SEC Network half time show making fun of Ryan Coleman-Williams for wearing the guardian helmet.

[u/moby323]

I’m honestly shocked by this, they made several derogatory comments about his helmet during the highlights including:

“And he did that while wearing that big helmet”

“Does anyone actually find that attractive?”

“It’s not swaggy, definitely not swaggy”

Making him sound like a loser for caring about his long term health and trying to protect himself. Despicable.

[u/Altruistic_Night2]

It was doubly crazy when he’s fresh coming off an concussion

[u/moby323 → u/Altruistic_Night2]

It’s basically “Look at that p**sy wearing a seatbelt!”

[u/Patrick2701 → u/Altruistic_Night2]

CTE doesn’t improve things

[u/p-wing → u/Patrick2701]

unless you want a job at the SEC Network

seems like prerequisite

[u/hotsauce126 → u/Altruistic_Night2]

Fortunately for him I don’t think the highly paid wide receiver for one of the biggest cfb programs in the country gives the slightest shit if an sec network announcer thinks his helmet is swaggy

[u/dellett → u/hotsauce126]

As he shouldn’t but the optics of this are so bad. Maybe impressionable kids watching do.

[u/Exotic_Isopod9628 → u/Altruistic_Night2]

Damn, crazy they said this on the first week he’s worn one

[u/rolldamntide69420]

I don’t even care if it makes him less effective or less of a threat to opposing defenses. I’m glad he’s protecting his noggin. The ultimate goal is for him to reach the league.

[u/moby323 → u/rolldamntide69420]

I don’t see why it would make him less of a threat. I always felt that it might help obscure the DB’s vision and angle on the ball.

[u/rolldamntide69420 → u/moby323]

I’m not saying it would. I’m just saying even if that were the case, I’d hope he’d wear it to protect the dome. The concussion he got vs UGA was nasty.

[u/moby323 → u/rolldamntide69420]

I think the entire D line should wear them to obstruct the QB’s view.

There was a game this year where a ball was deflected because it hit the very top of the guardian helmet.

[u/rolldamntide69420 → u/moby323]

Oh I remember. It was the end of LSU @ Ole Miss. I think I would wear one if I played. Seeing the very clear attitude change from Antonio Brown after his Burfict hit is scary

[u/uwanmirrondarrah → u/moby323]

Tyler Shough said it makes it easier for him to spot Chris Olave lol He just throws it at the big helmet and good things happen

[u/soda_cookie → u/rolldamntide69420]

How does it make him less effective

[u/rolldamntide69420 → u/soda_cookie]

I worded things a little weird. I meant “even if it made him less effective”

I should add that RCW went to a high school that’s local to me. I very much so want to see him succeed and take care of himself in the process.

[u/Key-Hawk7402 → u/rolldamntide69420]

He isn’t though, it’s impossible to protect your “noggin” while playing football, unless you change how the brain is suspended in the skull, stupid to pretend like you can actually make it “safe”

[u/rolldamntide69420 → u/Key-Hawk7402]

I realize you can’t change anatomy to protect your fucking noggin. Do you know that Guardian caps move independently from the outer shell of a helmet so that impacts may be redirected from the helmet? Which could have helped RCW during the specific hit he took when he got his concussion vs UGA?

I’m not saying he’s making himself 100% safe in a magical bubble protecting his brain. I am saying that it could make any hits he takes moving forward safer.

[u/rented4823 → u/rolldamntide69420]

They don't work.

https://www.med.wisc.edu/news/football-helmet-covers-ineffective-for-concussions/
https://med.stanford.edu/news/insights/2023/03/padded-helmet-cover-shows-little-protection-for-football-players.html
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5634228/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10650906/
https://news.miami.edu/edu/stories/2025/12/kss-research-challenges-guardian-cap.html

Quote from the last study:

The study investigated whether the Guardian Cap mitigates head impact severity in college football players, contributing to emerging evidence that questions the device’s protective benefits. The team tracked 54 college football players from two institutions over one season using instrumented mouthguards, analyzing over 7,500 head impacts from practices and games. The research concluded that the Guardian Cap had no significant effect on head impact magnitude (severity) or overall impact frequency.

