INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Colts tight finish Kylen Granson wore a Father or mother Cap over his helmet right through the preseason and plans to proceed doing so within the familiar season to additional give protection to his mind from long-term injury.
“At one point people thought seatbelts were f—ing stupid,” Granson instructed The Athletic on Thursday. “Why wouldn’t I (wear it)? Just because it looks silly? I feel like health and safety is more important than aesthetics.”
Upcoming Granson’s feedback went viral, the four-year professional defined his place even additional in an Instagram video Friday. Granson and loads of alternative NFL gamers started dressed in Father or mother Caps, necessarily soft-shell pads connected to their helmets, when the NFL mandated positive place teams put on them in apply forward of the 2022 season.
He’s favored the effects to this point, and now that the league will permit gamers to put on them in video games, Granson believes this is a “no-brainer” for him to additional give protection to his mind.
“There’s no amount of aesthetic that could outweigh what a TBI (traumatic brain injury) could do to you,” Granson stated by way of Instagram. “And one of the more unknown things is that not only is it the big hits that you have to worry about, it’s the culmination of a bunch of little hits.”
He when put next any individual’s mind to Jell-O, explaining each hour a soccer participant takes a collision and their mind shakes like Jell-O, it would possibly not appear to be a lot within the year however it might have a dire and even disastrous impact ailing the sequence. Granson additionally famous loads of those negligible mind shakes can happen from OTAs and coaching camp within the offseason, a three-game preseason, a 17-game familiar season and much more video games if a workforce reaches the playoffs.
Granson, 26, suffered a concussion in a Month 6 matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars terminating 12 months and was once sidelined for the then two video games.
On the other hand, Granson stated he would nonetheless put on a Father or mother Cap despite the fact that he hadn’t sustained a concussion. The catastrophic tales of Professional Soccer Corridor of Famer Juvenile Seau and previous Fresh England Patriots tight finish and convicted assassin Aaron Hernandez, who each died by way of suicide and have been nearest recognized with CTE, provide as sobering reminders for Granson.
“I want to live forever,” Granson instructed The Athletic, partially joking. “I don’t want anyone to dig me up after I’m gone and check my brain.”
Granson elaborated much more on Instagram, pronouncing he desires so as to be mindful the primary dance at his impending marriage ceremony “30 years from now” and his generation kid’s first steps. However except for his personal needs, he believes it’s his duty to poised an instance for the hundreds of thousands of kids who glance as much as NFL gamers.
“I want to inspire kids to think that health and safety is also cool,” Granson stated on Instagram. “You can do cool things out on the football field and still wear a Guardian Cap. I want my (future) children to wear helmets when they ride a bike. … Because there’s no amount of cool that would be worth walking into a hospital room and your child’s in a vegetative state because they weren’t wearing a helmet. Because they didn’t want to look dumb.”
Since 2022, the NFL studies Father or mother Caps have led to a 50 % shorten in concussions amongst gamers who’ve used them in apply.
NFL executive vice president Jeff Miller told ESPN previous this 12 months along with Father or mother Caps, “there are new helmets this year that provide as much — if not more — protection than a different helmet model paired with a Guardian Cap.”
In the long run, it’s nonetheless the participant’s selection, and it undoubtedly makes for a scorching subject in NFL cupboard rooms. Some Colts gamers, who’re supportive of Granson dressed in a Father or mother Cap, are vehemently in opposition to dressed in one themselves as a result of the way it appears to be like. Granson is certainly one of no less than two Indianapolis gamers who will don the added head equipment regardless, as protection Rodney Thomas II instructed The Athletic he plans to put on a Father or mother Cap right through the familiar season, too.
Colts working again Jonathan Taylor is arguably probably the most eminent NFL participant to put on a Father or mother Cap right through the preseason, regardless that he was once noncommittal about dressed in it within the familiar season.
Granson stated by way of Instagram he loves soccer with all of his center, but it surely’s now not utility placing his moment or his crowd’s moment in peril as a result of he’s scared of being ridiculed or perceived as comfortable.
“It’s bigger than me. It’s bigger than just looking cool,” Granson stated. “And if I can do the same things on the field, and be safe at the same time, why would I not want that? As a fan, why would you not want that? Some of your best players could play for longer and protect their health.”
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(Photograph: Jeff Moreland / Icon Sportswire by way of Getty Photographs)
