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 american football and brain injuryi find myself torn... i loved playing, and i like to watch, but then i read something like this... Seau Suffered From Brain Disease By MARY PILON The former N.F.L. linebacker Junior Seau had a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head trauma when he committed suicide last spring, the National Institutes of Health said Thursday. The findings were consistent with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease widely connected to athletes who have absorbed frequent blows to the head, the N.I.H. said in a statement. Seau is the latest and most prominent player to be associated with the disease, which has bedeviled the sport in recent years as a proliferation of studies have exposed the possible long-term cognitive impact of head injuries sustained on the field. “The type of findings seen in Mr. Seau’s brain have been recently reported in autopsies of individuals with exposure to repetitive head injury,” the N.I.H. said, “including professional and amateur athletes who played contact sports, individuals with multiple concussions, and veterans exposed to blast injury and other trauma.” Since C.T.E. was diagnosed in the brain of the former Eagles defensive back Andre Waters after his suicide in 2006, the disease has been found in nearly every former player whose brain was examined posthumously. (C.T.E. can only be diagnosed posthumously.) Researchers at Boston University, who pioneered the study of C.T.E., have found it in 18 of the 19 brains of former N.F.L. players they have examined. In July the N.I.H. began its examination of Seau’s brain tissue and invited several neuropathologists to consult in the analysis. They found “abnormal, small clusters called neurofibrillary tangles of a protein known as tau within multiple regions of Mr. Seau’s brain,” according to the statement. Tau has been found in the brains of those with Alzheimer’s disease and other progressive neurological disorders. “I think it’s important for everyone to know that Junior did indeed suffer from C.T.E.,” Seau’s ex-wife, Gina, said in an interview with ABC News and ESPN. “It’s important that we take steps to help these players. We certainly don’t want to see anything like this happen again to any of our athletes.” Shortly after Seau’s death of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest at his Oceanside, Calif., home in May, members of his family announced that they would donate his brain to the N.I.H. to be studied. The release of the results Thursday was at the request of the family, the N.I.H. said. Seau’s suicide was one of several high-profile suicides of former N.F.L. players, raising concern about head injuries in the sport. In February 2011, Dave Duerson, a former Chicago Bears player, shot himself in the chest, saying in a note that he wanted his brain donated for research. Doctors determined that Duerson had C.T.E. Duerson’s son, Tregg, is suing the N.F.L., claiming the league did not meaningfully warn players about the potential risks of concussions. Ray Easterling, a safety for the Atlanta Falcons in the 1970s and a plaintiff in a high-profile lawsuit against the league over its handling of concussion-related injuries, died just two weeks before Seau of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Thousands of players and their spouses have joined the lawsuit, as well. “The finding underscores the recognized need for additional research to accelerate a fuller understanding of C.T.E.,” the N.F.L. said in a statement Thursday. Pointing to a $30 million research grant it has committed to the N.I.H. and $100 million it plans to invest in medical research, it added, “We have work to do, and we’re doing it.” Over his 20-year N.F.L. career, Seau played for three teams, most prominently the San Diego Chargers, and made 12 Pro Bowls. He played in two Super Bowls and was named to the 1990s All-Decade Team by the Pro Football Hall of Fame. After he retired from football after the 2009 season, Seau was known for his work with his foundation and his restaurant, often a cheery presence in and around San Diego. But friends said they struggled to understand some of Seau’s darker moments. In October 2010, he drove his sport utility vehicle off a beach side cliff in Carlsbad, Calif., where it landed some 100 feet below the roadside. Seau claimed he fell asleep, but the timing seemed odd. That morning he was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence. |
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hennybogan1953 10-Jan-13, 09:49 |
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henny |
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hennybogan1953 10-Jan-13, 09:59 |
I thought I read I love playing instead of I loveED playing. |
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tense |
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I liked playing football too and there are a lot of valuable lessons to be learned from difficult and somewhat/slightly dangerous sports, and other activities. But, there are a lot of injuries. And, there are more and more long term injuries that are not even recognizable until after the sports career is over (Seau type for example). And, of course, the longer they play the greater the chance for long term damage. For simple health reasons, I would not want a son or nephew to play football, even though I did. Now, add the fact that cities do NOT want to build and pay for expensive stadiums. The rules (well intentioned) are changing the game so it is not nearly as rough & tough as it used to be. And, a LOT of professional athletes are NOT very good role models... some are criminals and many are only one step above that. I think the public will lose the appetite for professional football, and maybe more sports. |
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one step above criminals? you mean they are politicians? |
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hennybogan1953 10-Jan-13, 11:13 |
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hennybogan1953 10-Jan-13, 11:14 |
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hennybogan1953 10-Jan-13, 11:15 |
