NFL players union calls for investigation into Hurts' medical care

The NFL's players' union has called for an investigation into the Philadelphia Eagles' handling of quarterback Jalen Hurts' blood clots, after the league staunchly defended the team.

Reports by The Associated Press suggest that the Eagles will not be disciplined for their actions with Hurts even after NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported that the former Super Bowl MVP was in hospital until 4am and did not sleep prior to Philadelphia's defeat to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.

Hurts, who flew back from London and continued training before further tests ruled him out of the Eagles' most recent game against Carolina, has been ruled out for the rest of the season after being diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis and bilateral pulmonary emboli.

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Dr Allen Sills, the NFL's chief medical officer, offered a passionate defence of how the Eagles treated Hurts, following a statement from the league that said officials had been in contact with Philadelphia's medical personnel and the Cleveland Clinic in London throughout the process.

"I have complete confidence in the Eagles' medical staff and their handling of this situation, and I would characterise their work as very conservative, very patient-focused and appropriately guarded at every step," Sills said at the league's annual fall meeting. "I don't think you can take that outcome and say there was something flawed about the process. Sometimes in medicine, we do all the right things and diseases progress and other things develop.

"In this case, everyone was incredibly conservative and incredibly vigilant and was very quick to make diagnoses of these conditions that might not have been diagnosed in a nonathlete."

The NFL Players Association said it was told by the league that a review was not planned.

"Before conclusions are drawn about how this situation was handled, there must be a full investigation into what occurred," the union said. "Determining the facts is essential to ensuring players receive the highest level of care and protection going forward."

NFL executive vice president Jeff Miller took issue with "uninformed speculation" in reports Monday that Hurts went more than 30 hours without sleep last weekend before playing.

"Jalen Hurts returned to the hotel, slept for a period of time and went to the stadium," Miller said, estimating that Hurts slept for around seven or eight hours. "Both talking to the Eagles' staff and making sure from people on the ground, tracking the case, talking to the independent hospital and doctors involved that we have, I think, a complete understanding of the course of events."

Sills said the league and the players' union study and track blood clots annually. He declined to go into specifics about Hurts' condition, citing patient privacy, and reiterated multiple times that treating a blood clot involves looking at multiple factors.

Dr Caron Rockman, a vascular surgeon for roughly 30 years, said based on what she has read, there's no evidence the Eagles acted improperly while dealing with what she called not a textbook issue.

"It's a judgment call," said Rockman, who is currently a chair at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey and did not treat Hurts. "I think it's really a case-by-case basis. In my personal opinion, superficial vein thrombosis is not a (disqualification) to fly."

Hurts' treatment moving forward involves blood thinners, and he will not be allowed to participate in any football activities until he is off them.

The quarterback played in London against Jacksonville on Oct. 11, three days after informing medical staff of the injury after practice. He was initially diagnosed by specialists in London with a left calf superficial vein thrombosis.

"I think there was incredible vigilance, there was conservative care, state-of-the-art imaging that was done in London," Sills said. "And, as far as the timing and the decision-making, I have great confidence in that and believe that everyone acted with an abundance of caution."

Sills in his opening statement that lasted more than five minutes said all decisions are made with medicine over football.

"The notion that there are external factors or that any of our physicians would put a player in harm's way - that's nonsense," Sills said.

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