Football season is in mid swing across the country and so are football’s nastiest side effect: concussions.

Even with the improvements to football helmets over the years, concussions continue to hinder the sport at all levels, and our own Los Medanos College Mustangs are no exception to this hindrance. I am an athlete here at LMC and I can attest to the fact that most of the people I see in the medical training rooms at the school are football players.

When I asked LMC’s head medical trainer Brian Powelson about what most of the injuries are he had this to say in response, “well, there’s a bunch of different things that these guys come in here (the training room) for. Some have hurt ankles, knees, shoulders but the most common injuries we get that cause players to miss a significant number of games are concussion related.”

Powelson, AKA Coach B, did not seem surprised that concussions are occurring as frequently as they have been, and frankly neither am I. As a former football player, I understand the potential danger that the sport can pose. Grown men running into each other headfirst and ball carriers being dropped on the back of their heads is not a recipe for success.

This side effect of the great sport is common in the NFL as well. In a recent game on Sept. 28, the quarterback for the Miami Dolphins, Tua Tagovailoa, was thrown on his head by a 300-pound defensive linemen and was knocked out cold. He needed to be carted off the field.

The game is glorified by social media and television but not many get to see how dark that the sport can become. It is my belief that safety and protection of the players should be the No. 1 priority for owners and officials, and that starts with continuing to prevent head injuries.