RICHARDS: INJURY DISCLOSURE A THING OF THE PAST

[clevfan]

RICHARDS: INJURY DISCLOSURE A THING OF THE PAST
BY DARRYL RICHARDS
FOXSports.com
Sep. 25, 2002 9:57 a.m.
Give Texas coach Mack Brown a forum and he is one of the most loquacious figures in college football.
Brown can cite statistics, provide historical references and address issues with the best. But when it came to the topic of star wide receiver Roy Williams and the hamstring injury he suffered last Saturday, Brown pressed the mute button.

It wasn't that Brown was trying to play games with the media. The order to say as little as possible about the injury came from university administrators who cited a federal law.

"They said, 'Keep your mouth shut,' " Brown said. "I like you (the media). I don't like you enough to get fired." Texas and athletic departments around the country are limiting what kind of medical information they release about athletes so they can be compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996.

The federal regulation, which will require total compliance on April 14, 2003, creates national standards to protect an individual's personal health information and gives patients increased access to their medical records. The regulations were intended to only affect "covered entities" or health care providers that conduct financial or administrative transactions electronically.

But some interpretations have extended the act to include all health care entities that utilize patients’ medical records. That includes athletic departments.

If the act is interpreted to the letter, trainers can act like a general with top secret information. But with a strange twist. It's not so much “if I tell you, I'll have to kill you.” It's scarier than that.

It's if I tell you, somebody can sue you (or me).

Just ask Texas A&M coach R.C. Slocum.

"The scenario has been presented to me that, during the ball game, the trainer could come to me and say: 'You can't play Brian Gamble any more.'

'Why?'

'Well, he's hurt.'

'What's wrong with him?'

'I can't tell you. It's against the law.' "

"I don't think it's going to get that far," Slocum said. "I hope not."

And you thought Title IX was a booger?

For years, certain information about students has been protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. It's known in academic circles as the Buckley Amendment and it's the main reason why a school often has its hands tied when it comes to releasing information about negative grades or the reason why an athlete has been dismissed from a team. It's often why an athlete leaves a team for "personal reasons."

HIPAA is changing the nature of college injury reports. Because there are no set guidelines on how to deal with the release of injury information, coaches and sports information directors have been working without a net on this issue. Because state laws can supersede HIPAA, schools in some states can have a more restrictive interpretation of the act than others.

Some coaches are freely releasing injury information. Several high profile coaches, including Wisconsin's Barry Alvarez, USC's Pete Carroll and Washington State's Mike Price indicated they have never heard of HIPAA. Carroll said he tries to make an effort to be as forthcoming as possible about injuries, a slight carryover from his days in the NFL where teams are required to disclose injuries.

Price said he would prefer not to release information about injuries, but he would rather that correct information is disseminated.

"I don't withhold anything," Price said. "I would like to if I could. But that has not been our policy."

Kansas State coach Bill Snyder has kept injury reports under lock and key for years. Snyder says he isn't trying to be obnoxious; he just doesn't want to give his opponents an advantage on where to attack a player. Alvarez said he only releases medical information when a player is going to be out for an extended period of time.

The closemouthed approach may change the scope of television broadcasts. Fox Sports Net sideline reporter Jim Knox saw two different approaches this past weekend when he did a football double-dip in Texas. Knox covered the North Carolina State-Texas Tech game, then worked Houston-Texas that evening.

The training staffs at North Carolina State and Texas Tech gave information rather freely. But it was a different situation at the Houston-Texas game. The Houston staff disclosed quarterback Barrick Nealy had reinjured his knee and would be out. The Texas staff would only say that the medical staff is evaluating Williams' hamstring.

"Sometimes we're speculating," Knox said. "With Williams it was plain as day because everybody could see Williams grab his hamstring. I can at least say that much. But getting an injury report 100 percent could be difficult."

Knox was not alone last weekend. ABC play-by-play man Brent Musburger could not get into the specifics of an apparent shoulder injury to Notre Dame quarterback Carlyle Holiday during a game at Michigan State. ABC sideline reporter Samantha Ryan could not provide an update on a knee injury to Georgia Tech running back Tony Hollings. The university acknowledged that Hollings, the nation's leading rusher, tore his ACL and will be out for the remainder of the season.

The fundamental purpose of the law is commendable. But even legislators have admitted they never thought about how the law would apply to the sports arena. Some sports information directors and trainers said they would only give out medical information if an athlete signs a waiver.

Still, there are some cases when an athlete doesn't want information about an injury released. Say a senior or an upperclassman with an NFL future has an injury that requires surgery. Is it in his best interest to release the information to the world? Probably not, although a thorough physical may reveal the injury regardless. Coaches and trainers also acknowledge a strict interpretation of HIPAA could lead to an unsavory element entering college football. Without detailed injury reports, what's to stop a campus gambler from slipping a student trainer or manager $500 to get an accurate report on the quarterback's injured shoulder or the star running back's hamstring?

"Absolutely, it would be a concern," Arizona coach John Mackovic said. "I would follow the law, but open a door to a different attitude. When dealing with organized crime and illegal betting, they play for keeps. I'm not naïve to think they won't do whatever it takes to get the information."

While Texas is listing Williams as questionable (a 50-50 chance of playing) this week, the lack of information has led to comical speculation in some cases.

When Auburn running back Carnell Williams hobbled off the field in the season opener against USC, broadcasters were left to speculate that Williams was suffering from leg cramps on a warm September evening.

Good guess, but that wasn't exactly right according to Auburn football athletic trainer Arnold Gamber. HIPAA prevents Gamber from saying what was wrong with Williams.

When Williams went to the locker room just before halftime in last Thursday night's game at Mississippi State, broadcasters speculated that the talented tailback may have been experiencing leg cramps again.

Nope.

"He wasn't cramping, he had to take a leak," Gamber said laughing. "It was near halftime and we'd rather he do it in the locker room than on the field. Not that players haven't done that before."