Garry Lyon stands by his stern concussion message

Garry Lyon has doubled down on his assessment that AFL players must take more care of themselves when it comes to concussion.

The Melbourne great did, however, somewhat water down his criticism of Adelaide's Jordon Butts.

Lyon spoke again on the matter after Crows coach Matthew Nicks said the club did everything right prior to Butts’ delayed concussion symptoms which will keep him out for the next two matches.

It came after the Crows defender entered concussion protocols having presented with delayed symptoms from last Thursday night’s loss to Geelong at GMHBA Stadium.

Butts copped some friendly fire from teammate Lachlan McAndrew in the third quarter which had him dazed and confused.

It took a little while for club doctors to bring Butts off the ground before he underwent a Head Injury Assessment (HIA) which he passed.

The 26-year-old has since been ruled out of this Friday night’s crunch clash with Fremantle at the Adelaide Oval and the Gather Round clash with Carlton under the AFL's 12-day concussion protocols.

“I talked about the need for players to take responsibility for their own health and if they're in any doubt to get themselves off the ground,” Lyon said on SEN Breakfast on Wednesday.

“I talked about this macho bullshizen and I have been told that is the absolute opposite of who Jordon Butts is, that he's not like that at all.

“We have seen many, many instances of it in recent times where players have shrugged off their doctors and just said, ‘No, I'm fine, I'm fine’. But I stand by everything I said yesterday with the process of what unfolded there.

“I understand Matthew Nicks and I think the Adelaide doctors would be fantastic, but this is the sequence of events which didn't ring true. He gets a head knock, you wonder whether he's got a brain injury, the doctors are running around him, he stays out on the ground, doctors have to go back and watch it, can they make an assessment?

“They get him off the ground, gets asked a couple of questions, not sure that he gave great answers. They didn't do a SCAT-6 test which is the in-depth test. They just sat there and asked him questions. He goes back on the ground. His opponent then cuts him to ribbons. He comes back and spends the last six and a half minutes off the ground. So he spends the last six and a half minutes on the bench and then ends up having delayed concussion. He's going to miss two weeks.

“So my thoughts on this will remain if you're in any doubt, get that player off and give them the test off the ground. Don't try and make assessments while he's out in the of the ground, and I'm surprised that they didn't do the full test on Jordon Butts.

“I think both player and club have to take responsibility for this. He wasn't impaired to the state where he was totally non compos and couldn't make a decision.

“He stayed on and played. He ran around, he wasn't confused to the point where he didn't know where he was.

“I think both he and the club should take some responsibility, and I'm sure they'll review it. But I take on board that he's not that sort of person who would, as I called it, try to pull off macho bullshizen. But I have seen plenty of that in recent times.”

Lyon's pointed message

Lyon had delivered a pointed message to Butts and the AFL cohort regarding concussion on Tuesday.

“Concussion remains one of the biggest issues in football, one of the biggest challenges in football,” a passionate Lyon said on SEN Breakfast.

“There are complexities surrounding players who have had their careers ended and lives uprooted on the back of concussion.

“So, to Jordon Butts, when you get whacked in the head, as you did on Thursday night…

“What is this macho bulls--t of shrugging off the doctor and saying, ‘Get out of my way, I'm good enough, I'll stay out there’, when the prudent, responsible course of action is to get yourself off the ground, do the HIA, take the pressure off the doctors and the coaches who are sitting in the box.

“We had this farcical situation unfolding with Jordon Butts who gets hit in the head, looks dazed but decides in the best interest of everyone, ‘I’ll stay out here because I don't know why’.

“Who do you think you're impressing? Who do you think you're really impressing by staying out there when you've been dazed and the doctor is circling you. Get off the ground.

“Yet, for some reason, we have this outdated, ‘Oh, I won't come off, I'm tough’. Get off the ground.

“As it turns out, we had the circus going around where the Adelaide doctors looked at it and couldn't get him off or didn't get him off and then we had to get the intervention from upstairs and they said, ‘No, no, get that man off’ and then they got him off. They did the HIA, I think he came back on and now, lo and behold, delayed concussion symptoms and he's going to miss the next two weeks.

“Take responsibility, players, for the whole playing cohort. Not just for your own ego by thinking I’ll stay out because I’m tough. That’s not helping anyone these days.

“Take responsibility, do the right thing, get off the ground, do your HIA. If you’re no good you’re not coming back on. If it’s all ok you’re back on and you’ve missed five minutes.

“Doing this and trying to hoodwink doctors is not impressing anyone and it’s not helping anyone in the whole process.

“So do the responsible thing and get off the ground.”