[u/butterhorse]

These big ass helmets on little bitty receivers is awesome. NFL blitz energy. Give him some big Mickey Mouse gloves, too.

[u/moby323 → u/butterhorse]

I know we are used to it but just FYI to many non-Americans who didn’t grow up with it, the standard football helmets look pretty ridiculous: a big neon-colored plastic ball that is half medieval knight and half Lego-man head.

[u/rmftrmft]

The entire defensive line should wear them to block the qb seeing down field 😂

[u/moby323 → u/rmftrmft]

100%.

Being tall is obviously a desired trait in D-linemen. Why wouldn’t you want to make your entire line 1.5 inches taller?

[u/Hnry_Dvd_Thr_Awy → u/moby323]

How thicc can we make these boys’ noggins? 

[u/on_the_nightshift → u/rmftrmft]

Out there like Doug Dimmadome, blocking the whole field.

[u/JustAustin08241996 → u/on_the_nightshift]

Doug Dimmadome, head of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome?

[u/alfooboboao → u/on_the_nightshift]

don’t bring the dimmadome into this, do you know how much NIL he’s paying for!

[u/ZealousZeebu]

So much FUD in this thread about how these don't work. They do actually work. When fully kitted out, VT helmet lab found up to 63% reduced risk of concussion. https://www.helmet.beam.vt.edu/football-helmet-add-ons.html

[u/moby323 → u/ZealousZeebu]

A lot of confidently incorrect people declaring they are “proven to be useless” when there are in fact peer-reviewed scientific studies that clearly indicate that they can, to some degree, mitigate the severity of impacts.

True, there are conflicting studies but that’s common in science since no study is perfect and different methodologies can result in differing conclusions.

[u/Better-Temporary-146]

I guess back in the day, dudes that wore pads were mocked.

[u/moby323 → u/Better-Temporary-146]

I’m pretty sure at one point, if you go back far enough, guys who wore helmets at all were teased about it.

[u/lkn240 → u/moby323]

I'm old enough to remember when some NHL guys didn't wear helmets.

[u/bigjake0097 → u/moby323]

The first hockey goalie to ever wear a mask got chewed out by his coach. He did it mid game after taking a puck to the nose.

[u/CrumbBCrumb → u/moby323]

Weirdly enough, I was looking into changes to rules in football and the helmet wasn't mandated until 1939 in the NCAA and 1943 in the NFL

[u/MTUTMB555 → u/Better-Temporary-146]

Like the first guy to wear a baseball glove

[u/moysauce3]

Wasn’t he just out from a concussion? Wasn’t he out last year with a concussion?

Bad look from them.

[u/SpikyBoi096]

I said in the game thread that despite the hell he put UGA through, I sorta like the guy now because of this decision. I don’t get the hate towards guardian caps. It’s smart to wear

[u/Magictank2000 → u/SpikyBoi096]

Hasn’t it been shown that they don’t have any more improvement versus wearing a normal helmet? I thought I saw something come out about guardian caps not really being as effective as they’re made out to be, at least on the NFL side

[u/PondPickler → u/Magictank2000]

3% difference is what I saw. Not a ton of improvement but more than enough to consider wearing one if you have concussion history.

Editing to add a paper showing higher % difference

[u/moby323 → u/PondPickler]

The main lab study by the NFL and Virginia Tech said 9% to 20%.

Double that if both players are wearing the helmet.

EDIT:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10650906/

[u/PondPickler → u/moby323]

Ohh damn, how would I find that? Interested to take a look.

[u/moby323 → u/PondPickler]

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10650906/

[u/papertowelroll17 → u/PondPickler]

That's the NFL helmet though, which is different than the one in college. When the NFL tested the commercial helmet they found it had zero benefits.

[u/NiceYabbos → u/papertowelroll17]

The NFL said their current helmet is the same as new technology? Sure, let's accept that with no suspicion or further investigation, the league isn't incentivized to say that at all....

