New Orleans Saints' Keenan Lewis among 2 NFL players who violated concussion protocol
 

Two players violated league concussion protocol in last weekend's wild-card games, according to a letter sent by the NFL's head, neck and spine committee chairmen to all team doctors and trainers.

In a document obtained by The Associated Press, Dr. Hunt Batjer and Dr. Richard Ellenbogen say that one player actually re-entered the game and another refused to leave the sideline. The doctors did not identify the players, but one was Green Bay tackle David Bakhtiari, who went into the game for an extra-point try despite being examined for a concussion and not cleared.

The other player was Saints cornerback Keenan Lewis, who remained on the sideline but did not get back on the field.

http://imgick.nola.com/home/nola-med...376-mmmain.jpg

"On two occasions last weekend, and contrary to the advice of the team medical staffs, players who had been diagnosed with a concussion and therefore declared ineligible for play nonetheless refused to leave the sidelines as required by league concussion protocols," the letter said. "In one case, the player went back onto the field for one play before being removed from the game.

"We emphasize that we find no fault in how the team medical staffs conducted themselves last weekend. If a player refuses to follow your advice and leave the sidelines after being diagnosed with a concussion, we recommend that the head athletic trainer seek assistance from the player's position coach (or another member of the coaching staff) or from another team official to remove the player from the sidelines as soon as possible."

The NFL's Madden Rule requires a player diagnosed with a concussion to be taken to the locker room or another quiet location.

No fines will be imposed for the violations.

read more

Re: New Orleans Saints' Keenan Lewis among 2 NFL players who violated concussion protocol
 

He was pulled from the game and his helmet removed. That he "didn't go to the locker room" is a fairly minor technical violation of the protocol.

Plus, at that situation, you'd have had to pull a gun on me to go to the locker.

Re: New Orleans Saints' Keenan Lewis among 2 NFL players who violated concussion protocol
 

This

Re: New Orleans Saints' Keenan Lewis among 2 NFL players who violated concussion protocol
 

Woah thats surpriseing that no one will be fined. You get fined for chewing gum these days

Re: New Orleans Saints' Keenan Lewis among 2 NFL players who violated concussion protocol
 

Did you see keenan lewis trying to get back on the field, not one person - be it the coaching staff or a player were going to send him to the locker room at that point

The guy is a beast

Re: New Orleans Saints' Keenan Lewis among 2 NFL players who violated concussion protocol
 

So......you have a ton of adrenaline pumping through your system and they want you to go to a quiet location......even though you have trained all your life to be here today. There is no way these guys want to leave!
And they want you to leave the side lines for a quiet place? If you have had a concussion you know there isn't such a place to go. Those bells are ringing no matter where you go.

Re: New Orleans Saints' Keenan Lewis among 2 NFL players who violated concussion protocol
 

Good, I hope every single player on the Saints who receives a concussion breaks it. I'd rather have a guy fired up to play with head pains than a guy who goes to the lockerooom

Re: New Orleans Saints' Keenan Lewis among 2 NFL players who violated concussion protocol
 

And the pussification continues. The likelyhood of him getting hurt standing on the sidelines is very slim to none. Its awesome for the rest of the team to see a player who wants it that bad. I personally loved watching him throw a fit. That is a winning attitude and is contagious.

Re: New Orleans Saints' Keenan Lewis among 2 NFL players who violated concussion protocol
 

I was listening to the game on the radio and I am almost certain I heard the announcer say that Lewis went to the locker room but he when he came out he didn't have his helmet.

Re: New Orleans Saints' Keenan Lewis among 2 NFL players who violated concussion protocol
 

He's too much of a bad*** for any concussion protocol.

Re: New Orleans Saints' Keenan Lewis among 2 NFL players who violated concussion protocol
 

Didn't he go to the locker room and then come back?

Re: New Orleans Saints' Keenan Lewis among 2 NFL players who violated concussion protocol
 

Half expected the Goodell machine to help ensure the hags win by benching Lewis for the game. When I saw this I all but **** myself

Re: New Orleans Saints' Keenan Lewis among 2 NFL players who violated concussion protocol
 

Yep

Re: New Orleans Saints' Keenan Lewis among 2 NFL players who violated concussion protocol
 

I agree WhoDat656! As I live in the UK I like to follow the game on the Saints radio link on NFL.com and Im sure he went to the locker room before coming back out to "watch" the rest of the game! Maybe he isn't supposed to come back out at all, even without his helmet on???

GEAUX SAINTS!!!!!

Re: New Orleans Saints' Keenan Lewis among 2 NFL players who violated concussion protocol
 

Ridiculous

Re: New Orleans Saints' Keenan Lewis among 2 NFL players who violated concussion protocol
 

Goodell is an idiot

Re: New Orleans Saints' Keenan Lewis among 2 NFL players who violated concussion protocol
 

He did go to locker room.

Re: New Orleans Saints' Keenan Lewis among 2 NFL players who violated concussion protocol
 

Rules say he has to stay there.

Re: New Orleans Saints' Keenan Lewis among 2 NFL players who violated concussion protocol
 

Add Harvin to the list. It seemed fairly obvious that when Bush hit him the first time, he had a concussion.

Re: New Orleans Saints' Keenan Lewis among 2 NFL players who violated concussion protocol
 

This is yet ANOTHER example of how the current NFL concussion protocol is a JOKE. It's totally inconsistent and they have no rules on how to enforce it!

In the case of Lewis, you could plainly see on the TV, that someone had physically taken away Lewis' helmet --they had taken it from him --and at one point he was yelling at a guy to give it back. You could see him yelling and the Saints trainer guy was shaking his head No. Looked like it was either Andre Curtis or Wesley McGriff, but it was hard to tell because the dude was so bundled up with his cap and big jacket and everything. But they took away his helmet.

Meanwhile in the Green Bay game, somebody on the sideline obviously gave that dude his helmet back so he was able to re-enter the game and play, even though he wasn't cleared. WTF. It's completely different from one team to the next, how they enforce it.

In Harvin's case it was an obvious concussion, but I knew there was no way Percy Harvin was going to flunk that test. You just knew they weren't going to keep him out of that game, so early like that and such an important game to the Seahawks. I don't think he even took his helmet off, at all, period. Completely arbitrary from team to team, how it is handled.

Re: New Orleans Saints' Keenan Lewis among 2 NFL players who violated concussion protocol
 

I'm sorry, it's playoff football. No way I'm sitting in the locker room while my team is out on the field.

Re: New Orleans Saints' Keenan Lewis among 2 NFL players who violated concussion protocol
 

I love that kind of attitude but that's exactly why the doctors make the call.

Re: New Orleans Saints' Keenan Lewis among 2 NFL players who violated concussion protocol
 

I can see if there are procedures/tests that need to be done but if he's just sitting in the locker room, he should be able to be on the sideline.

Re: New Orleans Saints' Keenan Lewis among 2 NFL players who violated concussion protocol
 

I agree. That doesn't make much sense to me either.

Re: New Orleans Saints' Keenan Lewis among 2 NFL players who violated concussion protocol
 

Re: New Orleans Saints' Keenan Lewis among 2 NFL players who violated concussion protocol
 

Re: New Orleans Saints' Keenan Lewis among 2 NFL players who violated concussion protocol
 

Well, when you put it like that...

Re: New Orleans Saints' Keenan Lewis among 2 NFL players who violated concussion protocol