Tom Brady was in the news for reportedly playing through concussions in 2016, but Calvin Johnson seemed to come to his defense in an interview on the topic.
Calvin Johnson hasn’t been heard from much since his departure from the Detroit Lions, and football in general, but he chimed in on a hot topic in an interview with the Detroit Free Press.
Concussions have always been a big discussion point in the NFL, but gained some serious steam with a comment from Tom Brady’s wife, Gisele Bundchen, who said that the New England Patriots quarterback has played through concussions in his career, as recent as the 2016 season.
The topic came up in Johnson’s interview with the Detroit newspaper, and he was incredibly candid about whether or not he had ever hid a concussion from team doctors in his time with the Lions.
“Of course,” Johnson said in the interview. “Guys get concussions, they don’t tell the coaches,” Johnson said. “It happens. I don’t tell the coach sometimes cause I know I got a job to do. The team needs me out there on the field. And sometimes you allow that to jeopardize yourself, but that’s just the nature of the world.”
Johnson said that many have differing opinions on what a concussion actually is, but said that they’re a simple part of the game, and everyone playing the sport is going to get them.
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“Anytime you black out, anytime you hit the ground and everything is stars and stuff, any time your brain hits your skull, that’s a concussion,” Johnson said. “No matter how severe it is, it’s a concussion. Now granted, some people get nausea. That’s a severe concussion when you get hit like that and you get nausea and stuff like that. But if you play football long enough, [you’re going to have concussions].”
The NFL has been under fire recently with the idea of better concussion prevention, and brain injuries are coming up more and more in the news with football players. Johnson’s comments aren’t surprising, but it just adds fuel to the fire about a serious issue the NFL is facing.