SJUFAN2 post=436625 said:
Beast of the East post=436621 said:
Coaches are paid only to win. Losing coaches get fired.
Fans only come to see winning basketball. Losing teams have empty arenas. Boston college draws hundreds when the opponent isn't Duke or UNC.
Players feel the pressure to stay on the court to attract NBA attention. Questions about a guard's health or durability could cause NBA teams to look elsewhere.
In this era, the patient over 18 controls his own medical information. An 18 year old must grant permission for even his parents to learn what is going on. HIPAA patient privacy puts the patient firmly in control.
I'd find it hard to believe that Powell was denied access to his own doctor's diagnosis or recommendations.
In light of the high profile scandals at Ohio St, Penn St, Michigan and USC involving the coverup of doctors, coaches and administrative leaders actions in order to protect the program or university, I find it hard to believe that anyone would find it hard to believe that a coach, program or college would put its own interests ahead of those of its students/athletes.
Right now its an allegation. We'll see if its provable, but college sports has proven to be a cesspool of corruption at its highest levels so how is this so much more of a stretch than the incredible shenanigans that went on in those universities?
You always have a hard time successfully concluding by missing the point. There is no assertion of how the college did or didn't act. The main point is that as a legal adult, Powell had full access and complete control over his medical information, including all tests results, and physician consultations. If a physician misled him deliberately as to the nature of his injury or prescribed treatment, that physician, hospital, or medical group would be subject to disciplinary action, loss of license, and/or criminal charges.
More than likely Powell was influenced by the desire to get SHU deep into the NCAA tourney, possibly a championship, to boost his NBA fortunes. Would/Could Willard try to influence him to play through the injury? I would imagine he certainly could have, They also limited his playing time and practice time.
So, as someone with a clinical degree and my own history with a torn meniscus, is that depending on the severity of the tear, you can indeed play with one. I had surgery on one knee, and a few years back learned to the surprise of my orthopedic surgeon after he sent me for a precautionary MRI on the other knee, that the other was torn. It has caused only minor discomfort since. The player himself will know when the pain is too great to play with it.
Powell played 883 minutes his senior year, as compared to 1225 his junior year. He still averaged 21 ppg, but his shooting percentage and steals were down a lot.
While physical therapy can help someone with a torn meniscus, I'm going to guess that the only option was surgery, which would have kept him off of the courts for 6-8 weeks. It's incredible that the suit alleges that Powell was told he had an ankle injury and not a knee injury. How he would not have known there was pain in his knee, how he would not have known that he was sent for an MRI on his knee is beyond belief.
A meniscus is not a serious knee injury, and full recovery would not have scared NBA teams. The suit alleges he was headed to be a lottery pick until NBA teams got wind of it, which is ludicrous. The Nets signed Kevin Durant AFTER he ruptured his achilles tendon, a much more serious injury.
Did SHU minimize the injury to Powell to keep him on the court? I would guess they left it up to him, but encouraged him to play with it and also limited his practice time and on court minutes. Typically an orthopedic surgeon will advise you to do nothing until the pain becomes so great as to necessitate surgery. A meniscus will NOT heal by itself. I seriously doubt Powell would have sat out his senior year because of this injury unless he was told it was going to make it worse.
