Thread by @reveal

1/ Jonathan Boland was a promising high school football player. Four concussions later, he’s serving time in prison for armed robbery.

His story helps explain how our laws about high school concussions work – and where they fall short. revealnews.org/episodes/lasti… @invw

2/ Jonathan made varsity football as a freshman in his Oregon high school. He became starting quarterback his sophomore year.

Almost immediately, he got his first documented concussion.

3/ He was pulled from play until a doctor said he was okay, in accordance with a 2009 law that required it – a law written after another high school player suffered a traumatic, concussion-related injury. lawatlas.org/datasets/sc-re…

4/ Every state has a law like this on the books. But important details differ state to state. revealnews.org/article/concus…

5/ After a few weeks, Jonathan turned in a doctor’s note clearing him to play. But the paper trail is incomplete.

@invw learned that most states do no tracking, and asked Oregon schools for two years of records. @lvdvoo describes what they found:

6/ After the first concussion, Jonathan’s mother started seeing changes in her son. He was struggling with schoolwork, and he would often need to visit the school nurse.

7/ Jonathan got his second concussion early in his junior year. He missed the rest of the season.

When he returned, the local paper said he looked “good as new.” highschoolsports.oregonlive.com/news/article/8…

8/ Midway through his senior year: concussion number three.

This time, no one reported it.

Jonathan told the school trainer he went to the doctor and was okay. The school double checked with his mother, who realized he’d lied.

9/ The incident exposed one flaw in the laws intended to protect kids from concussions: They rely on students to tell the truth, parents and school staff to follow up, and everyone to put health above football.

10/ Another flaw: These laws don’t address how to manage the cumulative effects of multiple concussions, which are linked to brain diseases such as dementia, as the NFL knows. latimes.com/sports/nfl/la-…

11/ Jonathan got a scholarship to @Portland_State. But before even playing in a game, he got concussion number four. He hit his head in practice, then on a basement beam at home.

It took him 39 days to pass a standard cognitive test.

He decided to quit football.

12/ That’s where the trouble started. Jonathan was arrested for serving as a lookout while his friend robbed a convenience store.

He told a police officer he had consumed alcohol and taken Xanax. He had no criminal history. oregonlive.com/portland/2016/…

13/ Before going to court, Jonathan was evaluated by a neuropsychologist, who concluded:

*Concussions had affected his ability to think rationally.
*He was vulnerable to substance use and negative peer influence.

14/ Were Jonathan’s concussions partly to blame for his crime?

@schwartz_j, a criminologist at @u_nebraska, says there’s “pretty consistent evidence” brain injury is a significant risk factor for delinquent behavior.

15/ Experts told us that courts rarely consider any brain injury as a *full* defense, something that would let criminals off the hook.

Yet head injuries have been used to argue for lower sentences. That’s what Jonathan tried to do.

16/ Ultimately, he was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison, with no chance at early parole.

That’s the mandatory minimum in Oregon for first degree armed robbery. oregonlive.com/portland/2017/…

17/ Last spring, Jonathan’s mother asked his high school for video of his games. They said they’d give it to her – as long as she agreed not to sue.

We showed the letter to a couple lawyers. They called it “outrageous,” “unconscionable” and probably a breach of law.

18/ Under new leadership, Jonathan’s high school now keeps better concussion records. Nobody knows how many others across the U.S. do – or what sort of shape they’re in.

Are you a parent? Student? Journalist?

You can help us find out.

reveal.forms.fm/what-are-your-…

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