PITTSBURGH — Like some coaches in the NFL, Mike Tomlin is customarily vague when it comes to publicly discussing the nature of a player's injury and the extent to which it might affect his playing time.
The main reason for this practice is to not give the upcoming opponent any additional information they might be seeking for game-planning purposes. But it is also done in some instances to protect the player — not give opponents a target on which to focus during the game, thereby risking further injury to the player.
Former Chicago Bears center Olin Kreutz said he used to tape both ankles when he had a sprained ankle so the opponent wouldn't know which one was hurt. That way, they couldn't figure out which blocks he couldn't make because of the injury. And they couldn't try to specifically attack the actual injury, which he even admitted he would do if he knew an opponent had a specific injury.
Tomlin is so adamant about not discussing injuries that he admonishes his players when they might discuss them with the media.
Therein, though, lies the problem for the injured player.
He is sometimes put in the awkward if not compromised position of missing an extended period of time with an injury that is not being revealed as disabling as it might be. It makes the player look as though he is not tough enough to play — a serious stain for any professional athlete — and can give the impression to the public he is merely taking it easy.
In other words, it can be a disservice to the player.
This is what happened in 1993 when former Steelers running back Barry Foster staged his own press conference without the team's consent to explain the nature of an ankle injury that was keeping him from playing. Foster even had the late orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Freddie Fu, who was independently treating him, provide video slides at the press conference showing what was wrong with Foster's ankle.
Fu performed what he called a "low-risk" operation on Foster's ankle, causing him to miss the last seven games of the season.
The late Steelers chairman Dan Rooney called the press conference "self-serving," even though he visited Foster in the hospital.
A 2020 study by Trinity College in Ireland that appeared in the British Journal of Sports Medicine revealed a "culture of concealment" when it comes to reporting pain to coaches and teammates. The study was conducted among Irish professional rowers, but it said the same mentality exists in professional sports, as well.
"This study presents a powerful message that athletes fear being judged as weak when they have pain and injury," said Dr. Fiona Wilson, who helped conduct the study, in the article. "They feel isolated and excluded when injured."
All this comes to mind because Steelers running back Najee Harris revealed after the final preseason game he has been dealing with a Lisfranc injury that caused him to miss a lot of practice time and appear in just one preseason game. When asked early in training camp about Harris' injury, Tomlin merely said he had his foot stepped on without revealing the extent of the injury. In his defense, Tomlin is not required by NFL rules in training camp to give reasons for a player's lack of participation.
For historical perspective, a Lisfranc sprain is named for Napoleon's personal surgeon, Jacques Lisfranc, who first diagnosed the injury on the battlefields of France when members of the cavalry got thrown from their horses and had their feet stuck in the stirrups. The resulting dislocation and sprain was often untreatable and devastating and, according to lore, sometimes resulted in amputation.
Fortunately for Harris and defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi, who had surgery in the offseason for a Lisfranc injury, medicine has evolved past that.
The opposite of all this, of course, is the way former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger handled his injuries, revealing and explaining them as though he were reciting a grocery list. His disclosures to the media were often viewed as being a "drama queen," as if he were somehow generating sympathy or providing an excuse for any possible drop off in performance — none of which rarely, if ever, came.
His approach was maddening even to former coach Bill Cowher, who often rolled his eyes at Roethlisberger's latest public injury updates. Nonetheless, among those who handled his physical ailments, Roethlisberger was known as one tough dude, playing through more pain and injuries that even he didn't often reveal.
Make no mistake, there isn't a single player in NFL history who hasn't played without some sort of pain. Most injuries — bumps, bruises, swollen knees — aren't even reported in the media because players don't want to complain about them. It is a badge of honor.
But, just as assuredly, players who are injured more seriously than what is being indicated sometimes do not want to appear weak or not being tough enough to keep playing. It can be a disservice to the player, even if it might help the game plan.
