The Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) has been at the forefront of innovation since its inaugural year in 2018. From fan engagement to content, the PLL has always been a step ahead of its competitors and is consistently looking for new ways to differentiate themselves from the established leagues sports fans know and love. As a result, the league has seen exponential growth through the 2022 season and is catapulting the sport of lacrosse closer to a mainstream sports audience.
The PLL’s partnership with Q-Collar forges a new path in the player safety conversation. Not only does it push the Q-Collar and its new innovative technology on to a global stage, but it sets a new standard across professional sport for what is needed to help protect their athletes. PLL Co-Founder and CEO Michael Rabil said it best: “The PLL is committed to player health and safety. We’re always looking for new ideas to protect our athletes and extend their playing careers. We’re proud to be the first professional sports league partnering with Q30 Innovations, whose Q-Collar is research-backed, safe, and effective.”
So, why is this significant in the larger realm of contact sports? The conversation surrounding Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), traumatic brain injury (TBI), and mental health in sports has increased drastically as new research and cases emerge. The research and data point to sub-concussive and repetitive head impacts (RHI) being a leading cause of TBI and possibly CTE.
This research should change the way brain injury in contact sport is being addressed. It’s no longer only about the noticeable, concussive hits players occasionally sustain – it’s every hit, every time, big or small, that adds up and results in damage.
The Q-Collar is the only proven solution to help mitigate the effects of these hits on the brain. And, with lacrosse being an inherently physical sport with a culture of celebrating brutal hits, the sport is the perfect candidate for taking a proactive step to help protect their athletes as much as possible. For recognizing this and taking action, the PLL should be applauded.
And this approach is paying off too. Since the start of the season, players from across the league have adopted the Q-Collar as part of their usual equipment. Those that are wearing it have received (and given) their fair share of hits with rave reviews and no adverse effects.
More importantly, they’re playing at the top of their game and are being recognized for it. Notably, Q-Collar Teammates Marcus Holman, Michael Sowers, and Jack Rowlett all dominated PLL All-Star Weekend and almost swept the All-Star awards with Jack cooking the competition in the foot race, Michael literally flying through the freestyle challenge, and Marcus cleaning everything up by winning the accuracy challenge and All-Star MVP. We’re not saying that wearing a Q-Collar increases your chances of totally dominating…
Anyway, you can catch the rest of the PLL season every weekend on the ESPN family of networks until September 18, 2022. We know we will!
