To the Editor:
As a longtime fan of Education Week and its staff and a parent who lost a son to football head injuries, my wife and I thank you for bringing the issue of concussions and head injuries in high school sports to the forefront in a new e-book (Playing it Safe: Reducing Concussions and Head Injuries in School Sports, Education Week Press, 2013).
The fact that Education Week is addressing this issue is great.
Our son, an All-Southeastern Conference defensive lineman at the University of Mississippi, took his own life almost two years ago. He suffered through the same symptoms attributed to those NFL players now making the headlines.
Our daughter developed a website, www.headsupcte.com, designed to increase awareness of the dangers of head injuries. Because of what happened to our son, we’ve taken to the road to promote awareness to schools around the country.
Charles J. O’Malley
Boynton Beach, Fla.
