The California legislature recently passed, and Governor Brown signed into law, AB 1451, which amends the state's existing concussion safety law to require all high school coaches to complete a training course on the signs and symptoms of concussion.
Like the earlier law, AB 1451 was introduced by Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi, who has become California's leading legislative champion for concussion safety.
Her efforts on behalf of youth athletes may not be enough to save her job, as she has been caught up in a shoplifting scandal, pleading to a misdemeanor and claiming that she suffered from a brain tumor that impaired her decision-making capacity, causing her to shoplift. The Sacramento Bee, which covers goings on in California's capitol, noted that it is odd that Assemblywoman Hayashi could work on highly substantive legislation and then have her decision-making process so impaired that she couldn't restrain herself from shoplifting.
Time will tell if one of California's leading voices on concussion care for youth athletes is silenced.
Posted September 17, 2012
