Study: CTE diagnosed in 99% of former NFL players, 87% of ex-players at all levels 99% of former players tested had CTE in some form. What does this mean for the league in the long-term?
Just imagine if they start testing action sports athletes. CTE is what drove Dave Mirra to kill himself.
Unless there is (more) outrage from fans I don't see the league doing anything. The league will react only when they have the potential to start losing money, IMO.
This is exactly right. The league doesn't care about its players, it only care about the almighty dollar
An interesting comparison would be % of people with CTE from different control groups. Normal people, basketball players, race car drivers, boxers, soccer players, etc.
I agree with both of these suggestions. I'd like to see a baseline established among a suitable control group. And, NFL is going to ignore/lip service this as long as they can. T
I'm not saying it's right, but the flip side is personal choice, and that will not just go away. TBI in US Soldiers is extremely prominent too (just be near any impact, you'll know why), but we cannot stop making Soldiers. The NFL produces a product. Whether or not that product wants to play or doesn't, is likely what drives or doesn't the end result. I don't like to say that, but unless football turns into sarcastoball (See SouthPark), then it frankly is what it is...
Dale Earnhardt Jr, who has had more than a few concussions, is going to donate his brain to concussion/CTE research after he dies.
I was n the Chicago airport waiting to fly back here yesterday and this bar had the '92 Miami vs FSU game on (wide right 2). I almost missed my plane holding on til the end to see if things might turn out different this time Football is the best game in the world and I almost feel guilty watching NFL or even college these days. 99% is irrefutable. My kids are 11 and 13 but they were told years ago they are never playing this game in pads and it SUCKS because there's nothing like football
I feel the same. I adore the NFL but it has a very serious dark side that seems to be getting worse, and I'm not talking about just CTE. I think college is even more sinister but it gets more of a pass since they're "kids".
The long-term problem is for football in general. I can see lots of parents of school-age players or prospective players keeping their kids out of the game, to the extent that the mere existence of high-school football might be threatened. And it could spread to the colleges as well. So where would the NFL get its players? Meanwhile, I hear that ex-racer Jim Downing, who was instrumental in the development of the HANS device, is supposedly working on developing a new football helmet design. Can anyone confirm this? It has also been suggested that the eventual answer might be the elimination of helmets completely (or going back to the old cloth caps). Without the "security" of a hard hat, the players would be more careful to keep their heads out of the impact zone. Does anyone know, for comparison, if rugby or Aussie-rules football have concussion problems?
If they took away helmets you would see someone die on the field with regularity. The pros are so big and so fast and go 100%. Head to head contact would be inevitable. It would be like removing helmets from motocross racers to try and keep them from risking a crash on a big triple that they probably won't make.
Its an intriguing proposal, but as stated above, might be hard to implement. However, when things like spearing were outlawed, players adjusted reasonably quickly. Ditto for the rules on hitting the QB or defenseless receivers, so maybe it's time to consider more radical solutions. T
No expert on this subject, but from what I've read, it's not necessarily the "big" hits that are the problem. While they're certainly not good, the bigger issue appears to be the regular and repeated smaller contacts which are, generally, asymptomatic. I'm not sure you can do much about those. They're an inherent risk with any physical activity involving contact. Basketball, hockey, racing, soccer, rugby and so on probably all have heightened incidences of CTE. But, is this knowledge really going to stop these players from playing the game? Some, yes. But, many have flatly said, they'd still do it, even fully understanding the risk. Being a "Baller" is also a big deal to kids. These athletes are idolized on children's bedroom walls. Will parents really have the interest and stubbornness needed to stand firm against their child who only wants to go play Pop Warner? While knowledge is a good thing, people will continue to engage in physical activities and put themselves at risk for acute as well as the less obvious, longer-term injuries. Maybe some useful recommendations will emerge, but it also simply may be impossible to prevent these types of injuries. Especially, given the size and speed of modern day athletes. Remember, this is a VOLUNTARY activity. And, honestly, it's been a way up for many athletes who didn't have other, better options to get a free collegiate education and give them an opportunity to create significant wealth. There's also lots of perquisites and celebrity, so will this really turn people away from playing it? What if these athletes don't have sports to play? Then what? And, will people really stop watching it? Some, at least, admit to watching sports for the carnage itself. And, we still allow people to continue to smoke, if they are an adult and choose to, despite the known correlation to lung cancer. It's semi-interesting, but none of this is really a surprise, is it? You can't have guys who are weighing in at 350lbs, running sub-5-second 40's and doing endless benchpress reps at 225lbs hitting one another without some consequence. Maybe we've reached the limitations of the human body's ability to absorb impact. So, regulate smaller players? Regulate no hitting or contact? I don't see this happening. CW
Let's take your comment and ASSUME the NFL 'cares about its' players' - what do you expect them to do about it? You can't ask a question like this knowing there is no real resolution. And why limit it to the NFL - what about college football - do THEY care about their players? Nobody is forcing these guys to play football, it's like drinking and driving - PSA's are all over the TV and billboards telling folks not to drink and drive, yet people do and cry when they get a DUI. The only way to stop CTE's in football is to stop the sport, but then again there are CTE's in soccer and rugby, so now what?
The answer is weight limitations based on position. RB -190 lbs. lineman - 240 lbs...LB ...210 lbs...WR..180 lbs...etc. Physics — cutting weights down decreases overall force @ the same speed. (Speeds are only marginally quicker than 30 years ago). That and more modern technology with the helmets will save Football. It doesn’t have to be a sport of hulking giants.
I agree. The players are fully aware of the risks and furthermore will and have lied in the past to keep playing. And that really bothers me most. I can't see how a player that knew he was injured in that way when it happened and lied repeatedly has a claim against the NFL later over his injury. It's like a smoker suing a tobacco company when they get cancer.
Good analogy with smokers suing tobacco companies. I remember asking my dad if he really needed the writing on the side of the pack to tell him they could kill you-he laughed and said everybody knew that for years. I guess they had done their own analysis. The weight limit has been kicked around before. It would def help, and combined with new tech in helmets it may even dramatically reduce CTEs. I always think of Kevin Turner from the Pats (ironic enough, Bama also). He was a solid blocking fullback but probably just knocked into too many 'big uglies' on the D side of the ball. He's gone-and Ted Johnson his teammate can't even put his own socks on. There's something Goodell can get some good press pushing-and colleges would follow right behind
Well, that is not entirely true. A lot of these players were expected to play no matter what. Did you see Tom Savage this past Sunday? Is that not his team's/doctors' fault?
