Media, Fans Debate Lions Injury Reporting Policies

Lions fans clamor for instant injury updates.

Terrion Arnold signs autographs after Detroit Lions training camp practice / Kimberly P. Mitchell / USA TODAY NETWORK

Imagine an opportunity to stand directly in front of Barry Sanders for a chance to talk about football and the 2024 Detroit Lions.

After a two-hour Lions training camp practice, it was announced the Pro Football Hall of Fame running back would be talking to the media.

It was viewed by this writer as an opportunity to potentially learn about his health, what he thinks about running back Jahmyr Gibbs and can the Lions live up to the hype this season.

But it was an early comment made by a media member that immediately caught my attention and provided some level of validation and a feeling of 'Alright, I am not alone.'

"I am not all that great with rules."

Now stop it. I know you are thinking I am going to spout off about how I break all the rules and don't respect institutions trying to manage their operations with policies.

no one bitches about restrictive media policies in sports as much as yours truly

I have zero issue with -- and never will have an issue with -- this policy. Speculating on the severity of injuries as they happen is one of the most foolish things we do on social media. https://t.co/RkLCice67l

— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) August 13, 2024

This guy, I respect all rules, even though I may detest some of them and find some of the new ones installed for utterly hilarious reasons.

Complaining about them seems like a media thing to do, but I figure things typically work themselves out over time, and others appear eager to lead the charge.

Nope. I am simply going to say there are so many NFL rules and so many variations of NFL rules that it is nearly impossible to follow them all.

I am lucky that any infraction I may have committed covering the Lions has been politely discussed with me and my behavior corrected.

And it is really is hard to get mad at a podcaster who is smiling all the time and never complains.

On Monday, season-ticket members were watching practice and clearly noticed Lions players were getting injured and leaving the field.

So, as it is their right, they took to social media to share what they had learned.

Naturally, many online wondered, 'Why aren't the beat writers sharing information about what is going on at Lions practice,' as many are heavily invested in a Super Bowl contender.

Others strongly critiqued and insulted reporters for simply following protocols about injury reporting.

Per Colton Pouncy, "Fwiw, if you don’t see beat writers immediately chiming in, it’s because the Lions have a new injury policy in place and ask us to refrain from tweeting until they provide an update."

The key aspect to this is the reporting of the "severity of the injury" online. It makes complete sense that speculating on injuries is wildly inappropriate.

But one aspect that likely will get fine tuned is the ability to instantly post online that a player has left practice injured.

It's as simple as that. Those in attendance should be allowed to post what they see happening on the football field.

Waiting for others is certainly not a strong suit of this writer, especially in a fast-paced world of sports media.

My colleague Booner of Crunch Time Sports will like this. He can attend practice in the stands, tweet that he saw Terrion Arnold leave the field and I'm left waiting for someone to share information.

It could be five minutes, it could be 65 minutes.

That certainly puts this podcaster in a unique position of having to answer from fans why my two thumbs aren't tweeting fast enough to relay information.

Because 10 others will do it first, and I can simply write in my phone for a story that will publish later. (Oops, I shared some of the secret sauce).

In this instance, the new policy is fair but needing simply fine tuning to take this guy out of the crosshairs.

Now, lets talk about cell phone videos being used and posted at practice.

Ah, never mind.

I like my expensive technical gear and this writer gets to rekindle joy in shooting photos, videos and editing them. It's my day off, technically. I want to watch some movies and record podcasts with my closest friends and colleagues.