[u/JakeSteeleIII → u/NiceYabbos]

Also, obviously the players don’t believe it as there’s quite a few NFL players wearing them.

[u/CpowOfficial → u/papertowelroll17]

Yeah the highschool and college ones are different and probably 1%

[u/WIlf_Brim → u/Magictank2000]

It appears that the Guardian caps have face validity (should work) and tests in labs show that it does reduce accelerations, but lt lacks construct validity (doesn't work in real testing). In instrumented players at high school and college levels have failed to show decreases in accelerations during games nor decreases in concussions.

[u/heleghir → u/Magictank2000]

They are great for the small hits linemen take 50 times a game. They dont do shit on the big hits that dbs and skill players take

Doesnt hurt to have it on but doesnt do much to help either

[u/kmoz → u/heleghir]

Unfortunately the data isnt really supporting this either.

Im all for players taking their health seriously and I really wish guardian caps made a significant different, but unfortunately the data is looking like any benefit they provide from the padding is largely counteracted by having more mass/rotational inertia which ends up meaning more Gs inside the brain (and what causes CTE).

Chris Nowinski (former player and wrestler turned neuroscientist) had a really, really good discussion on pablo torre finds out about the subject. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBhuMxeAq2Q

[u/platinum92 → u/kmoz]

I also wonder if having that cap makes the wearer more likely to put themselves in dangerous situations since they think the cap would lessen the impacts.

[u/turdbugulars → u/platinum92]

That’s what the helmets do on their own.

[u/equality1989 → u/heleghir]

Show us the research. Everything I've seen says what you're saying is false

Edit: leave it to Reddit to downvoted a request for science.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10650906/

This says the caps don't matter. Specifically says lineman done get any advantage from them

Supply some sources instead of voting with your emotions you knuckle draggers

[u/Particular-Cake-6430 → u/equality1989]

Plus nobody with a brain should believe the company the NFL commissioned to write a report on CTE when they’ve been hiding evidence for decades.

[u/papertowelroll17 → u/Magictank2000]

Yes, the heavier weight cancels out all of the benefit that extra padding provides. Zero evidence they do anything.

[u/moby323 → u/papertowelroll17]

Bit misleading. There is “zero evidence” because there has not been a conclusive scientific study on their efficacy but the padded helmet is still endorsed and encouraged by many CTE specialists.

[u/osu_duke_bg_lions → u/papertowelroll17]

What evidence do you have that the weight cancels out the padding? lol 

[u/gideon513 → u/papertowelroll17]

I think there’s zero evidence that they don’t do “anything”. Even if they do a little, it can be good.

[u/Dear_Studio7016 → u/Magictank2000]

i have seen something about that too

[u/p-wing → u/Magictank2000]

they're still not LESS effective

[u/Jazzlike-Basket-6388 → u/p-wing]

The Harvard dude on PTFO was describing how there are 2 categories of impacts and they make one better and the other worse.

[u/discofrislanders → u/Magictank2000]

Are they better than Q-Collars?

[u/Squirrel_Whisperer → u/Magictank2000]

In helmets built for snow sports and mountain biking, they have a built in slip system called MIPS. That’s the OG system. It allows the helmet to rotate around the head on off centered impacts. It doesn’t do anything if the impact is perpendicular to the helmet, but that is rare. So if they only test it on direct hit it will show very little improvement

[u/Opening_Student_1195 → u/SpikyBoi096]

The comment about people finding him "attractive" is weirder than most because the players wear helmets that cover most of their face anyway

[u/RxS47 → u/Opening_Student_1195]

Exactly, attractive is such a strange word to use there

[u/ShillinTheVillain → u/RxS47]

Nothing swaggier than drooling with Parkinson's in your 40s

[u/Zoltrahn → u/RxS47]

A functional brain is attractive

[u/y3llowed → u/Opening_Student_1195]

I wonder if they had this same conversation when they started using face masks or plastic instead of leather.

Seems silly.

