Owens to Play Over Doctor's Advice: Terrell Owens has vowed to play in this weekend's Super Bowl. Reports out of Florida are that he is back practicing with the first team after missing over a month with an ankle injury. He may play, but he will do so against the advice of the his doctor. Dr. Mark Myerson has not cleared the injured receiver to play in this Sunday's game.

"He's not medically fit to play . . . . However, he has done extremely well in his recovery and his rehab, and he feels he'll be able to play. That is going to be a team decision that they'll have to decide themselves."

By not clearing Owens, the doctor will be absolved of any blame should Owens re-injure the ankle. It is curious that you do not hear about situations like this often. You might expect doctors that treat athletes to be risk averse, due to the high stakes of an injury to a million-dollar athlete. But, there must also be enormous pressure from the patients and the teams to clear the players as quickly as possible, and a doctor that continually fails to clear players may not get repeat business. However, it seems to be in the doctors best interest not to clear the players if there is any doubt, because the team doctor has the final call and this insures immunity from liability.

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