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Ivy League Participates in Team Up Day to Raise Concussion Awareness

PRINCETON, N.J. -- The Ivy League has taken the pledge and will participate in Team Up Day, the first-ever national concussion education day, created by the Concussion Legacy Foundation.

On Team Up Day, Ivy League student-athletes, along with athletes across the country, will hear a speech from their coach, captain and medical team that encourages them to Team Up & Speak Up to Fight Concussions, with the specific message that a good teammate looks out for concussions in their teammates, and has a responsibility to speak up to a coach or other school staff if they think their teammate has a concussion. 

This is a message that athletes do not hear enough today, and it is inspired by a speech given to the Harvard football team in 1905, chronicled in the journal of head coach Bill Reid, in which the team doctor told the players that if anyone “gets hurt by a hit on the head so that he does not realize what he is doing, his teammate should at once insist that time be called and that a doctor come onto the field to see what is the trouble. 

The ultimate goal of Team Up Day is to improve concussion report rates and strengthen team bonds. Whatever role you play; you can help change the culture. Team Up, Speak Up.

The Concussion Legacy Foundation encourages organizations, coaches, parents, and especially athletes to sign up to participate in Team Up Day at TeamUpDay.org, where they can learn more about the program and how to give the speech. Those who pledge to participate in Team Up Day are asked to post on social media using #TeamUpSpeakUp and include a “teamie” – a photo of teammates with their arms around one another and index fingers in the air pointing up, signifying that they’re teaming up.

Concussion Legacy Foundation
The Concussion Legacy Foundation, formerly Sports Legacy Institute, is a Boston-based non-profit organization that was founded on June 14, 2007, by Harvard football alum Chris Nowinski and Dr. Robert Cantu.  

The Concussion Legacy Foundation is dedicated to solving the concussion crisis by advancing the study, treatment, and prevention of the effects of brain trauma in athletes and other at-risk groups. This mission is achieved through advocacy, education, policy development, and medical research.