Comments about ‘Injuries, meds doomed BYU football star’

This is such a tragic story to read about.

There is a lot of pressure to perform in college athletics, even at BYU.

This seems to be a big problem in college-players getting injured and getting hooked on pain pills. Coaches, trainers and even teammates need to step up and be more responsible and find ways to alleviate these situations and try to prevent them before they ever get serious.

You will be missed Brad.

Is it "Football players who have problems" month? This is the third article I have read in the past week about football players who have been addicted to pain killers. It is kind of getting old.

Why the focus on BYU athletes?

I don't mind if we see 50 articles of this sort if it brings change. It wouldn't be old to Conejo if it were his son.

I'm quite sure football isn't the only area where people die of addiction because of pressure to perform. Players, coaches and staff all need to get serious and be more explicit, and change current procedures to avoid this repeating. What are BYU, Utah and other universities doing differently now or are we headed for more disasters?

I'm a big football fan but we have to be honest to say there is a big price to pay for all these guys in college and NFL that they pay for the rest of their short little lives.

Concussions are pretty serious, though we know more about them today (not enough though) then we did when Brad played.

Because of the concussion, you have to question whether the doctors and coaches made the correct decision to play a kid who had suffered a concussion and who especially had lost consciousness the day before.

It's just unfortunate that you earn respect in sports like football by endangering your health, it's not enough to just be tough when you are safely capable. Playing with injuries is a necessary part of the game, but when a player wants to cross a line the doctors and coaches need to step in more often than they do. You simply cannot leave it up to the players.

Even with the obvious symptoms of playing erratically and not at all like Brad normally played, he stayed in the game. So sad.

"...kind of getting old." Are you kidding? This shocking trend of 'give 'em a pil and look the other way' is killing people. Seems to go against the hypocratic oath. Thanks DNews for exposing this important story at BYU.

BYU stone sober..... How about Pill pushing????

BYU has a real problem.... The Brethren had better get the drug problem undercontrol... Maybe BYU has focused too much on sports instead of souls!!!

All this in the name of sports!!!!

SHAME on you BYU!!!!!!
The more I hear about BYU the more I want my daughter to stay clear!!!!

I remember Brad well. Very tragic. Pain Rx addiction is more common than anyone knows, among athletes and the general population.

You could find a litany of players with similar plights at schools all across the country.

This is all too common in all competitive sports. There is a clear need to separate the medical care from team staff. Coaching staff doctors have a conflict of interest that prevents them from performing their duties without consideration for the team. I do agree with other BYU alumni that this situation should never have occured among honest individuals.

Maybe Bronco should sponsor more "firesides" and have his players speak to youth about the dangers of prescription drugs.

FYI,
BYU is not the only school in the country or the state responible for "pill pushing". As much as a Utah fan that I am, Brian Johnson probably returned A week or Two early. As a fan I am glad as an individual I am concerned. The people who need to get this problem under control are not the "brethren" it is the NCAA and the coaches. And unfortunately parents becasuse this happens at the high school level as well. These individuals need to let these kids know that there is more to life than the glory of sports and that winning at all costs will take a toll. I am sad for the Martin family and hope that some way there tragic loss will help another one be avoided.

How do you fix the problem if students are getting pills outside the schools doctors. Do you stop giving pain killers all together? A school might feel like they are giving the right dosage, but if the person is also getting it secretly online or others, it is nearly impossible to stop.

I really feel for Brad and his family. I don't think I can even imagine the depression and dispair he went through. I have family members who suffer with drug addition (not athletes) and it is such a hard thing to get over.

what is disturbing is that this is a story that has made the rounds for a long time, ie lots of pain killers at byu, look back thru the archives and you will see many stories where someone who played at the y had a problem later in life with addiction. as a state utah also leads the nation in prescription drug abuse....perhaps the notion that if a dr. says its ok then its not a drug........

has there been an investigation into the team Doctors' abilities to administer pain medications? sounds like these team docs don't know what they are doing from foot injuries to hand injuries to now pain reduction administration. BYU needs to have podiatrists and anesthesiologists who specialize in pain reduction (outpatient not inpatient pain clinic medicine) on staff, not just orthopods who know nothing about clinical medicine outside of a knee, shoulder or hip joint.

this sort of "pressure to play hurt" all starts in high school. Ask any high school athlete and he/she will tell you that they were expected to play hurt or lose their position. Coaches say they care but they really don't care as much as they should. Coaches care about winning more and the kids pay the price. Also, the out of balace culture we live in today that emphasizes sports and entertainment more than academics is also to blame. Again, it all starts in high school. This story is tragic but very very representitive of what is going on all over high school and college athletics.

I am as far from being a BYU fan as anyone you will find and this problem goes way beyond just BYU. It's at every University and level of sports starting with High School. And as players continue to get bigger,stronger and faster it will just get worse. It's very disheartening.

This problem is far more reaching than most want to admit.

Where does the "No Pain No Gain" attitude comes from? From Von Collin to Atkinson. These players have been taught to "tuff it out" since Little league football.

Take a moment to think about how you as parents (especially dad's) teach their children in sports. When you child gets hurt what is your first response? What is the coaches? Stop crying, this is football. I have seen this attitude for 15 years of officiating.

This problem is not just at BYU, it at Utah Weber State USU. It's the current philosopy of football coaches in general.

Until we teach our kids that winning at all cost is not the way to go. You will contiune to see tragic stories as Dnews has put in paper these last three or four days.

If you are getting tired of reading these stories of prescription drug addiction, you should know that these stories are is only the tip of the iceberg. Hopefully, shining a light on the problem will help the medical people realize what a problem it is.

The issues behind this kind of sad story extend far beyond football. The pressure to succeed at all costs exists in most every profession and even with our small children. Each generation seems to be getting worse with the desire to push our children in to this or that extracurricular activity. If we just have some fun we have failed to measure up. Parents sit and talk about all the things their kids are doing, almost like it is a status symbol to have your kids involved in as many thing as possible.

We are killing ourselves because of the pressure to be the best, to have the best, instead of just trying to enjoy life.