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Marvin Lewis angers NFLPA president Eric Winston with concussion comments

The concussion comments made by Bengals coach Marvin Lewis have drawn the ire of NFL Players Association president and former NFL player Eric Winston.

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis has been criticized for comments he made during Wednesday's press conference, that concussions "linger longer" now because of the media attention that head injuries receive.

"I coached defenses and linebackers for a long time and concussions didn't linger," Lewis told reporters on Wednesday. "Now we have found that because of the media and things they seem to linger longer. There's a lot of attention paid to it. I don't know why they linger longer. I don't remember them lingering like they do now."

Lewis was speaking about Vontaze Burfict, who sustained a concussion against the Falcons back in Week 2 and missed a few weeks during his recovery. Burfict left the field again during a 37-37 tie to Carolina on Sunday to go through the concussion protocol, but he was able to return.

The comments made by Lewis have drawn the ire of NFL Players Association president and former NFL player Eric Winston, who expressed his thoughts on Twitter.

Lewis' comments were unnecessary, and frankly, he's brought unnecessary attention to his team. Concussions are a very serious topic in sports, and Lewis has made himself sound tone deaf to it.