It’s been a good year for the U.S. Soccer Federation (US Soccer).
First, the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team won the world cup.
Then, earlier this week, it was announced that US Soccer and the plaintiffs, who were suing the national governing body and other organizations for not doing enough to reduce the risk of concussions, had reached a settlement. .
Besides US Soccer, the other organizations included United States Youth Soccer Association, American Youth Soccer Organization, US Club Soccer, and the California Youth Soccer Association.
As a group, the defendants “developed a sweeping youth soccer initiative designed to (a) improve concussion awareness and education among youth coaches, referees, parents and players; (b) implement more uniform concussion management and return-to-play protocols for youth players suspected of having suffered a concussion; (c) modify the substitution rules to insure such rules do not serve as an impediment to the evaluation of players who may have suffered a concussion during games; and (d) eliminate heading for children 10 and under and limit heading in practice for children between the ages of 11 and 13,” according to the parties. The complete details of the initiative, along with a more comprehensive player safety campaign, will be announced by U.S. Soccer before the end of the year.
The above initiative was undoubtedly fueled by the litigation, which was filed in 2014.
At the time, the plaintiffs alleged that the defendants failed to adopt effective policies to evaluate and manage concussions at each level of the game. The plaintiffs also alleged that the lack of effective policies posed a greater danger to players that are women and children, since both groups are more vulnerable to traumatic and long-lasting brain injury.
The plaintiffs, who filed the claim in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, sought to force the defendants to implement up-to-date guidelines for detection of head injuries and for return to play after a concussion. The suit also called for regulation of heading by players under 17 years old.
The defendants moved to dismiss, and a few months ago we’re successful (Rachel Mehr, et al. v. Féderation Internationale De Football Association, et al.; N.D. Cal.; Case No. 14-cv-3879-PJH, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 92779; 7/16/15). But that decision left the door open for the plaintiffs to cure the deficiencies and re-file a complaint. That apparently was right recipe for a settlement.
“We filed this litigation in effort to focus the attention of U.S. Soccer and its youth member organizations on the issue of concussions in youth soccer,” said Steve Berman and Hagens Berman, who is lead counsel for the plaintiffs. “With the development of the youth concussion initiative by U.S. Soccer and its youth members, we feel we have accomplished our primary goal and, therefore, do not see any need to continue the pursuit of the litigation. We are pleased that we were able to play a role in improving the safety of the sport for soccer-playing children in this country.”
Daniel Flynn, Chief Executive Officer of US Soccer said “the development of a player safety initiative was under way before the current lawsuit was filed. In constructing the concussion component, U.S. Soccer sought input from its medical science committee which includes experts in the field of concussion diagnosis and management, as well as from its technical advisors, and worked with its youth members to develop a true consensus-based program. We are pleased that the plaintiffs and their counsel recognize the steps we have taken and look forward to sharing the benefits of the youth concussion initiative with parents, players, coaches and officials.”…
