The mission to rewire the mind of football players to follow the new rules that encourage player safety is a work in progress.
If ever there were a question of what kind of hits are illegal under the new rules of the game, here’s one to take a look at.
In a high school matchup between Mililani and Wainae, quarterback Dillon Gabriel tried to find his wide receiver Ryan Chang down the sideline for a big gain.
The pass fell incomplete, and the receiver was on the receiving end of one of the worst hits we’ve seen in a while.
Waianae get action pic.twitter.com/MT3jMQRDfQ
— đ (@wallygummz) October 21, 2017
Chang stayed on the ground for a while after the hit as the training staff attended to him. He was eventually able to leave the field under his own power, but he wouldn’t return to the game.
Neither would defensive end Sam Freeney who delivered the blow.
Oh my. Ryan Chang just took a huge shot on a pass play from Dillon Gabriel. Concern is for Chang right now, who is down and being attended to by athletic trainers.
— Kalani Takase (@SLKalani) October 21, 2017
Chang is up and walks off on his own power. The guilty party, Sam Freeney, has been ejected from the game for targeting.
— Kalani Takase (@SLKalani) October 21, 2017
This is the kind of hit that would have been praised less than five years ago. But with growing knowledge and concern over the lasting effects of trauma to the brain from hits like these, steps have been taken to get them out of the game.
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