N.Y. Head Injury Death Raises Sports Safety Concerns

Oct. 18--The death of an upstate football player from a head injury has fanned concerns about protective gear and concussions.

However, a neurologist at Bassett Healthcare Network, based in Cooperstown, said the brain injury suffered by the player was more serious than a concussion, and the incident was a fluke.

Ridge Barden, 16, a lineman for John C. Birdlebough High School in the Oswego County village of Phoenix, was hurt during Friday night's game at Homer High School, south of Syracuse. He sat up after the play, authorities said, but complained of a headache and collapsed when he tried to stand. He was given medical attention, but doctors couldn't save him.

Cortland County Coroner Kevin Sharp said the cause of Barden's death was a massive subdural hematoma, a traumatic brain injury. Barden suffered bleeding on his brain, apparently from a helmet-to-helmet collision. No evidence was found of any pre-existing injury or condition that contributed to Barden's death, Sharp said.

"This is a tragic accident," Dr. Paul Deringer of Bassett said during a telephone interview Monday.

The injury that caused Braden's death was much more serious and rare than a concussion, Deringer said, and the incident raises issues from the effectiveness of helmets to whether children should be playing a game as violent as football.

Though Braden's injury was a catastrophic injury, Deringer said, discussions about concussions and safety measures need to continue.

"Concussions can lead to further problems," he said.

Zach Pidgeon, 17, a senior at Oneonta High School and an outside linebacker for the football team, said he is aware that concerns about concussions are widely discussed.

Barden's death is an "eye-opener" that could prompt more advances in technology to increase the safety of helmets, he said.

Two OHS players are out because of concussions, Pidgeon said, while stepping out of practice at the high school Monday. The team's helmets are inspected annually to meet safety guidelines, he said, showing a sticker on his helmet.

"Our coaches teach us how to hit properly -- you're not supposed to lead with your head," Pidgeon said. "Concussions are just bad luck."

The dangers of football are discussed at the beginning of the year, including the importance of reporting injuries, OHS football coach Adam Hoover said.

A player showing any symptoms that might be a concussion is taken off the field and sent to a doctor for a checkup. Sometimes, the checkup results in a diagnosis other than a concussion, he said.

A player benched with a concussion must go a week without symptoms and have clearance by a physician before returning to the team, Hoover said. This year, three players have been taken out for concussions -- two during games and another identified after a practice, Hoover said.

"We don't mess around," Hoover said. A healthy lifetime is more important than playing high school football, a concept that is shared with players, he said.

"There are rare occasions when deaths do occur," Hoover said.

Hoover, who was interviewed Monday before joining OHS players at practice, said he would discuss Barden's death with the team. Some years, no players report concussions, Hoover said, but taking hits to the head happens in football.

"We do everything we can to avoid it and educate the kids," Hoover said.

OHS players practice tackling with instructions from coaches to put their heads to one side and avoid "head to head" hits, said Mike Vergari, 17, an OHS senior and a defensive end and offensive tackle. He said Braden's death was a "scary" incident that "could happen to anyone."

On Sept. 20, state Sen. Kemp Hannon, R-Garden City, announced that the Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed his "Concussion Management and Awareness Act," which next year will establish head concussion guidelines. The legislation will require the immediate removal of any student who has or who may have suffered a concussion, Hannon said. Among other provisions, no student who has or who may have suffered a concussion may return to athletic activities unless the student has been symptom free for at least 24 hours and a licensed physician has authorized the student's return.

Dr. Jeff Bazarian, an emergency physician and associate professor at the University of Rochester Medical School, previously told The Associated Press that the new law is "a step in the right direction."

Bazarian is studying sub-concussive blows to the heads of 10 Rochester football players. He gave them sophisticated brain scans at the start of this season and put six sensors in each of their helmets with impact data downloaded after each practice and game.

Bazarian plans to scan the players again six months after the season, the AP reported, and will scan the players again at season's end to detect new damage in nerve cells.

"We're hoping to relate the number of times an individual player gets hit with the amount of very subtle brain injury on these scans," Bazarian said. "Is this the kind of thing year in and year out that leads to chronic injury," he said, like the dementia seen in some former professionals.

Pidgeon said he is interested in knowing results of the study. His brother, Brendan, a junior linebacker on the University of Rochester team, is enrolled in the study, he said.

Brendan Pidgeon was The Daily Star's Player of the Year in 2008.

Copyright 2011 - The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y.