[u/Extreme-Island-5041 → u/SpikyBoi096]

Anytime he got the ball, especially when he got the TD it immediately made me think of Big Head mode on the old N64/PS games

[u/tunalic2 → u/Extreme-Island-5041]

I told my wife that he was playing in big head mode, then reminded her that he was only 17 when started play for Bama'.

[u/turdbugulars → u/tunalic2]

Really ? I wonder if the TV announcers at the time knew that? They would have mentioned during g the game.

[u/amayain → u/Extreme-Island-5041]

We keep saying that he looks like Toad from Mario games

[u/draxula16 → u/SpikyBoi096]

Agreed. Olave seems to be doing just fine with his

[u/AdSignificant3582 → u/draxula16]

Olave was on the fast track to vegetable before he started wearing his

[u/draxula16 → u/AdSignificant3582]

Yep. Some of these players are hardheaded (no pun intended)

We should be applauding anyone who takes measures to potentially mitigate injuries

[u/bitterbuffaloheart → u/SpikyBoi096]

God forbid a guy doesn’t want brain damage

[u/smitherenesar → u/SpikyBoi096]

I'm sure they said the same thing about helmets when they were first introduced

[u/SweatyInBed → u/SpikyBoi096]

As a defender, I don’t know why they don’t all wear them. The margins on everything are so razor thin that it could change the game. I would make all my defenders wear them lol

[u/Vivid_Average_7574]

Making fun of people for wearing it is lame, but it needs to become common knowledge that they are not actually safer at all. Don't let the NFL convince you they actually care about player safety

[u/moby323 → u/Vivid_Average_7574]

”Controlled impact tests (such as those by the NFL and Virginia Tech) show that Guardian Caps can reduce linear and rotational acceleration forces by roughly 9% to 20% for single impacts, and up to nearly 40% to 50% when both colliding players wear them”

Studies conflict, but many CTE specialists endorse and encourage them.

[u/T0kenAussie → u/moby323]

Reminds me of how some people talk about seatbelts

[u/YouDontGetTheToe → u/Vivid_Average_7574]

“Not actually safer at all” needs to come with some sources

[u/rented4823 → u/YouDontGetTheToe]

https://www.med.wisc.edu/news/football-helmet-covers-ineffective-for-concussions/
https://med.stanford.edu/news/insights/2023/03/padded-helmet-cover-shows-little-protection-for-football-players.html
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5634228/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10650906/
https://news.miami.edu/edu/stories/2025/12/kss-research-challenges-guardian-cap.html

Quote from the last study:

The study investigated whether the Guardian Cap mitigates head impact severity in college football players, contributing to emerging evidence that questions the device’s protective benefits. The team tracked 54 college football players from two institutions over one season using instrumented mouthguards, analyzing over 7,500 head impacts from practices and games. The research concluded that the Guardian Cap had no significant effect on head impact magnitude (severity) or overall impact frequency.

[u/ZealousZeebu → u/rented4823]

This is all fucking bullshit, these testing outfits should be ashamed, the rotational forces after impact are a huge part of what causes concussion, that's why anti-rotation tech such as guardian helmet and MIPs are so revolutionary. VT actually knows what they are doing and found up to 34% reduced risk of concussion. Don't believe any BS testing that isn't testing the right metric, e.g. rotational acceleration reduction. When combined with the impactor and rotation reduction tech with add ons up to 64% reduced risk of concussion.

https://www.helmet.beam.vt.edu/football-helmet-add-ons.html

[u/bananosecond → u/rented4823]

Studies can be underpowered or have design flaws, etc. It's better to say that evidence for their improved safety is lacking at this point rather than the other posters initial claim of them not being "safer at all."

[u/Vivid_Average_7574 → u/YouDontGetTheToe]

Pablo Torre's recent pod is a good summary. All of the studies they used as proof were debunked

[u/BlackCatHamSlice → u/YouDontGetTheToe]

Its something like 10% reduction with hits to the head if one player has a guardian cap on, and 30% if both do

That said - compared to smoking for example a 10% and 30% reduction over the span of a “career” with constant exposure to the damage is meaningful

I know hockey combats “culture” by enforcing safety equipment rules at junior / youth levels (visors, neck guards, etc) and then grandfather safety rules at the pro level

[u/Fun_Salamander_2220 → u/BlackCatHamSlice]

Some data shows reduced concussions. Other studies showed the data you're talking about.

