Key Takeaways
- Black college athletes report less concussion symptom knowledge (CSK) than their White peers.
- While both relied on athletic trainers, Black college athletes reported accessing referees for CSK while their White counterparts reported school-based sources, medical websites, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for CSK.
- Black college athletes were less likely than their White peers to identify such concussion symptoms as feeling "in a fog," nausea or vomiting, and irritability or anger.
Concussions are often considered to be extremely challenging to manage. A recently published study in the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation has demonstrated that Black college athletes report less concussion symptom knowledge (CSK) than their White counterparts.
With the high likelihood of suffering a concussion when playing college sports, this lower rate of CSK among Black athletes is concerning, especially given how discrimination may impact other health outcomes.
As more Americans begin to reckon with their complicity with white supremacy in the aftermath of George Floyd's killing, this research needs to be taken seriously. Black college athletes deserve equitable access to CSK.
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