt signs of concussion outside of the obvious then coaches will usually let them continue if they feel they can. I don't think it's okay and the batter should have obviously been pulled for a more extensive exam but I wouldn't be surprised if that's what happened.

It's also possible that more of an examination went on than has been shown in the video, or at least the video I saw.

The video I saw showed him laying on the ground for over a minute. I’m sure the trainers assessed him. But I’m still surprised he wasn’t pulled out of the game.

[osulori]

Aug 10, 2022 10:21:20 GMT -5 whattheheck said:

Aug 10, 2022 10:16:27 GMT -5 osulori said:

My hope is that, regardless of how much of the hit was absorbed by the helmet versus the batter's head, the coaches would have done at least basic concussion checks before letting the batter take his base. But in my experiences with rec baseball, if the batter ultimately gets up without issue and doesn't show overt signs of concussion outside of the obvious then coaches will usually let them continue if they feel they can. I don't think it's okay and the batter should have obviously been pulled for a more extensive exam but I wouldn't be surprised if that's what happened.

It's also possible that more of an examination went on than has been shown in the video, or at least the video I saw.

The video I saw showed him laying on the ground for over a minute. I’m sure the trainers assessed him. But I’m still surprised he wasn’t pulled out of the game.

I didn't see that one but yeah I agree, he should have been pulled out of the game. I really wish youth athletics (baseball especially) took concussions more seriously-my husband coached rec baseball for the first time this summer and we were both really surprised and disappointed about the lack of actual instruction they got about concussion signs etc.  Training consisted of a brief online module and that was it. I don't know what other leagues or levels do but we were especially surprised given this was the first year or second year of "kid pitch" so there were quite a few batters hit by pitches in general. 

[basilosaurus]

Franklin Graham posted this story. It was I guess supposed to be a sign of turn the other cheek? Um, no, pull that kid, follow concussion protocol. He can hug it out later.

[sugarbear1]

I have seen this video posted everywhere and wondered the same thing.

I had a student who got hit in a batting cage and didn't show (what very quickly turned into life-threatening) symptoms until hours later.

I absolutely think the child should have been pulled from the game.

[eddy]

Ugh I was thinking the same thing. And that video is EVERYWHERE. I hate seeing over and over again this kid get belted.

And the way people are just falling all over this act of kindness. Goodness we really are starved for kindness aren't we? I mean it was very nice of that kid, but goodness it is just a pretty standard thing. Recognize someone struggling and letting them know it is okay.

[icedcoffee]

CEP really does ruin everything. LOL I thought that kid was very sweet. I hope mine are that empathetic.

I do hope he got some medical attention and is ok. It was quite the hit.

[redheadbaker]

Aug 10, 2022 12:00:11 GMT -5 icedcoffee said:

CEP really does ruin everything. LOL I thought that kid was very sweet. I hope mine are that empathetic.

I do hope he got some medical attention and is ok. It was quite the hit.

it's not either/or. They can hug it out after the batter gets some medical attention. 

[erbear]

I had the same reaction. I’m a coach. I have to sit through the concussion training every year and 100%, that kid should have been pulled from the game and assessed properly.

As a middle school teacher, I appreciated the empathy of the batter. 12 year old boys aren’t known for their ability to 1) see someone else is upset and 2) hug it out when they notice. That was really nice to see.

[frlcb]

Aug 10, 2022 11:39:38 GMT -5 eddy said:

Ugh I was thinking the same thing. And that video is EVERYWHERE. I hate seeing over and over again this kid get belted.

And the way people are just falling all over this act of kindness. Goodness we really are starved for kindness aren't we? I mean it was very nice of that kid, but goodness it is just a pretty standard thing. Recognize someone struggling and letting them know it is okay.

I mean, I would wager to say it isn't a standard thing amongst 12 year old boys in sports though. I would like to believe that there was much more between the kid being hit and walking to first, when a bunch of people were out there helping him.

[whattheheck]

Aug 10, 2022 12:58:12 GMT -5 frlcb said:

Aug 10, 2022 11:39:38 GMT -5 eddy said:

Ugh I was thinking the same thing. And that video is EVERYWHERE. I hate seeing over and over again this kid get belted.