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hennybogan1953 10-Jan-13, 11:15 |
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mrconservative64 10-Jan-13, 11:17 |
I was wondering when the Liberals... |
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mrconservative64 10-Jan-13, 11:29 |
Oh |
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'you people' i am pretty sure lyle alzedo and junior seau would disagree with you, but they are both dead from football related issues and so cannot speak up |
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anyway |
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"Get in the hole!!!!!!!!!" |
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basketball |
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hennybogan1953 10-Jan-13, 13:14 |
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golf |
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The retired defensive end Jason Taylor shared searing tales of pain with Dan Le Batard of The Miami Herald: We think we know this forever-growing monster we are cheering on Sundays. But we don't. We have no earthly idea. There was only one time Taylor questioned the worth of what he did for a living, while crying and curled up on the pavement of a parking lot outside his doctor's office. The pain inherent the job can be so debilitating, Tom Junod of Esquire wrote, that concussions are treated more like nuisances: Willis McGahee was knocked out cold against the Steelers. He went out on the board. He didn't consider himself injured, though, because like all NFL players he considers himself an expert in what qualifies as an injury and what doesn't. The loss of consciousness he suffered in Pittsburgh didn't qualify because it didn't require rehabilitation. It didn't put his career in jeopardy. It didn't exile him from his teammates. And most of all, it didn't hurt. In the wake of Robert Griffin's attempt to play through a knee injury in the playoffs, the TV analyst Cris Collinsworth said on Showtime: "I think there should be two doctors. I think there should be a team doctor and there should be a players' doctor that is voted on every team. And if either one of those doctors are uncomfortable with the player playing in the game for any reason, they can go to the head coach and say X, Y, Z should be out of the game and that automatically disqualifies him from the game. "I've never liked the whole concept of team doctor anyway, but as we speak right now, doctors are in a relationship with these teams that sometimes is a bit financial and sometimes is a bit professional and there are issues with that relationship.'' On Sunday in the A.F.C. title game, Bernard Pollard's helmet-to-helmet hit knocked out Patriots running back Stevan Ridley, causing a fumble. It was a key play and a legal one; Ridley helped initiate the helmet crash by dipping his head. It was, simply, football, a head-ramming sport that is taking some steps to become safer but that is still leaving its participants vulnerable to brain disease later in life. In a response to a recent Fifth Down post by Lynn Zinser, two readers considered alternatives: Football as it is today cannot continue. We can still have football, but it will have to be a drastically different game. I envision a game with very different equipment that resembles pads more than it resembles suits of armor and playing techniques that adjust accordingly. Perhaps there will be less open-field tackling and blocking and maybe linemen will not be in a three-point stance. Perhaps players will have less of an advantage by size and more by agility. Please pull your heads out of the sand so we can continue to have football. Changes in football do not represent a failure of American masculinity. They represent the dynamism and ingenuity that made this game great. Zachsic, Salt Lake City And this ... I will keep saying this til something changes, however long it takes: Get these boys out of plastic and into leather or some equivalent material, for both pads and helmets. They will learn proper technique from saying "Ow!" a lot. Let's please remember, the helmet does not prevent head trauma. In fact, for all we know, it may amplify it. What we do know is this: Nobody will last long with bad technique, when he doesn't have hard-shell plastic wrapped around his head. Walt Bennett, Harrisburg, Pa. Extra point If formations were spread out (favoring smaller and more agile players), if three-point stances were disallowed, if hard-shell helmets were disallowed, would that detract from your enjoyment of the game? |
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A broken nose is better than a brain injury. |
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Who hits their head the most? It doesn't seem like players who are exposed to the most severe head trauma develop the brain injuries that are discussed here. Wouldn't wide receivers, cornerbacks, tight ends and so on actually be exposed to the most frequent and most severe head trauma? I would think these players hit their head harder due to the speed they are traveling at when they are tackled. Yet, it seems as though these players, like Emmit Smith, Deion Sanders, and so on are the MOST successful people following their football career. In addition, you would think that current players like Hines Ward, who have been playing for a long time and continue to play well despite repeated head trauma, would not be able to sustain their talent if the trauma they are exposed to results in debilitating brain injury after a certain period of time. Despite an entire lifetime of frequent head injuries, these players are still intelligent, talented, well spoken, quick, personable, consistent and so on following their NFL career. Look at Ray Lewis too. He's clearly out of his mind, but not in the way that is being discussed here. It just seems as though an astonishing number of players who are exposed to repeated head trauma throughout their entire life are still above average people in almost every respect following the end of their career........ |
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