Swoll Black flagged?

Sounds about right...

Dude was clearly knocked out. Yeah you could only see his boot but it wasn’t moving at all for the entire camera shot. Heck James knew it too but couldn’t say it on live tv.  Athletes are praised for their ability to not quit but sometimes you need protected from yourself. If he did try and continue and was black flagged it was the right call. 

There was also another angle of the crash where you could see his whole body just laying there limp. Definitely the right call

As we've all said after being KO'd... "not that I remember...."  😵

Would they have done it if it was the series points leader? 

I remember coming to after a crash and wondering how the Hell did all these people get here? It was like it never happened and they said I was out a good 15-20 seconds. 

I believe this was on the live NBC moto, not a great look for the sport IMO. There's a lot of scrutiny around the handling of head injuries these days and to see him circulating a few minutes later was surprising (no one casually watching would know he was black flagged).

From Moto Online.

Triumph Factory Racing will address the black flag situation that ultimately ruled Jalek Swoll out of Washougal altogether after he crashed while leading the opening 250MX moto and was delayed upon remounting, triggering what appeared to be concussion concerns.

Swoll was grounded for an extended period of time after washing the front-end, trapped beneath his TF 250-X, according to the team. It’s that point that Triumph will seek clarity over with race direction.

The 25-year-old would eventually remount, only to be shown the black flag moments later, with the concussion protocol in question as the series medical team declared him unfit to continue the race or moto two.

“Jalek pulled the holeshot in moto one, then crashed on the second lap and was stuck under his bike,” explained Triumph Factory Racing team manager Steve Westfall. “That created a controversy that will be addressed, where he was not allowed to race the second moto.”

As for Swoll, he labelled Washougal a ‘weird’ day given the circumstances, while also rueing the missed opportunity to convert from a strong start in the opening moto.

“It was a weird day – there was some confusion after my fall,” recounted Swoll. “Hero to zero would describe the weekend… I tried to dust myself off and continue, but ultimately was black-flagged and told I was done for the day. It is what it is – it won’t be the last time I put myself up front this year, so I won’t be too down about it. I’ll just actually take advantage of it next time.

“I’ve been very proud of the effort myself and the team have put in to come back to racing this year, just very grateful to be able to have these flashes and moments that are spiking my confidence in a positive way.

“We expected to have all the ups and downs racing can throw at you in building what my potential is for next year, so it’s all a part of the process and [we’re] enjoying the good and the bad through it.”

After missing the early portion of the series and scoring zero points at round eight, Swoll sits 19th in the 250MX standings since returning to racing at High Point. He has a season-high finish of second overall at RedBud.

Help him back on his bike?

Probably the right thing to do, bit still a huge bummer for Jalek, who has been riding so well lately and doesn't need another setback.

I think it was the right call.  I've knocked myself out a few times then continued on in races and wish there had been someone to black flag me.  A concussed person does not make good decisions -- I know that from experience unfortunately.  The regulators won't always get it right but I really think it's the best policy and from what I saw is have made the same call.  

I got KO'd in a race at a CMC race at Sunrise probably 30 years ago.  I got back on the bike and finished the race.  When the checkered flag came out, I rode to the announcing tower and had them announce to have my friend meet me there because I was confused and didn't know where my truck was.

It's laughable that they are trying to say he was stuck under his bike.

Black flagging is the absolute correct thing to do. If the doc says you're done, then you're done. The medics are there to protect you, even from yourself. They don't care about the race, the points lead or the championship. They are there for the rider's health. I've had several concussions and been completely confused, you see knocked out fighters, wake up and fighting the referee because they are on auto pilot after a TBI.

Concussion, CTE and head injuries are a big topic, they are silent killers and the damage is cumulative. You already have people going off about how people where tougher in the 80s and 90s like idiots.

Seeing how things are today with regard to head injuries makes this moment even more wild. The sport has come a long way but the medical crew practically helping JS7 back on the bike is funny yet not funny 😳

He was definitely stuck under the bike. While knocked TFO, that is. 😄

I like this quote from Jalek, though. It's the best thing he could have said: "...it won’t be the last time I put myself up front this year,..."

EDIT: Fixed a few grammatical errors. Can't have that, you know!

No shit. His foot didn't even wiggle for at least 5 seconds, and he had hot exhaust on his right thigh. Dude was out cold, as every one of us who's been there knows.

          Considering his recent injury history, the call to put him on the trailer for the rest of the day was 100% correct. The medics have to make a decision in the moment, without the benefit of testing, so they should err on the side of safety…..every damn time !  And skip the “ we were tougher in the 80’s “ malarkey. We were not tougher, just less well informed. 

His foot didn’t move for a while on the live shot. I thought they might red flag the race at that point because there was no movement at all. When they cut back to him with the medics he was trying to shake the cobwebs out of his head. Then they showed the replay from the other angle and you could see his head smack the ground hard and just lay there limp. 

Why can't James say anything?  Most viewers were probably thinking he got knocked out.  Why can't James say "it looks like Jalek may have lost consciousness there"?  

Sometimes this sport is so weird.  We also had a race red flagged, and the broadcasters barely even acknowledged that there was a rider down.  And we never even got the name of the rider who was down.  Just think if you were friends/family for any of the other 20+ riders who didn't get TV time during the restart process, wondering if it was your guy who got hurt.

They did say who the rider down was. Even in other sports they don’t speculate on injuries much anymore. Sometimes they won’t even show the replay.

I don’t think they were taken, as seriously, back then. 

That was a pretty good lick to the head but it did make me worry about the frequency oh his concussions and how easily he got knocked out. You see it in the UFC all the time, we saw it with James, TP, etc. 

They said who the rider was that caused the red flag?  I never heard it.  But maybe I just missed it.

They mentioned him right before the restart.

I was at a race recently.  A young guy about 18 crashed and was momentarily knocked out.  My son and others helped get him up.  Track owner and medic were there.  He was obviously confused and disoriented.   He kept asking for his dad.   Track owner starts making announcements over the PA for the dad.   Kid can't tell us where he was parked.  Eventually we find his truck.  He can't open his truck.  He keeps asking where his dad is.   Track owner is doing laps of the facility on his quad looking for the Dad.  Eventually we find his truck keys hidden and get it open and find his phone.  We call his dad and his dad was 100 miles away and had not even been at the track at all!   The kid was convinced his dad had come with him!

If you were wondering why James didn’t have a comment…

Let's be honest the medic should have been allowed to stop Swoll from remounting. He was out cold. He didn't even flinch for quite a few seconds. Motocross better wake the hell up, no pun intended.

That's awsome 😀.  About 4 years ago I took a header in a plus 50 moto. Got back on bike . took me several minutes to find my way to the meat wagon. I told the medics I  forgot where I'm parked and maybe I should lie down. 

Same deal. I was sitting at "some" track, in a corner at the end of a whooped out sand straight. Wondering how I got there, what track I was at, how my collarbone got broke, and wtf else happened. Koo-Koo.