Researchers at VT have come up with a
new ranking system that makes it easy to determine what helmets on the market are the safest. The article is written by Gregg Easterbrook, and it's really long, but to make a long story short basically a lot of research has gone into this, and even though it's not conclusive, it basically means there is a new ranking system which shows what helmets are best at preventing concussions.
I think it would be a smart move for the NFL to embrace this system, especially amidst their claims that player safety is a top priority for them. I can't believe in this day and age, with all the advances in technology seen over the past decade, that it's taken this long to come up with a semi-definitive idea over what helmets do the most to prevent concussions, which still remains a serious problem all over football today.
In the article, they point out that the NFL has never truly stepped up to the plate to rank helmets for players, but only because of the legalities involved, they wouldn't want to be held responsible if a player has a concussion in one of them and holds the league responsible. Granted, that is a touchy subject. But if they were truly concerned about player safety they'd step up. And I especially like how the article talks about NOCSAE's hypocrisy, in that they were pretty much the defining body in concluding what helmets are safe, and yet the majority of their income comes from helmet manufacturers who obviously wouldn't want any helmet of theirs to be declared unsafe by NOCSAE. That's why it's important that VT didn't accept any funds from anyone who has any ties to football, because it legitimizes the study.
I'm glad someone finally stepped up to the plate to truly determine a ranking system that makes it easier to identify which helmets are safest.