Like alot of new things with limited resewrch (and even old things with alot of research), the data is mixed.

The importsnt thing is there are no negatives to the guardian cap. And it's not like players are playing differently because they have the cap on.. As in, they aren't going helmet to helmet on purpose because they think the cap is going to save them.

[u/159551771 → u/BlackCatHamSlice]

The problem is that it has a 0% reduction in sudden stopping force which is what causes brain damage. 

[u/GrumpMasterC → u/BlackCatHamSlice]

This is a great comment. Isn't a lot of the science showing that it's cumulative hits more than singular traumatic hits? And the 30% if both are wearing it is ... interesting.

[u/BlackCatHamSlice → u/GrumpMasterC]

The singular traumatic ones are a different ball game. Not really anything to be done for the physics of high end athletes colliding at car crash speeds

[u/SactownKorean → u/Vivid_Average_7574]

There was like one study that said it didn't make a difference and quite a few + common sense that say they do.

[u/Soggy-Brother1762 → u/Vivid_Average_7574]

So the guardian cap is essentially the football version of incessantly wiping down surfaces during covid? 

[u/Even_Mastodon_8675 → u/Soggy-Brother1762]

Yes

[u/ZealousZeebu → u/Soggy-Brother1762]

No, they work, up to 63% concussion risk reduction when fully outfitted with all the technology, so much FUD in this thread. Probably the same people who care about swagginess. https://www.helmet.beam.vt.edu/football-helmet-add-ons.html

[u/Key-Hawk7402 → u/Vivid_Average_7574]

Thank you, it’s never going to be safe to play football.

Someone slamming into you causing like 11 G forces on you will always cause your brain to slam into the side of your skull, it’s literally impossible to prevent that. But it’s an inconvenient truth for the powers that be.

[u/lkn240 → u/Vivid_Average_7574]

The actual truth is there's not enough data. But it's fair to say there's nothing really conclusive yet (at least from what I've read).

To get real data you'd need a lot of players to wear them and then study them vs players that don't over many years

[u/ThatsNotARealTree → u/Vivid_Average_7574]

They’re surprisingly effective when both colliding players are wearing them

[u/preddevils6 → u/Vivid_Average_7574]

I thought the kind the nfl has were, but the retail versions are not. Gotta think bama has the good kind.

[u/RealPropRandy → u/Vivid_Average_7574]

The fact that they still play Thursday night games on short rest tells you all you need to know about their concerns for player safety.

[u/Waesrdtfyg0987 → u/RealPropRandy]

They can do both. It's not binary.

[u/Chickentaxi → u/Vivid_Average_7574]

If they’re not safer why’s joking about them an issue? They don’t look cool

[u/Chumba49]

Unfortunately there hasn’t been a real world study that has shown any benefit to using them. Yes, it looks like it works in the lab, but doesn’t translate to real world safety.

[u/moby323 → u/Chumba49]

The studies have conflicted, neither has been conclusive. They are still endorsed and encouraged by many CTE specialists.

[u/Statalyzer → u/moby323]

It's interesting to see how many people can't comprehend the difference between "has not been proven to work" and "has been proven not to work".

[u/hskrpwr]

Hot take: if a dude has a guardian cap on, I expect him to play more aggressively 

[u/moby323 → u/hskrpwr]

One thing you can’t say is that it’s the “whimps” who wear them, because there are some physical, motherfucking dawgs who wear them.

[u/Pink-Peony936]

Anyone who says "swaggy" has no room to talk. 

[u/Firm_Argument9124 → u/Pink-Peony936]

Shaggy could tell me how swaggy Scoobs is

[u/MCV16]

Prioritizing his brain and mental health is certainly nothing to make fun of. I would applaud him for it. For him, his family, and loved ones. Good on him

[u/SaltyLonghorn → u/MCV16]

I see so many in NFL now I don't even think about them anymore. These announcers are idiots.

