Former Michigan star Chris Hutchinson '100 percent comfortable' with son playing football at U of M

Chris Hutchinson discusses concerns surrounding concussions in sports

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Concussions in sports are a growing concern for many parents.

"When I was playing, it was, 'Your head is a battering ram,' and, 'Run through the player with your head,'" said former University of Michigan football All-American Dr. Chris Hutchinson.

Hutchinson is now an emergency physician. The concussion discussion has been followed closely.

But it took on a whole new meaning when his own son, Aidan Hutchinson, decided to follow in his footsteps and pursue a football career at Michigan next fall.

In the emergency room, doctors see people who have had concussions practically every single shift. With how the concerning science of repetitive concussions has evolved, it might seem odd that an emergency physician would be supportive of his son playing football. But Hutchinson is because of his unique insider view.

"I played two years for Bo (Schembechler) and three for (Gary Moeller) at the University of Michigan," Hutchinson said. "I was a team captain in 1992, was an All-American in 1992, won five Big Ten championships. I never lost to Ohio State."

"How many times would you say you might have had a concussion playing the game?" Dr. Frank McGeorge asked.

"I think that's a difficult answer because the definition of a concussion when I was playing was very different than what it is now," Hutchinson said. "Looking back, easily five that I can think of through high school and college."

Back then, it took more for a concussion to be taken seriously.

"As long as you're not vomiting and have a horrible headache and not been knocked out, then you need to get back in there," Hutchinson said.

But times have changed. Hutchinson has seen the definition of a concussion become more conservative, as well as the management.

"Nowadays, it's much more focused on giving the kids time to heal," Hutchinson said. "Being careful, letting them go back and recognizing that an all-state soccer game, while it's important, it's not the rest of your life."

Aidan will start at the University of Michigan in 2018. Hutchinson said he's comfortable with how the game has evolved as his son follows in his footsteps.

"It's a completely different sport," Hutchinson said. "So much safer, what they focus on, compared to what we focused on. Practicing techniques, the focus on recovery, very different sport.

"You change the way you hit. You don't hit with your helmet, you hit with rugby style. There's lots of different ways to be taught about not getting blows to your head.

"When Brady Hoke was at Michigan, I was at a practice, and that was the first time that I realized that they weren't allowed to have two fully padded practices during two days back-to-back. So just that in and of itself, you're reducing the chances that you're going to get injured and you increase your chance that you can recover faster."

Nonetheless, as a doctor and father, Hutchinson takes his son's participation in the sport seriously.

"I drew a hard line in the sand that you're not going to play until seventh grade," Hutchinson said. "There's no evidence to say that seventh or eighth or ninth is the proper time to start, but I think later is better, especially for a contact sport like football.

"I think you need to look at the other side of the issue. The things that I learned from football: the discipline, the time management, the teamwork. I wouldn't be here talking to you right now if it wasn't for football."

"Do you think it's possible to make football a safe game without changing the game itself?" McGeorge asked.

"I think safe is a relative term," Hutchinson said. "Probably safer, just because of the nature of the game. Clearly it's a full contact sport, and it's not without its risk, but the risk is much less than it was."

In the final analysis, Hutchinson said he's "100 percent comfortable letting my son play high school and college football."

Hutchinson pointed out that parents play an important role. Doctors see cases in which heavily invested parents have pushed their children to return to play sooner than recommended after a head injury. No improvement in the rules will diminish the role of personal responsibility.

Some experts are concerned the increase in awareness is also having an unintentional impact, and that the media is missing some key messages. Local 4 will have that story Wednesday on Local 4 News at 5 p.m.


About the Authors:

Dr. McGeorge can be seen on Local 4 News helping Metro Detroiters with health concerns when he isn't helping save lives in the emergency room at Henry Ford Hospital.

Derick is the Lead Digital Editor for ClickOnDetroit and has been with Local 4 News since April 2013. Derick specializes in breaking news, crime and local sports.