And the way people are just falling all over this act of kindness. Goodness we really are starved for kindness aren't we? I mean it was very nice of that kid, but goodness it is just a pretty standard thing. Recognize someone struggling and letting them know it is okay.

I mean, I would wager to say it isn't a standard thing amongst 12 year old boys in sports though. I would like to believe that there was much more between the kid being hit and walking to first, when a bunch of people were out there helping him.

I watched the video that I think shows the entire incident. I think the batter was the first one to the pitcher.

[frlcb]

Aug 10, 2022 13:05:26 GMT -5 whattheheck said:

Aug 10, 2022 12:58:12 GMT -5 frlcb said:

I mean, I would wager to say it isn't a standard thing amongst 12 year old boys in sports though. I would like to believe that there was much more between the kid being hit and walking to first, when a bunch of people were out there helping him.

I watched the video that I think shows the entire incident. I think the batter was the first one to the pitcher.

I meant more to the video than him just standing up and walking to first, where he had people checking to make sure he was okay. The batter definitely was the first one to the pitcher.

[Michelle]

Aug 10, 2022 12:58:12 GMT -5 frlcb said:

Aug 10, 2022 11:39:38 GMT -5 eddy said:

Ugh I was thinking the same thing. And that video is EVERYWHERE. I hate seeing over and over again this kid get belted.

And the way people are just falling all over this act of kindness. Goodness we really are starved for kindness aren't we? I mean it was very nice of that kid, but goodness it is just a pretty standard thing. Recognize someone struggling and letting them know it is okay.

I mean, I would wager to say it isn't a standard thing amongst 12 year old boys in sports though. I would like to believe that there was much more between the kid being hit and walking to first, when a bunch of people were out there helping him.

I loved the video. I mean, the fact that the pitcher was so upset by what he was done was moving as well. And then the 1st base person's empathy. It was all around a positive show of kindness, empathy and sportsmanship.

AND
I'm grateful to the OP for recognizing this kid should have been taken for serious medical examination. I was hit like this when running to first base (first base woman missed catching the ball... i caught it with my temple and since it was beer league I wasn't wearing a helmet). I was knocked out immediately and when i came to, i couldn't raise up and maintain consciousness. I ended up with a fractured skull, subdural hematoma, and was in the ICU for a couple of days with a surgical team on standby because of the swelling and brain injury. I lost parts of my memory forever, have damaged short-term memory, and it impacted my emotional processing. As part of my neuro assessment in recovery, for about 6 months my neuro team had surveys for people in my life to rate my emotional responses before and after the injury and while i wasn't aware of this, my colleagues in particular noted that I lost my ability to screen my emotions. It didn't really ever come back.

22 years later and I still have irreparable damage.

One incident can change your life. And like the OP mentioned, to prevent a future CTE issue, this injury should be seriously assessed with an MRI. I hope they did so later.

[whattheheck]

Aug 10, 2022 13:09:48 GMT -5 frlcb said:

Aug 10, 2022 13:05:26 GMT -5 whattheheck said:

I watched the video that I think shows the entire incident. I think the batter was the first one to the pitcher.

I meant more to the video than him just standing up and walking to first, where he had people checking to make sure he was okay. The batter definitely was the first one to the pitcher.

He was lying on the ground with what looked like three trainers and a coach for over a minute, got to his knees, was there for a little while, and then helped to his feet and sent on his way. You can hear the umpire saying “oh my god, oh my god” several times.

[fluffycookie]

As the mom of a 14 year old boy I can't say that all of DS's friends would of done the same thing. DS is very empathetic, but some of his friends are not.

DS plays hockey and we had a game once that the other teams goalie got a hard slapshot to the mask. He went down. The coaches assessed him and decided to let him stay in the game even though they had another goalie on the bench. As the ref was about to drop the puck he realized the goalie was super unsteady and made the coaches pull him which they tried to fight.

[livinitup]

Your title made me think think of my nephew. As a child athlete, he had a ball hit his head. And his medical insurance STATED that they would pay for his medical care IF he had a concussion but not if the tests said he did not have a concussion.

Welcome to American health care. His dad had to decide if he was willing to be on the hook for 100% of concision testing IF his son didn’t actually have a concussion.

WTF?