Not that simple. At all. I'm a former elite athlete, I know my body and self better than anyone. 14 years ago I suffered a severe head trauma. I was able to get up and move and talk normally (although I have absolutely no recollection of the accident and what happened afterwards). 20 mn later I crashed and lost consciousness. I had extensive brain hemorraghe and spent 36 days in a grade 3 coma. When I gradually came around (it lasted weeks, you don't wake up from a coma like every morning) I had lost speech, the ability to swallow, the complete use of my left hand and all movement coordination. I was locked inside my head for 3 months because although I could think relatively clearly I had no way to communicate with the outside world. I could not speak, my cognitive functions were messed up, I was not even able to blink or nod or shake my head on (my) command to express myself. To me it was the absolute worst. As an elite skier I was used to physical pain and confident my body would heal. But WTF was happening inside my head ?? I had 2 other brain hemoragge in the following 6 months and was put into artificial coma and hypothermia so my brain wouldn't explode. It's a miracle I was able to recover from such serious brain damage. When I say "recover" it's not totally true, all is always relative. I have 2 severe forms of epilepsy and I'm permanently on heavy medications that have nasty effects on my health. But without said meds I can't function. Even with them, I can't tell cold from heat on my skull and the hairdresser can scald me bald, I won't feel anything. Same with my left hand and it unfortunately led me to suffer 3rd degree burns. Where anti-convulsant can usually lead people to sleep like logs for 12 hours, I suffer insomnia often and lack of sleep triggers epilepsy bouts = vicious circle. I can't stand blinking lights, loud noise, wearing something on my head (hat, helmet) because they trigger fits too. I have short term memory problems. I was fluent in 4 different languages, with perfect grammar, I now make mistakes in all of them which isn't too good when you are a writer and a translator. (And which makes me want to kill Taz'smum when she corrects me...

) I was an elite skier, a rock and ice climber, a sky diver, I can no longer do any of this because I have balance issues (and with a fragile head without a helmet, all these sports would be suicidal). All that after I was able to stand up, walk, talk, move, tell people everything was OK and feel perfectly normal, besides my body being sore, after a big shock resulting in a severe concussion. (I was hit by a snowmobile while sledding with my dogs, it sent me head first into a tree, and my brained bounced, hitting the skull) So no, athletes can't assess themselves the concussion they suffer. Ashley should not have kept on skating at the risk of falling again and ending up with irreversible brain damage. It not only means the end of a competitive career but also your life takes a huge tumble, everything changes, you will never be the same person again. Ask Paul Binnebose. Or just ask Gabriella Papadakis what it feels not to know what's happening to you. Closed head traumas don't leave visible signs, no scars, (you can just tell when I smile or laugh because a corner of my mouth doesn't move) nothing. But inside...
Not blowing that whistle in Zagreb for Ashley, literally speaking, is criminal to me. I'm happy she says everything is well now (but I hope it will stay well, after effects can show long after the shock) but she could as well be in a coma and a vegetable for the rest of her life. I am deeply shocked the referee didn't stop her. Her parents/coaches aren't responsible for anything here, nor is her partner who reacted out of concern and fear. But as someone said, it would be a good thing to educate pair skaters (and ice dancers) what NOT to do when your partner hits their head on the ice. First of all, take referees to a head trauma rehab centre and show them what a "simple" hit to the head can do. To their defense, they are no doctors in medicine. But it's their responsability to immediately call one when such an accident happens, while taking the skaters off the ice right away. RIGHT AWAY.