Sports | concussions NFL Adds Concussion Rules Teams must now keep independent neurologists on hand By Kevin Spak Posted Nov 23, 2009 6:45 AM CST Updated Nov 23, 2009 7:48 AM CST Copied Philadelphia Eagles' Brian Westbrook adjusts his cap as he watches NFL football practice at the team's workout facility, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) Facing heat from both players and Congress, the NFL is adopting new policies designed to protect players in the event of a concussion. Teams will soon be required to keep an impartial, independent neurologist on hand to treat players for concussions. Players won’t be allowed to return to the field until they’ve been cleared by both the team doctor and the neurologist, Fox reports. Roger Goodell pushed hard for the new rules, after an embarrassing grilling in front of the House Judiciary Committee on the issue. “I don’t want to call it forced,” Chester Pitts, the Texans’ union rep, tells the New York Times. But “when you have Congress talking about the antitrust exemption and them calling them the tobacco industry, that’s pretty big.” The union and the league are both reviewing doctors to ensure they’re qualified, and impartial to the team they’re advising. Read These Next Beyonce leaves national anthem unfinished. A space capsule carrying ashes of 160 people crashed in the ocean. A lesson in minding your own business ... at 30,000 feet. The death toll in the Texas floods has risen to 27, including 9 kids. Report an error