Officials, coaches and fans alike have been discussing the issue of football players’ concussions for a long, long time. But incidents like what happened when U-M quarterback Shane Morris was concussed during this year’s game against Minnesota are still part of a fervent national conversation.

But isn’t the solution fairly obvious?

If there’s even the slightest suspicion that a player has suffered a head injury, remove him from the game. Period.

After Shane Morris was hit against Minnesota, it was clear he had no business playing. He could barely stay on his feet, and had to lean on a fellow player to stay upright. Nonetheless, he went back in the same game for two more plays, inciting public outrage.

Though U-M football head coach Brady Hoke said he didn’t believe Morris had been concussed, U-M’s athletic director Dave Brandon later confirmed that Morris had in fact suffered a mild concussion injury.

And while U-M claims the medical team didn’t see the hit, it was pretty damn clear to spectators. Even ESPN announcer Dave Cunningham, who was calling the game, was quick to express his shock.

“I gotta tell you right now, that No. 7 (Morris) is still in this game is appalling,” Cunningham said. “It is appalling that he was left in on that play to throw the ball again as badly as he was hit by Cockran... that is terrible looking after a young player.”

The dangers of continuing to play after a concussion are pretty well-known at this point, so how did Morris’ re-entry somehow slip through the cracks? How many officials does it take to notice a player can’t stand up, and suggest he be evaluated before returning to the field?

“We now understand that, despite having the right people on the sidelines assessing our student-athletes’ well being, the systems we had in place were inadequate to handle this unique and complex situation properly,” Brandon said in a statement.

So the right people were in place...they just made the wrong call?

Perhaps it’s time to implement a better-safe-than-sorry approach. Even if officials and coaches weren’t aware of an internal head injury, they saw the severity of the hit. There’s no excuse for not insisting that Morris be checked out.

But football is fast-paced, and there was pressure to keep things moving. And someone — possibly more than one person — caved to that pressure at the expense of a 20-year-old sophomore.

Because that’s what Shane Morris is, first and foremost. He’s a young guy with his whole life ahead of him, and what happened to him that game was dangerous.

And this isn’t just U-M’s problem. It’s important to recognize this kind of rash decision-making could happen at any college football game, putting any player’s health at risk, even in Spartan Stadium.

So to those on the sidelines, pay attention. And remember that you are ultimately deciding if a game win is worth more than a man’s health and well-being.