Chris O'meara / AP

“I kind of liken it to NASCAR racers, who don’t like going to funerals or don’t like going to the hospital because they don’t like being reminded what could happen to them,” former NFL player Ted Johnson said Tuesday. “It’s the same thing with football players. We don’t want to know what could potentially happen to us down the road.”

Then, near the end of the AFC championship game, Baltimore’s Willis McGahee caught a pass over the middle, turned to run and was crushed by Steelers free safety Ryan Clark. McGahee was knocked cold and Clark still doesn’t remember the hit.

Not that he sees anything wrong with that.

“When you’re coherent, it’s a good feeling,” Clark quipped. “You feel like you’re helping the team out in some way. When you can’t remember it, I guess you don’t have any feeling at all.”

He sees no reason for the NFL to take additional steps to make the game safer.

“If they do anything else, we’re not going to be able to tackle people,” Clark said. “I’d like to see them stop talking about it on TV so much. It gets so much press when you see things like (his hit on McGahee). People are beginning to believe it’s a barbaric sport.”

Although BU has brought together some of the top experts at its Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, the NFL has launched its own study on the long-term effects of repeated concussions. The results are expected in 2010.

“Concussions are serious injuries and our focus is on prevention, treatment and ongoing research,” league spokesman Greg Aiello said. “We have more resources than ever devoted to the care of this injury and to the education of players and their families, as well as coaches and team personnel. Our medical staffs take a cautious and conservative approach to managing concussions, including expanded use of neuropsychological testing and return-to-play guidelines. We support all research that would further the scientific and medical understanding of this injury, which affects thousands of people, athletes and non-athletes alike, every year.”

Johnson and others said it’s equally important for the NFL Players Association to take a lead role. Union officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

“I put a lot of the onus on them,” Johnson said. “Our own union should put more emphasis on its former players.”