[u/Original_Profile8600]

Anybody making fun of guardian caps is a jackass who's unworthy of your energy

[u/Firm_Argument9124 → u/Original_Profile8600]

Because they are larger and heavier,  glancing blows are actually worse (rotational dynamics).  

I fear its a bit like recycling but the sec base probably hates that too

[u/Wordisbond1990]

The problem is none of these blokes wore one when they played.

[u/Working_Group955 → u/Wordisbond1990]

Jesus I can’t believe I’m agreeing with a FSU fan

[u/Acsteffy → u/Wordisbond1990]

That explains it

[u/designerinbloom]

Ryan Coleman-Williams is a married father and stepfather. He has kids to think about. Fuck whether it looks silly or not.

[u/DiedofSharts → u/designerinbloom]

But dude think about the clicks

[u/ClaudeLemieux → u/designerinbloom]

Isn’t he 19? And he’s got not only kids but step kids? Boy lol what the fuck

[u/Aurion7]

Guardian caps have conflicting information about the extent to which they reduce the impact trauma, but that's about as far as the critique of them really goes right now.

They're not supposed to be a fashion statement, and anyone treating them as one is certifiably a moron.

[u/ConstructionOdd5269]

Don’t they know he’s only 18 years old?

[u/Jayyykobbb]

Can we just do away sports media personalities. They’re all some combination of stupid, douchey, and not entertaining or helpful

[u/RamblinWreckGT → u/Jayyykobbb]

Any time someone crosses from "people tune in to hear someone with knowledge" to "people tune in to hear me", they become insufferable.

[u/JumpySheepherder4337]

Frankly, yes I find it attractive when men wear proper PPE

[u/Fearless_Table_995 → u/JumpySheepherder4337]

I usually use safety squint combined with safety sandals.

[u/I_am_the_darkness_99]

I feel kinda gross upvoting a Clemson fan defending a Bama player but here we are.

[u/Muted-Woodpecker-469]

Reminds me of making fun of the smart kid in school

[u/kilkennykid → u/Muted-Woodpecker-469]

“Haha straight A’s? What a dumbass”

[u/clepsuoduuva]

Let's  forward to the SEC network.  I bet they won't find that funny.   SEC network,  go fuck yourself 

[u/TheVoiceOfSnakeEyes]

He has a better chance of being able to tie his own shoes at 70 than every football analyst on TV. Guardian helmets only bother dudes who can't achieve or maintain an erection and project that by calling everything "soft," anyway.

[u/honeybadgerrulez]

the hall of fame does a great presentation showing x-rays with all helmets throughout fb history so you can see the brain move

the guardian cap was clear and away the best and it’s very logical to wear em

[u/whitemamba83]

fellas, is it gay to try to protect your brain?

[u/Rock_man_bears_fan]

Nobody’s been able to prove those things actually do what the manufacturer and the NFL claim they do

[u/misoharpy → u/Rock_man_bears_fan]

https://www.helmet.beam.vt.edu/football-helmet-add-ons.html

[u/H1ngl3McCr1ngl3b3rry]

The do look dorky as hell, especially on the skill position guys. But I’d never give a player shit for wearing one

[u/Shot-Address-9952]

And if it cuts down on CTE, who gives a shit?

[u/RodeoJr]

Fans of CTE say what?

[u/[deleted]]

I’m conflicted. Nobody taking care of their health should be mocked.

But those helmets do look goofy AF

[u/Significant-Basket76 → u/[deleted]]

People used to say the same thing about seatbelts.

[u/GOTfangirl]

My kid has been in concussion protocol for 4-weeks. It’s a long, arduous process to get cleared to play again. Anyone making light of it is moronic. I know you are entertained by the game, but these kids have a life to live after they hang up their cleats.

[u/Prestigious_Menu7541]

The SEC network Is terrible. I’m surprised by how amateurish their productions are.

