After suffering a concussion this season, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute says the National Basketball Association should have a league wide standard on concussions like other professional sports leagues. Mbah a Moute is a forward that plays for the Milwaukee Bucks. The professional basketball player was amazed when all it took for him to return to play after suffering a concussion was telling the training staff that he felt okay.
In January, Mbah a Moute hit heads with a player from Dallas and received a mild concussion, but it was not the first time the basketball player suffered the personal injury. When he was a college basketball player at UCLA three years ago he suffered a concussion that kept him of the court for eight days. Mbah a Moute was not allowed to return until he completed a series of neurocognitive tests. His experience at UCLA led to his surprise about the lack of a policy in the NBA.
Mbah a Moute said even though he suffered a mild concussion, a concussion is a serious injury and should be treated like one. NBA officials say that concussions are rare in the league, but admit the level of concern about concussion is not the same in the NBA as it is in professional football and hockey leagues. The need to increase concern about the injury in the league is demonstrated by Mbah a Moute's teammate Carlos Delfino.
Delfino missed play for two and one half months because of concussive symptoms that included nausea, fatigue and headaches. Delfino believes he initially suffered a concussion last March when an opposing player accidentally landed on the back of his head. Delfino became unconscious because of the hit. He missed only three games but suffered more hits to the head in October and November.
Delfino had to leave a game in November because of the symptoms he suffered. He described what he felt as being on a boat where "everything was fast and the basketball was deep, far away from me." Delfino said, "It just wasn't right."
Source: The Associated Press, "Buck believes NBA needs concussion protocol," 2/8/11