>> reporter: george howell, cnn, atlanta. we have more top stories at the top of the hour when cnn sunday morning continues, but, first, you don't want to miss sanjay gupta m.d. that starts now. >> oh, man, it's -- he is laid on the bed, and his head is swollen. he is not moving. he is nott talking. he needs help. breathing from this respirator. i just lost it. >> 10:50 a.m., less than 72 hours after his first concussion, 16-year-old jaquan waller died. ♪ the autopsy would reveal this. it could have been prevented. . >> hello, and thanks for joining us. that's a glimpse of the documentary "big hits, broken dreams." this morning we're talking about this fascinating topic, and all the latest findings on

concussions. i think most importantly how to prevent them. what do young players, their parents, their coaches really need to know? by the way, it's not just football. it's other sports as well. in fact, not far behind football is soccer. there are more head injuries in girls. we invite brandy chastain, and she'll share what she teaches her players to keep safe. there was a hearing in miami in federal court with the lawyers for more than 100 players and their families. they are suing the league over concussions. right now the judges are trying to decide on whether to combine these suits into a single case. meanwhile, the super bowl is set. giants versus patriots. now, here's something you may not know. after the giants won in overtime last weekend, some of the players talked about the 49ers' kick returner who had two critical fumbles. the giants said they had targeted him. his name is kyle williams. they targeted him to knock him out of the game because they knew he had a history of

concussions, including one just last month. now, all of this comes after a season where the nfl has taken many steps to try and fight back the tide of head injuries. joining us to talk about this from seattle is dr. richard alan. he is head of the head, neck, and spine committee. thanks so much for joining us, doctor. i want to talk about that giants-49ers game in just a moment, but, you know, we've been investigating these concussions in football for some time. one of the things that was brought up to me while we were making this documentary was that, look, you know, there is this culture. players want to stay in the game. they want to win. that's no surprise. i mean, this is a competitive sport, but if the doctors and the medical team are also part of the team, so to speak, they are the team doctors, as you call them, does that culture extend to them? are they empowered to pull a player off the field and keep them off the field? >> you know, i can only tell you from my observation, i have not seen -- i have not seen where a

coach has interfered with the team physicians? i think the commissioners made it pretty clear that the team physicians' decision and the professional athletic trainers position on the field is not trumped by anybody, and i haven't seen any evidence to the contrary. i can't speak to what happened in the past, but it's pretty clear now that the team physicians are making the final determinations of who stays in the game. >> is there any virtue in having a person who determines that be an independent person, maybe a sign that every game, an independent medical professional. >> they have to see them all through the season. get a base line on them. i think there's no better person than to take care of these players than the person who is seeing them before the game,

after the game, and throughout the entire season. >> one of the things that threw a little bit of cold water on all this, and i know you know about this, but the giants-49ers game that we mentioned earlier, i mean, essentially the giants players -- at least one player said -- they were targeting one of the 49ers because they knew that player had four concussions. in the end the nfl said, look, nothing illegal was done here. there was no illegal hit or anything like that, but what did you make of that? targeting another player because they knew he had four concussions. it's like going for someone's bum knee in mixed martial arts or something like that. >> you know, i read the same media reports you folks did as well, but i don't have any -- i don't have any firsthand knowledge of what happened. i watched the game like everybody else, and so i can't really specifically comment on that event. >> a couple of things i want to point out real quick. meeblg vick, colt mccoy.

i know you are a football fan. high profile incidents where the quarterbacks suffered a head injury and were seemingly back in the game pretty quickly. i mean, it seemed like from what you and i have been talking about, that was what was supposed to be prevented. these players look like they had -- they got hit pretty hard. they got concussed, and they were back in the game. how could that happen? >> you know what, so the first game we had a spotter. i i was both on the field and up in the media box. i actually see how it can happen. it's like looking through a microscope. you have a very small field. when you are on that field, you see only the ball and the person running with the ball. you don't see the entire field. once are you in the media box, you have a 360 view. it's easy to not see all 22 players although time on the field when you are on the sidelines and there's 6'8" guys standing in front of you.

