In recent years, a highly damaging disease called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) has been found in the brains of many former athletes that performed in contact sports. CTE is a progressive neurodegeneration that stems from constant impacts to the head or neck area. For many years nothing was really ever done to further study CTE because many doctors just believed that the former athletes just had symptoms from being hit in the head constantly. Some the symptoms that these athletes showed were memory loss, confusion, aggression, depression, and anxiety. These symptoms can easily be confused with having a concussion but CTE is much worse than a concussion. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy is a brain disease that effects many former NFL football player’s relationships with family and friends, and the NFL does not do enough when it comes to helping these former players.
In 1928, Harrison S. Martland was the first neurologist to describe the damaging neurological effects associated with contact sports. He called it “punch drunk syndrome” because he only saw it in former boxers (Maroon). Even after Martland described these damaging neurological effects, nothing really happened until August 1954 when the first case of CTE was diagnosed. The only bad thing about this was that it made doctors believe that CTE was only found in boxers, which misled doctors for almost 50 years (Maroon). In the early 2000s doctors then discovered that CTE was not only effecting boxers but it was also effecting former athletes in contact sports. Doctor Bennet I. Omalu only discovered this in an autopsy that they constructed on the dead body of the former football player Mike Webster (Drysdale). The results of Webster's brain examination provided the first evidence of a link between the long-term neurodegenerative consequences that are associated with CTE and the exposure to repeated mild traumatic brain injury associated with football (Drysdale). Even after this discovery, nothing happened to further the research of CTE because of the lack of data and there has been limited cases of CTE to be reported.
Since the beginning of professional sports, players have been putting their bodies on the line for the fans and organizations they play for. This has become a bigger issue today more than ever because of the size of the players now and the speed that they play at is faster than it has ever been. Back in the 1950s a big lineman in the NFL was 5’11” and weighed 245 pounds; however, a big lineman today is 6’7” and weighs 325 pounds (Walter). As far as the speed of the game, some players are faster than most Olympic track sprinters. For example, John Ross who ran a forty-yard dash in just 4.22 seconds (Walter). The kind of force that is created between weight and speed combined can tear an athlete's body apart, as seen with the rise in the frequency of head injuries of athletes today.
Even though it is not very clear, it is believed that CTE has led to the suicide of many former professional football players. Out of all professional sports the NFL is known for being the toughest sport on a man’s body. From the constant working out to the constant head shots, it is very tough on the human body. In recent years, former NFL football players have opened up a lawsuit against the league because of recent deaths to their former teammates and friends. This lawsuit questions whether or not the NFL knew that the repeated headshots and concussions could lead to the forming of CTE. Former Defensive Back Andre Waters who played for the Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals took his own life because of diminished neurological movements and capabilities, and because the symptoms of CTE are believed to have become too much for him to handle. Dr. Kevin Guskiewicz and his colleagues suggested that retired NFL players who sustained three or more concussions had a higher rate of mild cognitive impairment diagnosis and an increased threat of clinical depression. Since 2005, many former NFL players have decided to donate their brain to the study of CTE. Recently in 2015, 87 out of 91 brains that were donated to the study tested positive for CTE. Dr. Ann McKee, Director of the Veteran’s Administration and Boston University brain bank, told FRONTLINE that the identification of CTE after death suggested a clear link between football and traumatic brain injury (Drysdale).
A concussion is an inevitable injury that every player faces in their career. The NFL has not shown enough effort in helping players who are exposed to repeated blows to the head. Many players will form CTE within just a couple of years playing football. These players will continue to develop CTE as their playing years come to an end. By the time they retire, their brains could be up to 45% deteriorated and CTE symptoms could already be in full effect. In addition, until very recently, CTE only could be detected once an athlete died and his brain tissue could be examined under a microscope. It was impossible to tell whether an athlete with a history of concussions was at risk for CTE while still playing football.
In May 2011, former Chicago Bears player Dave Duerson took his life with a gunshot to the chest. Leading up to his death, Duerson complained about many symptoms he was experiencing from CTE. In May 2011, CTE was confirmed to be in Duerson’s brain by Dr. Ann McKee. Duerson will be known as the guy who showed that football is more than just a game, it is a game that can affect many men and their families (Drysdale). Also Duerson’s death made the NFL face the fact that CTE is a very serious consequence that you face during your career. Than on May 2, 2012 former standout linebacker Junior Seau died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. Before his death, Seau was a man whose actions were becoming out of control. The people who were closest to Seau say that they had never seen him act that way until he retired from the NFL. With an increased chance of depression that comes along with CTE, along with not having the chance to play the sport that he loved, the depression became too much for Seau to handle. A year after Seau’s, his family went on to sue the NFL after the examination of Seau’s brain showed that he was suffering from CTE.
Concussions are affecting players in all sports, but especially in the NFL. In the 2015-2016 season there was ninety-six concussions recorded by week 10. In this past season, one hundred twenty-three were recorded including playoffs (Flynn). The number of concussions is on the rise in recent years along with the number of former players with CTE. Thirty-six professional athletes have died from CTE and there is another eight who were suspected of having CTE to die, then another thirty-three currently living with CTE now including former NFL quarterback Brett Favre (Walter). Anyone could tell this is a serious problem today and needs to be fixed.
