2010 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award Winner Speaks on Safety in Football
I sat down with 2010 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award winner Madieu Williams to discuss his work and commitment to safety and education in the sport of football.
Only 7% of high school football players go on to play at a collegiate level. Only 1.6% of collegiate players go on to play in the NFL. After getting to the NFL the average length of a career is 3 and a half years.
Madieu Williams defies odds.
Madieu is a former NFL player for the Cincinnati Bengals (2004-2007), Minnesota Vikings (2008-2010), San Francisco 49ers (2011), and Washington Redskins (2012). Aside from being a retired player, Madieu Williams wears many hats.
He is an activist. In 2010 Williams was named the Walter Payton Man of the Year. This prestigious award is presented annually by the NFL to honor a player’s impact off the field and commitment to philanthropy. Each year a winner is selected from 32 nominees from all 32 teams. Madieu was honored for his foundation, the Madieu Williams Foundation founded in 2005. The mission of the foundation is to focus on education and health for underprivileged youth both in the United States and in Sierra Leone. In 2009, Williams donated 2 million dollars to his alma mater the University of Maryland to establish the Madieu Williams Center Global Health Initiatives and to date this is the largest gift to the university by a black alum.
He is an academic. Williams received his B.S from the University of Maryland in Public Health. He then went on to receive his MBA from the University of Maryland global campus.
He is a lawyer. He received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Baltimore Law School. He is currently employed as a settlement officer.
But if you ask Madieu Williams what the most important hat he wears he will answer very simply. He is a father.
Madieu has been passionate about making change for youth athletes to prevent, diagnose, and treat concussions. This is not just limited to football related concussions. His daughter is a cheerleader and is a flyer. This is the person often lifted in the air and susceptible to head injury. He wants to ensure all children have the pleasure of enjoying sports without the fear of injury. He has been a prominent member of advocating for the Concussion Bill State of Maryland. Madieu Williams ultimate goal is to change youth football so his son can play football in a way that is safe and allows him to enjoy the game without the known repercussions that come with it.
A recent study investigated the neurological consequences of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) or concussions. They indicated repeated TBIs can be correlated with long term neurodegenerative diseases such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE. They also indicated developing brains in children and teens are more likely to suffer from a concussion than an adult brain. Children also take longer to recover from concussion. An estimated 80-90% of concussions resolve in 7-10 days but recovery time for children and teens is estimated to be longer. Second impact syndrome or sustaining a second head injury while still having symptoms from the first is also more common in children. Overall recovery time, and outcome can be generally worse for children than adults.
Madieu Williams has a clear vision for the trajectory of youth football. Education, diagnosis, and accommodations. He shared with me,
“A lot of parents aren’t very educated to concussion, they don’t understand the severity and we don’t know the repercussions of what’s coming down the road, we’re worried about what’s his 40? Not about the cognitive data like why are they having cognitive issues”
This is where we both intersect. I am a PhD student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill studying in the Matthew Gfeller Center TBI center. Matthew Gfeller was a 15 year old student who suffered a fatal TBI. Since then, his parents like Williams have dedicated their life to preventing, diagnosing, treating and raising awareness of TBIs in football players advocating for the passing of the Gfeller-Waller Awareness Act. This act developed an athletic concussion safety training program that requires all those interacting with middle school and elementary school athletes to understand concussion but also put into place laws about specific emergency actions following a sport induced TBI.
Likewise, Mr. Williams helped develop the Concussion Bill in the State of Maryland. The goal of the bill is to implement strict laws on when students are allowed to play contact football, as well as establishing measures in case they do suffer from a traumatic brain injury. The bill would allow students to have temporary IEP or individual educational plans like ones supplied for students with special needs. That way while they are still having persistent symptoms they can be provided with accommodations. This would allow students to be excused when having a headache, or provide someone take notes for them when they are unable to concentrate. The bill would also prevent full on tackle football until a player is 14 years old. He says youth football lacks the medical resources it needs for the health and safety of the children involved in the game.
“I go to youth football and majority of the time there isn’t anyone certified in first aid and CPR, and if we have someone who is injured or gets his bell rung in practice, We need to make sure that all the referees, coaches, and people associated with the game know when a player needs to be exited out the game.”
Simple laws and practices like this could drastically change the recovery outcomes of students whose brains are still developing. But the problem is everyone seems to think it won’t happen to them or their child. “The whole notion of not my kid. He won’t get it, but what If it is him? What then?”
When I asked him what a perfect world would look like he answered:
“The game of football is changing so much, by the time my child plays, there will be a game that’s much safer, not tackling a guy who’s back is turned. The rule changes will help player safety. They changed the kick off rules and that has already improved safety. The rules are going to evolve where player football safety is becoming more and more evident”
As a father first, Mr. Williams wants his son to love and enjoy football in the same way he did, but in a way where he is setting himself up for success in the future. In regard to advice for current NCAA and NFL players Mr. Williams shared the following:
Take the baseline test seriously at the beginning of the year and at the end of the year do it again.
Keep the tests
When you are injured and have a concussion you need to stay out and not come back too soon. We don’t know how the brain heals, and it may take some time.
Post football, start seeing a neurologist consistently and twice a year, so you’re being cared for like any other primary care doctor just to keep monitoring
Football is America’s game, but we are still trying to understand the long-term effects of the subsequent brain damage that comes from playing it. Research indicates the longer and the younger you started playing football the more highly correlated long term neurocognitive decline. If we want to continue to enjoy sports, we all need to work together to protect the future of the players who are playing now.