Doug Flutie calls for heads-up in tackling concussions - Ingles

Dick’s Sporting Goods tapped Boston College football hero Doug Flutie for its team effort to “bench concussions” in youth sports through education and screening.

The retired quarterback took his share of hits to the head during his career, from “a bunch of little ones” in Pop Warner and high school to a major blow that knocked him out of a game in his junior season at BC.

“I ran some plays that I do not remember running to this day. I stood in front of the huddle with a blank stare. The coach got me off the field and I sat out,” said the 48-year-old Flutie, who greeted customers at the Dick’s store in his hometown of Natick.

The Pittsburgh-based retailer’s campaign, led by ex-Steelers star Jerome Bettis, has a goal of giving ImPACT concussion evaluations to 1 million young athletes. Dick’s is donating $1 for every pair of shoes sold to support the program.

“To get some baseline testing done at a younger age, it’s a great tool to have to see that the overzealous coach, the overzealous parent doesn’t push the kid back out there,” Flutie said.

Eliane Videira of Southboro brought her 10-year-old son Brendan, who plays hockey and football, and soccer-playing 12-year-old daughter Olivia to Dick’s to learn about the tests on computers set up in the store. A photo-opp with Flutie was a bonus.

“My understanding is that kids are walking around with concussions without even knowing it,” said Videira. “This is why we’re here.”

Store manager Eddie Olson said Dick’s has seen an “uptick” in customers looking for helmets and other sports gear designed to prevent concussions.

Dr. Robert Cantu, a professor of neurosurgery at Boston University and longtime concussion-prevention advocate, said Dick’s nationwide program will help heighten awareness of concussions.

“It’s a good thing that these celebrity athletes are publicizing the problems of multiple concussions and proper management,” Cantu said in a phone interview before the event.

More information about the program can be found at www.dickssportinggoods.com/pace (source Boston Herald)