Posted on 01/10/2013 12:06:35 PM PST by ColdOne
SAN DIEGO -- Junior Seau, who committed suicide in May, two years after retiring as one of the premier linebackers in NFL history, suffered from the type of chronic brain damage that also has been found in dozens of deceased former players, five brain specialists consulted by the National Institutes of Health concluded.
Seau's ex-wife, Gina, and his oldest son Tyler, 23, told ABC News and ESPN in an exclusive interview they were informed last week that Seau's brain had tested positive for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a neurodegenerative disease that can lead to dementia, memory loss and depression.
(Excerpt) Read more at espn.go.com ...
I thought it wasn’t the one catastrophic impact of gigantic men running into eachother so much, but all the repeated smaller ones on the head throughout their football career. How do you alter that though? I mean think of all the hits a nfl player will take at all levels of football by the time he is good enough for the nfl. Not catastrophic impacts, but repeated lesser ones.
Freegards
I thought it wasn’t the one catastrophic impact of gigantic men running into eachother so much, but all the repeated smaller ones on the head throughout their football career. How do you alter that though? I mean think of all the hits a nfl player will take at all levels of football by the time he is good enough for the nfl. Not catastrophic impacts, but repeated lesser ones.
Freegards
Maybe I am. When we see contact sport games go bankrupt from lack of attendance you will be proven right. Until then, there will be stars to replace stars. There will be parents getting their kids into these sports to take the places of those who pull theirs out.
And when the traditional American sports are bubblwrapped to the height of boredom and ended, the competitors will take it underground to other forms of conflict and betting. Or take their skills and desires to newly formed Chinese leagues where the rest of us will watch via dish and PPV.
And if you think the world lacks that many parents who live vicariously through their kids, there’s not a lot more I can tell you. Because there is a never ending supply of Honey booboo /Tots in Tierra types ready to give little Johnny that one big shot at superstardom and live off the proceeds.
I have a nephew-in-law who was a star football player. Unfortunately, the injuries he incurred back then are giving him hell today. For years he has suffered from bad knees, both of which have been operated on, to not much relief. He will continue to hurt the rest of his life, and he's only 50.
I learned my lesson at around age 9 playing pick-up football on the school grounds. Got slammed to the ground too many times and suffered from headaches for weeks. Never played again.
They can have that sport, turn it over to water buffaloes. No one will notice the difference.
I should have added that he was a player in high school.
“it is amazingly expensive”..which I agree.
“There are two sports I told my son I would not allow him to play: hockey and football.”
My kids are now beyond that age, but YES, there is NO WAY that I ever would have signed off on those two sports, along with some others.
The only ‘benefit’ that I can see is some early nookie, and they can get that later, when it’s safer.
Rugby can be a tough, painful, bloody sport but the nature of the rules indeed drastically reduces or eliminates the head-to-head high speed collisions you see in football; in Rugby you’re usually being dragged down from behind.
You’re really hung up on this gladiator thing. And you’re wrong across the board. Gladiator competition was about people getting hurt and killed, modern contact sports are about big hits with no repercussions. It’s an unrealistic desire, but it’s what the crowd wants, they want the players to walk away unscathed from the big hits. Just like in the movies.
What happens with these deaths is it makes the fans gut check. And that’s the last thing any sport wants, when the fans start gut checking they start reconsidering the time and money they spend on silly entertainment.
You want to see contact sport games having financial issues you just have to pay attention. Recently the Arena Football League suspended for a season. The NHL just managed to sign a new CBA which had ugly negotiations because so many teams are losing money. Minor league hockey goes out of business all the time. Remember the XFL? NFL Europe?
Parents that want to live vicariously through their kids need the kids to LIVE in order to do it. Again look at this thread, we’ve got a bunch of parents here that have banned their kids from football. And even if the parents aren’t the lawsuits could have a serious impact on high school football.
The simple fact of the matter is the revelation that players (this is at least the second) who NEVER missed a game due to concussion still managed to get brain damage from the game is really bad news for the league. The game simply has to find a way to change, or it WILL go away.
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