Gunner Kiel was knocked out of the Bearcats game against Miami University last Saturday. Saturday night, Tommy Tuberville said it was a head injury. Monday afternoon, Tommy Tuberville said it was a head injury. Tuesday afternoon, it wasn’t a head injury, it was a shoulder injury. This is concerning.
If you follow football in the slightest, you know that the biggest worry for everyone involved are head injuries. Not just in the short term, but their long term effects on a man’s life. Concussions have ended careers, not just in the pros, but they’ve ended college careers. The worry about concussions and the long term impact has driven some people out of football. It’s made some parents not allow their kids to play. It’s turned some fans off the sport completely. There is a crappy Will Smith movie about concussions coming out to boot. To say this is a hot button issue in the sport is down playing what a hot button issue is.
Kiel’s status is listed as probable according to a quick twitter search. He’s been practicing and at this point, it would be a little surprising if he did not play. Through all the injury battles last season, Kiel started every game. He’s a tough kid and a hell of a competitor. He wanted to come back in the game last week. He wants to start this week. The only way he won’t start or see significant playing time is if the Cincinnati coaches and doctors intervene.
Colleges don’t have to disclose injuries to players. Mekale McKay didn’t play last week because …… undisclosed reasons. The only injuries that get discussed are injuries that happen during games and season ending. Gunner Kiel’s injury happened during the game. His status as the starting quarterback, one that struggled with injuries last season, makes his case even more public. He did go through concussion protocol:
Tuberville on Kiel: Went through concussion testing and passed. Didn't have a concussion.
— Joe Danneman (@FOX19Joe) September 22, 2015
Maybe I’m just hang wringing, but I can’t help to feel like any progress Gunner has made this week should be halted and he should sit out tonight.
Tommy Tuberville is irresponsible for saying after the game that Kiel had a head injury and saying Monday during the AAC teleconference that Kiel had a head injury. There is no way that he could not have known for three days that his starting quarterback did not have a head injury but really a shoulder injury. If Kiel had been diagnosed with a shoulder injury the entire time, then the school was wrong to not correct Tuberville before Tuesday. The whole issue here is what the Cincinnati head coach has twice publicly stated. To reverse course strikes my ‘This Doesn’t Sound Right’ meter.
For all I know, Gunner Kiel is perfectly fine and can suit up tonight. That’s not going to stop myself, the people reading this, his family, the rest of the fan base, his teammates and coaches from cringing every time Kiel takes a hit. Part of that is because he’s actually banged up, but the other part is he’s playing after a scary looking injury that knocked him out of a game 5 days ago. Shaq Washington went down hard, got up, wobbled and fell down, but stayed in the game Saturday. The things we don’t know can be unsettling.
You can’t stand there and say it’s a head injury twice before reversing course two days before a game, that’s on a short week, and expect everyone to follow you 100%. As we get closer to tonight’s huge contest, it’s incredibly important that the long term outlook for Gunner Kiel is considered. I want Cincinnati to win this game just as much as anyone else. What I also want is for Gunner Kiel to not have the brain of a 70 year old man when he’s 40 because he tried to play through a ‘shoulder injury’ when he was 20. If the game was a full week following the hit against Miami, I can’t say that I would feel as uneasy about Kiel playing.
The fact that the game is so close to a college player having a potential head injury, even if he didn’t, I feel that UC should error on the side of caution. If Kiel plays tonight, of course I’ll be rooting for him to play well and set records. There’s also going to be a huge part of me wincing every time pressure comes in the pocket. I know for a fact that UC’s doctors wouldn’t put him in the line of danger. Just because you can play doesn’t always mean you should.
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