One day, years ago, I was standing in front of Gerald Wallace's locker shortly after a teammate affixed that "Crash" sign in his cubicle.
So I asked Wallace, a Charlotte Bobcats forward famous for wild falls, how many concussions he'd suffered. He laughed, then replied he stopped counting after his third NBA season.
I didn't know how to react. He found that amusing and I found it appalling. Wallace is among the most thoughtful, interesting athletes I've covered, and he clearly had no regard for the long-term damage he might be doing to his brain.
So I was glad to hear Thursday that NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., another thoughtful and interesting athlete, took the opposite course. Not feeling quite right of late, Earnhardt sought out a neurologist to check whether he might have suffered a concussion.
Turns out Earnhardt's suspicions were correct. He will sit out Sunday's Sprint Cup race in New Hampshire after a Thursday examination confirmed concussion-like symptoms. It's unclear when Earnhardt will return to racing and Hendrick Motorsports has already arranged for former Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon to drive the No. 88 Chevrolet in Indianapolis if Earnhardt isn't ready.
This approach needs to become a trend. Athletes _ whether the sport is football, basketball, soccer, racing or whatever _ must start listening to their bodies more closely. That is hard. To get to the highest level of any sport requires sacrifice and a drive that isn't within most of us.