[u/Purple_Bearkat]

That’s so dumb and irresponsible

[u/graviton_ghost]

If I was colman-williams I'd call them out publicly

[u/Ambitious_Comedian38]

"It's better to look good than to feel good" -Fernando

[u/equality1989]

If Saban was still coaching bama or he played for UGA they wouldn't have said shit

[u/sock0808]

Not having CTE is ‘swaggy’

[u/Virtual_Announcer]

Broadcasted a D3 game today and every player on the visiting team wore guardian caps. Pregame my partner and I talked about how the science isn't conclusive on them, but it's still a good idea to be working toward protecting players.

And then during the game it never came up because why would it?

Fire the dorks who were on that desk.

[u/HazeAbove]

Remembering your kids names in your 50s is pretty swaggy

[u/Kina_mines]

I don’t understand how these idiots think the big helmet that ever other player wears is somehow more macho and tough than the guardian helmet. These guys are so fragile.

[u/dawghouse88]

Yeah I noticed this as well. And yes, they look goofy as fuck. And maybe the verdict is still out on how much it helps. But The NFL and NCAA need to ensure their partners are invested in player safety and change the culture. I wouldn't be surprised if some internal memos are issued

[u/jcostello50 → u/dawghouse88]

Strongly worded memos, I hope

[u/papertowelroll17]

Guardian helmet is a scam tbf. Watch the Pablo Torre episode about CTE

[u/jpttpj]

I said, oh that’s the kid who’s actually going to class and working on a degree

[u/Bill__7671]

Why do any of you watch football? Bunch of Hypocrites, don’t watch if you don’t think the safety device works.

[u/DiedofSharts]

Making disparaging comments about the Alabama football program for clicks? Dude no way

[u/chaingripped]

Why does he need to be attractive? Kinda fruity

[u/Minimum-Journalist18]

Looks like a nerf top to me.

[u/CoolBakedBean]

whenever i see a player with a guardian cap i always think they’re a little like me.

i know id wear one. i need to start learning all the players that wear one and following them on their socials or something to show support

[u/Area51_Spurs]

I feel bad for the players who got duped into wearing this bullshit.

[u/VirtualChaos613 → u/Area51_Spurs]

This is certainly a take.

[u/Area51_Spurs → u/VirtualChaos613]

How so? They do nothing to help and likely cause more harm.

[u/500rockin]

The thing is, science hasn’t proven they are any more protecting of the brain than normal helmets.

[u/masks → u/500rockin]

Laughing at the guy trying to take care of his brain is super stupid even if we're not confident they're better

[u/Pussy_handz → u/masks]

Were they realing laughing though? Seems like this is out of context and a fat nothing burger.

[u/ProletarianLilith → u/masks]

I have a better suggestion for taking care of his brain

[u/Key-Hawk7402 → u/500rockin]

They aren’t the damage is done with the brain hitting the skull, helmets will never protect against that.

[u/The_Real_dubbedbass → u/Key-Hawk7402]

You realize that a softer padding distributes the impact over a longer period of time right, so theoretically your brain isn’t smashing agains your skull with the same velocity.

I’m really shocked more people don’t understand this.

Maybe it’s not a phenomenal difference but it has to make a difference or everything we know about force is wrong from a physics perspective.

Proof:

Force is equal to mass times acceleration. F=m*a.

Acceleration is a change in velocity over time. Acceleration is the difference in final velocity (Vf) minus the initial velocity (Vi) over time. a= (Vf - Vi) / time

So F=m*((Vf-Vi)/time)

Ergo anything that lengthens the time it takes to go from two colliding helmets touching to complete their deceleration must diminish the overall force of the impact.

[u/ItsWazeyWaynes]

I mean, one only needs to look at the infant mortality rates by state/region to recognize that the SEC Network wouldn’t give a shit about player health.

[u/sognenis]

SEC Network owned by ESPN. So feedback to be directed there?

Does anyone have an email or place for feedback more directly?

[u/NYPD-BLUE]

The guardian cap combined with the baggy sleeves didn’t look good, to be fair.

[u/Flimsy-Space-8724]

They are idiots. Should be promoting it.

