NBA concussion protocol:
- The return to participation protocol involves several steps of increasing exertion – from a stationary bike, to jogging, to agility work, to non-contact team drills.
- With each step, a player must be symptom free to move to the next step. If a player is not symptom free after a step, he stops until he is symptom free and begins again at the previous step of the protocol (i.e., the last step he passed without any symptoms).
- It’s important to note that there is no time frame to complete the protocol. Each injury and player is different and recovery time can vary in each case.
Then again...
If a player is suspected of having a concussion, they are removed from the game and cannot return until they are cleared by the league’s concussion protocol. If a player is diagnosed with a concussion, they must miss at least seven days. If a player suffers a second concussion within that same season, they must miss at least 30 days. If a player suffers three concussions within the same season, they must miss the rest of that season plus at least one additional week.
So I guess the question is was Hart
actually diagnosed with a concussion, or is just precautionarily in the protocol?