This is where the NFL does not do enough for their former players. It is sort of like a soldier going off to war and coming back with PTSD, and then the military just throws that soldier back into civilization without giving him help with the disorder. These NFL players risk their lives every week for the entertainment of the league and once they retire, they are handed a pension and sent on their way. The NFL should create classes or therapy sessions for former players that are suffering from CTE. In these classes the players can be taught on how to handle or deal with CTE. Also, the NFL should create classes for the family members of the players that are suffering. CTE has ruined many families because the family members do not know how to deal with the symptoms that CTE comes with. For example, in the movie Concussion, Mike Webster who the movie was centered around, constantly shows anger towards his family. He would abuse his wife both verbally and physically, along with abusing his kids verbally. If the NFL created classes to work with issues like this, the men who have CTE would not have to lose their families. (iMDB)
"You watch the life go out of someone's eyes."(USA) This was a quote from Lise Hudson, the wife of Super Bowl Champion Jim Hudson. She had come into her house and she saw her husband sitting on the couch, holding a golf ball while crying because he had forgotten how to golf. Jim Hudson had forgotten what the golf ball was for and how to play the sport of golf. (USA) Along with Jim Hudson, former Super Bowl Winning quarterback Jim McMahon suffered from symptoms of CTE. His longtime girlfriend Laurie Navon stated “He had such a bright light in his eyes, but through the years, the light’s gotten dimmer and dimmer.” (Stein) This quote shows that it’s hard for families to see their loved one’s go through this hard brain disease. They see them struggling and they want to help but they can’t. Families begin to lose connection with their fathers, brothers, and uncles because of this horrible disease.
The NFL has tried to decrease the chances of head injuries by regulating some of the rules on the field. Beginning in 2010, the NFL has changed the length of kickoffs, and have implemented new rules that have helped prevent head and neck contact with defenseless players. The NFL now makes teams send any player that they believe to have a head injury to meet with independent neurologists. They have done all of this in an attempt to reduce the number of head injuries and to reduce the chances of forming CTE. The NFL continues to consider new options each season, in an effort to solve this ongoing and potentially life-threating situation.
The players also need to do their part in this whole situation. The NFL can do all they want to try and change the whole head injury problem, but when players do not report concussions or head injuries they have sustained, it makes preventing CTE even harder. The game of football is an extremely physical and violent game, concussions are going to happen, so the players should never be afraid to report a head injury.
Some players have come out and admitted that they will continue to play violently despite the new rules because they grew up only knowing how to play the game in a violent fashion. People of higher power within the NFL still do not believe that the NFL even has a concussion problem. The NFL has had inconsistencies in concussion reporting protocol, this shows that the NFL lacks a “reliable way to account for concussions all season long,” Also, the NFL released statistics to try and show a drop in concussions, but everything about the statistics did not add up. The data was more conflicting than it was helpful in anyway.
Players are deciding it is not worth it to destroy their bodies anymore and are retiring early. Seven players in the NFL retired last season before their 31st birthday (Walter). These seven players are all following one common theme: they have already made enough money and don’t want to destroy their bodies anymore (Walter). Former San Francisco 49er linebacker Chris Borland retired at the age of 24 because of the threat of CTE. Borland made his decision after speaking with concussion specialists and with former NFL players who are currently suffering from CTE. "I just honestly want to do what's best for my health," Borland told "Outside the Lines." "From what I've researched and what I've experienced, I don't think it's worth the risk." Borland believes that the NFL does not do enough for players that suffer from CTE, so he wanted to take matters into his own hands before it was too late. "I feel largely the same, as sharp as I've ever been. For me, it's wanting to be proactive," Borland said. "I'm concerned that if you wait 'til you have symptoms, it's too late. … There are a lot of unknowns. I can't claim that X will happen. I just want to live a long, healthy life, and I don't want to have any neurological diseases or die younger than I would otherwise." (Fainaru)
Since the 1970s, helmets have been constructed with a rigid, polycarbonate shell, a steel facemask, and padding on the inside. Each helmet is designed to protect the person using it from a head injury. Modern helmets may use more advanced materials and more analyzed and engineered designs, but the basic concept remains largely unchanged. The problem is that even though the designs of the helmets have changed, the inside protection has not. Helmet manufacturers have not adjusted the protection of their helmets to the way the game is played today. Guys are bigger and faster than they were when helmets were first created. This means the impact that these guys are facing is greater than it ever was. Riddell, the largest helmet manufacturer and maker of the official helmet of the NFL, produces the Revolution Speed helmet. This helmet has high density vinyl nitrile foam, a facemask designed to absorb some of the energy of the impact, and a larger shell to fit more padding. Schutt, the second-largest helmet manufacturer, produces multiple helmets that use a complex 3-dimensional engineered structure made of thermoplastic as the primary protection mechanism (Polnerow). Every helmet that is used in the NFL has to pass an impact test before it is allowed to be used. The bad thing about this test is that it has not been changed since 1990. The game of football has changed drastically since that time. The NFL needs to update their impact test for helmets and implement for advanced testing to keep their players safe.
In conclusion, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy is a progressive neurodegeneration that stems from constant impacts to the head or neck area. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy is a brain disease that effects many NFL football players and the NFL does not do enough about it. Many former NFL players have died from CTE and the NFL has not done much about it. They have implemented some rule changes to decrease the chance of head injuries, but it has not been enough. CTE effects players both physically and mentally. Many players have lost their families and friends because of CTE because no one really knows how to deal with it. There are no classes given to players on how to deal with CTE and there are no classes given to the families of the players with CTE. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy is a terrible disease that is almost inevitable for all NFL football players, these players do so much for the NFL and in reward they are given a pension and sent on their way. Things need to be done to protect these men who are suffering day by day with CTE.