i think it's a lot different when you add a professional athletic trainer in the media box who is looking down and sees everything. he knows both football and he knows, you know, medicine and they can spot that. >> it's -- you know, you are painting some of the realities of, again, some of the evolving signs and some of the challenges still ahead. quick last question. you have to pick the super bowl. are you allowed talk about that, ok the committee at all? >> you know what, here's the -- you know, i -- i was born in new york city, and i was raised in -- i mean, i was trained in new england. now, how about that for having a schizophrenia -- >> i hope we can continue to talk to you, and go giants and patriots, i guess. >> yeah. that's right. thank you so much, sanjay. take care. >> appreciate it. thank you. and coming up, i'm going to show you what parents and coaches not to mention young players as well out there really

need to know about concussions and how to keep everyone safe. that's next. every season according to the sports concussion institute one in ten high school football players get a concussion. 35% get more than one. [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus presents: the cold truth.

i have a cold. and i took nyquil, but i'm still stubbed up. [ male announcer ] sorry buddy. truth is, nyquil doesn't un-stuff your nose. what? it doesn't have a decongestant. really? [ male announcer ] you need a more complete cold and flu formula, like alka-seltzer plus liquid gels. it's specially formulated to fight your worst cold and flu symptoms, plus relieve your stuffy nose. [ deep breath ] thank you! [ male announcer ] you're welcome. that's the cold truth! [ male announcer ] and to fight your allergy symptoms fast, try new alka-seltzer plus allergy. c'mon, michael! get in the game! [ male announcer ] don't have the hops for hoops with your buddies? lost your appetite for romance? and your mood is on its way down. you might not just be getting older. you might have a treatable condition called low testosterone or low t. millions of men, forty-five or older, may have low t. so talk to your doctor about low t.

hey, michael! [ male announcer ] and step out of the shadows. hi! how are you? [ male announcer ] learn more at isitlowt.com. [ laughs ] hey! you know, typical alarm clock. i am so glad to get rid of it. just to be able to wake up in the morning on your own. that's a big accomplishment to me. i don't know how much money i need. but i know that whatever i have that's what i'm going to live within. ♪ ♪

a conkougs is a brain injury. people think of it as getting your bell rung or getting a ding, but the truth of the matter is it's a brain injury. the biggest cause is getting hit to the head. it can happen in many different ways. it can happen on a sports field, on a helmet to helmet collision, for example, but it can also happen in ways that you might not expect. in a car accident even if your head doesn't hit the dashboard or hit the windshield, just the violent moving back and forth of the brain within the skull in a car accident, for example, can cause a concussion. people think, for example, if this is the brain around it is the skull, and you have a helmet, that there's a blow, and everything just -- you get a blow to the brain. that's not exactly what's happening. typically if all of a sudden this brain is moving this direction, another helmet, for example, is moving this direction. then they both suddenly stop. what happens is the brain keeps moving within the skull, bounces back and forth almost like a beach ball in a swimming pool.

at the same time that's happening the brain is actually elongating. it's like almost a fluid median. it feels like just almost like jell-o, and it's going back and forth and stretching out at the same time, and that's really what ends up causing that concussion. that back and forth, that stretching out. >> one thing to keep in mind about concussions, they don't mean that you necessarily lost consciousness. people can have concussions and have been awake. a really important point. typically someone is going to feel out of sorts. they may have a hard time figuring out exactly where they are, what their surroundings are. they may be seeing stars. especially in the outside of their vision, the periphery of their vision. things may sound hollow because their hearing is not quite intact after a concussion, but typically it's people around somebody who has had a concussion that will notice the most. all people recover differently from concussions. some people can take weeks to recover. some people may take just a few

days, but the key is that they have to be absolutely symptom-free. they can't have any symptoms at all because what that means is the brain is not completely healed. if the brain is not completely healed and the person gets a second concussion, then all of a sudden you have taken a problem that someone can recover from and turned it into a potentially fatal problem. the brain needs to rest, and that means lots of things. no texting, for example. no screen time. reading puts a strain on the brain. we tell people to really completely do nothing at least for several days until all of their symptoms have gone away and then you slowly resume activity. >> now, i'll tell you, i have seen this quite a bit as a doctor, but i also learned this from my investigation of head injuries and looking at young football players in particular. for example, a lot of discussion about helmets like this one. the way to think about that is they work great to protect your skull, but when you are hit hard, your brain is what's moving back and forth from the shock wave inside the skull. it's moving back and forth, and

