Former Detroit Lions star receiver Calvin Johnson had plenty to say about his former team earlier this month, but he made a startling admission about battling some injuries during his playing career.
Related: A year after retiring, Calvin Johnson throws shade at the Detroit Lions
In a recent interview, Johnson was asked if he ever hid a concussion while he was a player. According to the Detroit Free Press, he said "of course" he had played through a concussion and hidden it from doctors.
"Guys get concussions, they don't tell the coaches," Johnson said. "It happens. I don't tell the coach sometimes cause I know I got a job to do. The team needs me out there on the field. And sometimes you allow that to jeopardize yourself, but that's just the nature of the world."
Johnson's admission comes only days after Tom Brady's wife, Gisele Bundchen, told CBS that her husband had a concussion in 2016 and it wasn't reported.
NFL rules state that a player must be removed from the game if he suffers from concussion-like symptoms, but it's clear after Johnson's statements that some players just try to mask their symptoms to continue playing.
It is difficult for officials or the NFL to determine whether a player has a concussion or not, so eventually players might be taken out of a game if they have any hit to the head.
Johnson's comments unfortunately aren't that surprising given how prevalent head injuries are in football, and it's something the league will have to continue to improve in the future.
(h/t Pro Football Talk)
