Friends On and Off the Field: Jim Plunkett and Ronnie Lott
On the field, Stanford and USC have a great rivalry. While USC took most of the games in the second half of the 20th century, since 2000 Stanford has made a wild comeback and leads USC 11 wins to 10. Both teams fought in the 2017 Pac-12 Championship game in Santa Clara, where USC took home the win. Last year at their rivalry game, Stanford was ready to put up a fight, taking the game 17-3. How about 2019? We know two very special people who will be watching.
Setting aside their collegiate fervor, Jim Plunkett and Ronnie Lott have teamed up with CrashCourse to speak out against the stigma that comes with incurring a concussion. Both men know what it is like to be concussed on the field and feel very strongly about having today’s youth step out to recover instead of risking long term health issues.
Plunkett estimates that he has incurred 10 concussions, if not more, in his football career. “I suffered several concussions over the years, the first one being in high school. But I always wanted to be back on the field, and I’ve seen that mindset from probably every player I’ve ever been around.”
Lott is known in the game for some of his cringe-worthy hits, one of which even required an amputated finger. He understands that CTE is a large issue in the community and comments, “some guys don’t have a chance to have a quality of life as they get older, and that’s not right. We’ve got to find a way to take care of our own. If I’m an NFL owner, I think of these guys as the pillars of what’s been built.” While much more information is known about concussions and traumatic brain injuries now than when they were young, they have observed that the stigma remains and much more needs to be done to help their teammates down the line.
TeachAids is privileged to have such knowledgeable, passionate, and caring ambassadors. We are looking forward to the Stanford v. USC game, and to the change that we can make together in the lives of youth athletes!