the helmet can't do anything to stop that movement. as a result, the helmet cannot fully protect against concussions. also, know that forward-thinking schools and teams all across the nation now give baseline cognitive exams to players at the beginning of the season. this is important. why? because later if a player is hit and says they feel just fine, you can re-examine them to see if they're really back to 100%. if not, that's a sign you need to give the brain some more rest before putting him or her back in the game. and, next, we'll talk about a different sport. one that i love to play as well. it's soccer. among high school athletes, it's the number two sport, though, for concussions, ask this will surprise you, but girls are, in fact, more at risk. just a moment. we're going to talk to this lady here, brandy chesny. a lot of people remember you -- i don't know if you can hear me. we'll be with you in just a moment to hear how you're doing and get some tips about preventing concussions in soccer. stay with us after the break. little o's ag made from carefully selected oats

that can help lower cholesterol. is it a superhero? kinda. ♪ kinda. for fastidious librarian emily skinner, each day was fueled by thorough preparation for events to come. well somewhere along the way, emily went right on living. but you see, with the help of her raymond james financial advisor, she had planned for every eventuality. ...which meant she continued to have the means to live on... ...even at the ripe old age of 187.

life well planned. see what a raymond james advisor can do for you.

with flavors like glacier freeze and riptide rush, do you have to wonder what really goes into a sports drink? >> there are really three things a sports drink needs to contain. fluids, which is pretty easy one, and the right amount of sodium, and the right amount of carbo hydrates. >> it doesn't have to be fancy. you can drink pickle juice. >> pickle juice has a ton of sodium. they've done studies on it now showing how it relieves muscle cramping once athletes are already dehydrated and cramped up. >> call me old-fashioned, but a gatorade shower sounds a lot better than a pickle shower. another offbeat choice? coconut water. all natural and lots of potassium. when you are done with that tough workout, how about a big cool glass of chocolate milk? >> most people use it now as a recovery drink, and it's trendy. people love the fact that they can drink chocolate milk. you go do your exercise and drink your chocolate milk.

it does have what's needed which is carbo hydrate, fluid, and a little bit of protein. >> drink up. that's good for life. good advice there for any athlete. you know, we've been talking a lot about concussions and football, but as a father of three girls, you know, one of the big take-aways i have from my big hits investigation is that women and girl athletes are, in fact, more susceptible to concussions as compared to men and boys. it takes a toll. i mean, in fact, in the national study on high school team sports girls soccer had the second highest number of concussions. about half as many as in football. the biggest risk goes to when these players go to head the ball. who better to talk to than brandy. she has a lot of information. she's joining us from santa clara where she works with the college team there. so good to see you. >> well, thank you so much for having me. i appreciate it. >> i think -- i have to say i think almost everyone remembers you from the penalty goal you scored in the 1999 world cup final, and you celebrated those famous images of tearing off

your shirt. the magazine covers were everywhere. you know, back in that 1999 game, your teammate, michelle akers actually had a concussion and i wondered, first of all, at that time, you know, just watching the teammate go down, it must have been really hard. how much did you know about concussions? how concerned were you about that? >> it was difficult to see her go down. i think from the standpoint that she's important to our team. in terms of this is a concussion, and what that exactly means because the information wasn't as out there as it is now about what it means to have a concussion and what happens to the -- literally happens to the brain when there is a concussion. i don't think that we were as educated. >> one of the stats as well that frankly, i learned -- i don't know if you know this, brandy, but they say in a study if it -- take soccer, for example. if you compared girls or boys or men and women, women are 68% more likely to have a concussion playing soccer as compared to men who played soccer.

in basketball women are three times more likely to have concussions as compared to men who play basketball. do you have any any idea, has anyone ever told you that? do you have any idea why that might be? >> it's a shocking statistic in terms of the disparity. but it's not surprising to me because when i watch young girls and watch young boys when they're just first learning about being physical and being on an athletic field, it seems that the boys are little bit more aware spatially than young girls. part of it for me is not so much the heading the ball. it's more about how fast is an opponent coming, where is your body in space, how do you protect yourself? and i don't think there's enough education about not so much preventing concussions, so to speak, what happens when you get your head hit, but how do you protect yourself in space so you might not have that head first collision and go on and be able to be happy and play in the game. so i think that's something we should talk about more. >> brandi, since this is

something that you teach and you coach as well, can you show us a little bit about how to -- how to prevent these concussions? >> well, i think the first thing we do, sanjay, is we teach the players about their spatial awareness when other players are trying to infiltrate their space. we have four players here trying to shield the ball. if you notice, they have their arms out creating a barrier between themselves and the defender to keep the ball away. that's it, girls, now, let's take the ball and we'll put it into the air. that's something that happens when the ball is on the ground. we still want to have the kids protect themselves. because they don't want to be getting close to anybody's head. now, as we know, the ball in soccer gets into the air a lot. we've asked kate and morgan to show how to protect themselves, how to get away and protect themselves from the defender. good. morgan has created some space for herself. so has kate. then katie. good. lauren. good. notice they have their arms out, protecting themselves. and this is something that you can do with your kids on a regular basis out on the field.