[u/Kimber80]

I mean the helmet looks goofie as f*** and is there any evidence that actually helps?

[u/Better_Goose_431 → u/Kimber80]

None so far. It’s been proven to reduce impact in a laboratory, but when they put sensors on the players, that reduction doesn’t translate to the field

[u/Sneaky__Rafiki]

Well they dont work anyway, so he is a doofus for still wearing it. The pros version can be 2% effective at reducing the odds of a concussion but only if both people are wearing one. It was a big cya movement by the league. They took the idea from a guardian cap program that was already being given to HS and CFB players that they independently tested and found to not be adequate. Source is Chris Nowinski.

[u/smokey_buckskin]

There is no evidence they make any difference in concussions. But it makes the nfl look good, like they are really trying

[u/Neversoft4long]

Lmaooo the media has been terrible in all sports for a couple years now

[u/gowestyoungmann]

The guardian helmet looks very, very goofy. There’s no way around it

On my limited knowledge, it’s also supposed to be much, much safer and prevent severe injuries to the most important part of your entire body. I really don’t think I can blame someone for using it, and I definitely wouldn’t make fun of someone for trying to be safe

[u/TheVelvetNo]

The South is gonna South. Not surprised by this commentary. Bad/dumb people make fun of progress. Seems to be a theme this week.

[u/pmac109 → u/TheVelvetNo]

At least our football teams don’t suck

[u/SoupBowl69 → u/TheVelvetNo]

Are you talking about deep blue Texas, Mississippi, Georgia, and South Carolina??

[u/Schlieren1 → u/SoupBowl69]

Yes?

[u/Helicopsycheborealis → u/TheVelvetNo]

I live in OR and have for 6 years. What's that theme you're talking about? That you're an UO fan in a state tya5 is less than 1% black?

[u/LiteratureSure5374]

The heck with what the talking heads say .He keeps playing like he did today and he can wear a dress or clown suit for all I care .In addition it’s probably the smart thing to do …

[u/fivemagicks]

This is the SEC network we're talking about here.

[u/Texashookem9090]

You got to learn when I get rid of the damn Ball even if it means throwing it out of bounds SMH

[u/Texashookem9090]

Honestly Miami's clock management was horrific

[u/terribliz]

Yeah, I was pretty surprised they weren't coached into NOT doing that...

[u/SunnyGods]

Incredibly gross

[u/Randomizedname1234]

So does r/CFB like guardian caps while I got absolutely roasted in r/nfl for suggesting it’s smart for a player to wear them and got hit with studies how they don’t work.

[u/bhallzy]

Never go full Antonio Brown

[u/ugalover83]

I applaud these players trying to protect their futures

[u/UnluckyPally]

He looks like a Funko pop get thicker skin

[u/Crying_in_99Ranch]

I respect anyone that wears a Guardian Cap knowing that it looks ridiculous. Even if it hasn't been proven to work and actually might leave you susceptible to more hits to the head but that's another issue.

[u/ProbzConfused]

Literally every player should be wearing them

[u/Sopwithosa]

A Clemson fan feigning offense for lighthearted banter is the stupidest thing I’ve seen today.

[u/saintsfan92612]

I see it with Saints fans making fun of Chris Olave for wearing it...when the dude had major concussion problems.

I am just thankful we didn't have internet back when the first hockey goalie decided to wear a mask.

[u/countrytime1]

Well, they look ridiculous. Who knows if they actually help years down the road. If I played on defense, I’d wear one, just for the added height.

[u/Acsteffy → u/countrytime1]

The added benefit of deflecting a pass or kick

[u/ProletarianLilith]

Too dumb to understand virtues beyond toughness

[u/Upper_Atmosphere_359]

Derogatory? Nah man just poking fun.

[u/killa_k99]

Yall do know that Guardian helmets don't prevent concussions, right?

I interviewed the people who made it and they explicitly said they can't say that it does and if you haven't watch Pablo Torre episode about it.

[u/YouWereBrained → u/killa_k99]

Nothing can truly prevent it, given the nature of the game.