The Guardian cap has emerged in recent years as a new football accessory. It started as a league-mandated practice device. More than a few players now wear it during matches.
The unanswered question is whether it works. A recent article by Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo! SPORTS reviewed the science.
“The jury is out on whether the Guardian Cap is helping NFL players,” Eisenberg told Chris Nowinski, co-founder of Boston University’s CTE Center. “We have no reason to believe it’s helping high school and college players.
“We’ve created a kind of nightmare scenario where people strap these things on their kids’ helmets and believe they’re now safe from concussions and CTE. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
Nowinski is quoted several times in Eisenberg’s article. Also cited is NFL executive vice president Jeff Miller, who directs health, safety and PR for the league.
“I see the hard hat as a transitional device,” Miller told Eisenberg. “It means that if the technology in helmets continues to improve at the rate it is now, it will push players to better performing helmets compared to the Guardian cap.”
The league would apparently like to see the Guardian Cap transition from in-game use. It is heavy. It’s clumsy. It’s a bean bag chair with an ill-fitting cover. In a game that gets most of its appeal from how it looks on TV, the Guardian Cap undermines the aesthetic.
And if it’s not effective, why wear it?
As one trainer told PFT when the Guardian Cap first debuted in practice settings, it can lead to bad habits and create a false sense of security. Furthermore, having a helmet on the helmet will not stop the brain from hitting the inside of the skull.
Nowinski appeared in the latest episode of Pablo Torre finds outwhere he said the Keeper’s Hat”seems to be a bit of a scam.”
“It’s very clear from their behavior and from the conversations I’ve had with them,” Nowinski said, “that they like the public to see the Guardian Caps because it’s basically a virtue signal.”
Some players have chosen to use the protective headgear to avoid another concussion. Two notable examples are Saints wide receiver Chris Olave and Colts cornerback Charvarius Ward. Steelers rookie receiver Germie Bernard wears one specifically to protect against potential long-term cognitive issues.
“For me to play, like longevity, is not normal for us the brain will be concussed for more than 10 years” Bernard said in August. “So this is something that can help me in the long run. That’s how I look at it.”
But their brains will still be shocked. Because, like the little ball inside a noise, the brain is inside the skull.
With or without the protective headgear, modern players know the risks — and accept them. A recent article by ESPN’s Kevin Seifert and Stephen Holder included quotes from various players regarding willingness to play pro football in exchange for what he gives them.
It is still not clear that everyone knows the full extent of the risks. Chris Johnson was “shocked” to learn about the connection between football and ALS, after his diagnosis.
As Peter King explained in a special issue of #PFTPM to discuss his new book, Gamefans, media and players must find a way to come to terms with still loving football despite knowing its dangers. The game will always be there, filled with youngsters who have no qualms about donning a helmet and rushing into the fray.
But there will always be Chris Johnsons, Steve Gleasons, and other men who develop serious neurological problems prematurely, or who spend their golden years battling dementia or other similar conditions.
It may change as CTE can be detected in a living patient. Even then, however, the supply of risk-happy twenty-somethings will continue to outstrip demand.