get them to get their arms out so, again, when the ball is in the air, morgan separates herself from kate. we've got two very tall players, very good in the air, you know. they seem to be dominant over -- not that lomat's not that tall. she's a good 5'1". but it's important for them as much as it is for lauren to be able to protect herself when the ball comes into the air. good. >> one thing really quick before i let you go. 1,300 hits per head per season for each player on average. that seems like a lot of heading of the ball and a lot of that takes place during practice, i imagine. is that necessary? because you hear about these minor hits to the head also being problematic in the long run. >> absolutely. i'm glad you brought that up. i think the actual heading technique is really important. if you watch each one of these players as i throw the ball to them. the space they're heading the ball is right here. i think with young kids, they get a lot of balls that are up on the top of their head, maybe to the side of their head,

coming across the ball, using their neck. these players are technically really gifted, so they know that there's a space that just above your eyebrow, if you attack the ball, hitting it here, it creates almost -- you almost don't feel it. it's like when you have a good golf swing and you get the ball just right. again, we'll show morgan. nice, right with the space right above the eyebrow. good, katie. that's it, lo. so, again, i think good technique, good technique on the ball. >> right, right. >> you know, i think education is everything, and it's a good thing that you're bringing it up. the ncaa puts out information and each university has their own protocol on how to deal with a concussion after it's happened. but we haven't talked a lot about how to prevent it. i think if we educate our players about spatial awareness, good technique on how do you actually head the ball and with what space, i think we'll see those numbers go down. >> it's fascinating. i could watch it all day.

it's so great to see you and see what you're up to you and your players as well. we appreciate it. coming up, we have a former nfl player who found a sense of mission when he learned what these head injuries can do. before we go to the break, it's more of the documentary called "big hits, broken dreams." >> subconcussive blows are the everyday hits, small hits. they don't cause concussions. an average high school player sustains more than 650 of these hits per season. >> you're talking about people in their -- you know, young, in their 40s developing dementia and almost alzheimer's like diseases. it could be a result of many smaller hits over their career. >> a series of those subconcussive insults to the head that add up over time. with your mortgage,

want to avoid foreclosure. candy? um-- well, you know, you're in luck. we're experts in this sort of thing, mortgage rigamarole, whatnot. why don't we get a contract? who wants a contract? [honks horn] [circus music plays] here you go, pete. thanks, betty. betty: we're out of toner. announcer: if you're facing foreclosure, talk to the right people. speak with hud-approved housing counselors free of charge at...

and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. [ woman ] lower cholesterol. [ man 2 ] yummy. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste and whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. at the university of wisconsin and then on with the detroit lions, lamar campbell was known as a fast, tough defensive back. he played corner back and safety.

and he knew the drill. he was expected to hit the other guy and hit him hard. if you got hurt, you shook it off and you just got be back out there on the field. simple enough. but when he left the game in 2002, he learned that that hurting, it wasn't done. lamar campbell has achieved what many young men only dream of. after four years starting for the university of wisconsin, he made it to the pros. >> i got offered to come to camp of the detroit lions as a free agent in 1998. i made the team and played with them for five years. >> injuries ended his nfl career. but campbell successfully found a new life after the game as a real estate broker. >> welcome back to life after the game. >> and radio talk show host. it's a platform he uses to educate other players about transitioning to life after football as well as the dangers of injuries you can't really see. repeated hits to the head.

>> the perception of what a concussion was is different. i don't think you had a concussion until you were knocked out on the field. we looked at it as a badge of honor. >> as a player, he didn't know that concussions could cause serious injuries to the brain. now campbell says playing football takes years off a player's life. >> i wake up with cramps all over my body and headaches and migraines. >> he says he's also suffered some memory loss. >> there were situations where i don't remember certain series. i would be out there and not realize exactly what was going on. >> while he was never diagnosed, looking back, campbell believes he's had over ten concussions in his football career. he believes players today need to recognize the symptoms and be willing to let their brains heal. >> i think the education of it is what i would like to change. let guys know how to play the game safely. you can still have a great hit. you can still be as successful as you want to on the football field. >> he hopes the culture of the game will soon change. so if his son wants to follow in his footsteps, it will be a safer game. >>