‘Play hurt, practice hurt’: How life-threatening injuries became normalized in college football

At many elite programs training is seen as impossible if sessions are stopped to care for injured players

Clint* says he was suffering from an undiagnosed concussion when he collapsed on the field during preseason training camp for a team in the Power Five, the elite level of college football. It was an incident that foreshadowed the tragic death of Jordan McNair at a University of Maryland practice. Clint was attended to by medical staff and ultimately hospitalized overnight. Meanwhile, the head coach called out, Move the drill!" and sent the team to continue on another side of the field.

One of my friends told me they had to carry on with practice and they didn't know if I was dead or not," Clint told us, adding: [Head coach] never checked on my wellbeing before, during, or after."