A day after Michigan coach Brady Hoke attempted to explain away quarterback Shane Morris' shaky demeanor and removal from Saturday's game against Minnesota by claiming he had suffered a "leg injury," Michigan Athletic Director Dave Brandon has come forward to apologize and admit that Morris, as many already suspected, sustained a concussion.
"We now understand that, despite having the right people on the sidelines assessing our student-athletes' well-being, the systems we had in place were inadequate to handle this unique and complex situation properly," Brandon said in his statement.
It's hard to tell what exactly was "unique" or "complex" about the situation. Morris took a hit under the chin while throwing an incomplete pass in the 4th quarter. He looked dazed, wobbly and required the help of one of his linemen to stay upright.
He should have been removed from the game immediately.
Instead, he stayed in for another play, and was then allowed to re-enter the game later when back-up Devin Gardner lost his helmet.
Brandon blamed a "serious lack of communication" for the initial delay in removing Morris from the game and subsequent reinsertion back into the lineup.
The bigger issue though, seems to be a serious lack of communication in Michigan that goes well beyond in-game injury protocol.
Hoke, after claiming in his statement that Morris suffered only a "leg injury" - a high ankle sprain, which was why the quarterback wasn't practicing on Monday - proceeded to offer this gem while speaking to reporters; "We would never, ever put a guy on the field when there's a possibility of head trauma. We won't do that."
Now, Brandon is claiming that is exactly what happened. He confirmed in his own statement that Morris was diagnosed on Sunday with a "probable, mild concussion."
But Brandon maintains that there was nothing he, Hoke or the Michigan medical staff could have done to have prevented the incident.
"That probable concussion diagnosis was not at all clear on the field on Saturday or in the examination that was conducted post-game," Brandon said. "Unfortunately, there was inadequate communication between our physicians and medical staff and Coach Hoke was not provided the updated diagnosis before making a public statement on Monday. This is another mistake that cannot occur again."
Morris did not communicate his injury to the medical staff. The physicians and medical personnel did not communicate their - initially incorrect, but eventually correct - diagnosis to Coach Hoke. Hoke communicated that false diagnosis to the media.
So, communication is an issue - clearly.
But how does a high-profile football program worth millions and millions of dollars fail to assess the clear brain trauma suffered by their quarterback during a nationally-televised game?
Somehow, according to Brandon, no one on the medical staff was aware that Morris had been hit in the head or neck area and so they operated under the assumption that his stumbling was due to the high ankle sprain.
Their team neurologist, Jeffrey Kutcher, was "watching further down the field."
At what, I guess we'll never know (cheerleaders, maybe).
"However, the neurologist, with expertise in detecting signs of concussion, saw Shane stumble and determined he needed to head down the sideline to evaluate Shane," Brandon said. "Shane came off the field after the following play and was reassessed by the head athletic trainer for the ankle injury. Since the athletic trainer had not seen the hit to the chin and was not aware that a neurological evaluation was necessary, he cleared Shane for one additional play."
Morris, of course, should never have been allowed to return to the field. Staying in for the extra play was bad enough, but then putting him back on the field? That's egregious.
"Under these circumstances, a player should not be allowed to re-enter the game before being cleared by the team physician," Brandon said. "This clearly identifies the need for improvements in our sideline and communication processes."
Yes. Improvements. And what, pray tell, does Brandon have in mind?
He suggested two procedural changes: putting an "athletic medicine professional" in the press box so they'll have access to replay and finding a way to "reinforce Michigan's sideline review process."
The first is a no-brainer and something they most likely should have done from the very beginning. The sidelines at football games of all levels are a mass of bodies and elated hysteria. It's actually quite understandable for there to be difficulty for medical professionals, already focused on a variety of players and a variety of injuries, to be distracted or less focused on the field of play.
Having part of the medical team elevated from the field of play with access to replay is extremely prudent. It affords quietude and clarity. (The suggestion that every single member of the Michigan medical staff missed Morris' injury though is still ludicrous).
That second one is pretty vague but probably something that does need to be looked at, considering the sequence of events. And again, it seems as though the entire program could stand to have their communication and self-review processes revamped.
This whole situation has been fairly embarrassing for a Michigan team that, for the last few seasons, has been performing well below expectation on the field.
Their head coach, already under fire and having his job security questioned, was made to look like a liar - twice. Their medical staff seems incompetent and unaware, and their AD has been forced to try and smooth things over to avoid as much negative press from the inevitable fallout as possible.
"I sincerely apologize for the mistakes that were made," Brandon said. "We have to learn from this situation, and moving forward, we will make important changes so we can fully live up to our shared goal of putting student-athlete safety first."
Still, Michigan is a storied school and football program.
For the sake of their fans and their student athletes, the hope is that they're able to get these issues ironed out sooner rather than later and will return to putting a quality product on the field.
