HOUSTON: A safer football helmet might be on the horizon, but it’s unlikely there will ever be a device that can make the gridiron concussion-proof.
“To do that, you’d have to have a helmet that would not allow the head to move and, therefore, have the helmet fixed on shoulder pads or a flak jacket,” prominent concussion expert Robert Cantu said. “That construct works, but it doesn’t allow you to play the sport.”
Still, amid increasing awareness of long-term concussion risks, the Overland Park-based National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) is working to revise its standards for football helmets.
NOCSAE, which was founded in 1969, develops performance and testing standards for all manner of athletic equipment and has put concussions in its crosshairs….