Memo to Ivy League: Significance of Football Concussions Is That (Not When) They Occur

Last week the Ivy League schools prohibited tackling in football practice but not in games. If the Surgeon General of the United States had acted in a similar way regarding cigarettes, the warning on each package would read: "Smoking causes lung cancer, etc., so please only smoke on weekends."

It is of no import to a human brain whether it's concussed in practice or in a game. Both are equally dangerous.

By enacting this new rule, the Ivy League may have set a new legal standard of care. Although "standard of care" is not a dramatic phrase, it is very important in the law because it determines whether a person or other legal entity is acting in a negligent manner that causes legal liability. Often it is referred to as the "reasonable person" standard, that is, what a reasonable person would do under similar circumstances.