This news can’t be good for the future of football.
CTE found in 99% of studied brains from deceased NFL players
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, known as CTE, was found in 99% of deceased NFL players' brains that were donated to scientific research, according to a study published Tuesday in the medical journal JAMA.
The neurodegenerative brain disease can be found in individuals who have been exposed to repeated head trauma. The disease is pathologically marked by an buildup of abnormal tau protein in the brain that can disable neuropathways and lead to a variety of clinical symptoms. These include memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, aggression, depression, anxiety, impulse control issues and sometimes suicidal behavior.
Out of 202 deceased former football players total -- a combination of high school, college and professional players -- CTE was neuropathologically diagnosed in 177, the study said. The disease was identified in 110 out of 111 former NFL players. It was also found in three of the 14 high school players and 48 of the 53 college players.
All sports have risks. Eliminating the needless risk should be the focus.
The fact that former pros have CTE doesn’t surprise me, nor should it surprise anyone.
Firstly, the helmets of the 60’s and 70’s were crap…they didn’t offer much in the way of protection regardless of how a player played the game. They’re infinitely better now.
Secondly, when I played HS and college ball in the 70’s you were actually taught to lead with your head. A good helmet to helmet collision was applauded. Not now.
Thirdly, the players have to stop leading with their heads, especially at the pro level. The rules are in place and at amateur we’ll flag any spear or butt block (spear by the ball carrier) we see and we don’t see much of it thankfully.
At the pros, they just don’t seem to get it. It starts with the players, not the game.
Depends, as it stands right now probably not, mainly because officiating hasn't reached the point where they are penalizing the act instead of intent. Current helmets were never designed to deal with concussions, but skull fractures and brain hemorrhaging.
However, the Zero1 VICIS looks promising, so maybe.
Kids have very little chance of getting seriously injured in football. There is a greater chance of getting head trauma in soccer or hockey (FACT) than tackle football at the 5-10 age group.
Go watch a game and tell me collision is even part of the game. They grab and push, that is all.
When you play HS and high level collegiate or Junior football then Football becomes more dangerous due to the nature of collisions.
Then again. Football has always been less of an interest for younger kids in Canada/USA due to more practice less play routine.
This is why Football players really don’t make a full attempt to play full-time until they are 17-18 yrs old.
At this point. Parents have very little say in their kids decisions to play organized football.
...at the pro level though, would you not think there is a innate trend to push the envelope, win at any cost almost, even if it means sacrificing safety....I think so..
...eventually, because of this information being discovered, I believe football will go in one of two directions:
Such nonsense coming out of the media to point out the dangers of Football.
Nobody is playing the game while crying foul, complaining they were forced to play.
Other sports? Hockey is a very dangerous game.
What is fact for me. I do not know one player in the CFL/NFL that has had concussion issues enough that it would cause concern to continue playing the game. I know there are players I am not naive not to think there are issues. But I can not name you one player and I do know my players and teams. But is there one CFL/NFL player being talked in the media whether he can play next week, or miss time, or questioning his future intentions to continue playing?
However. There are about 50 NHL players that I can recall that are playing in the game today whom have concussion issues. The greatest player in the world Sidney Crosby has issues.
But its only Football you talk about?
Seems like you are on the wrong message board or the only board that accepts your cryptic agenda.
"They also diagnosed CTE in seven out of eight Canadian Football League players"(88 percent),
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It is precisely this sort of attitude that, if it prevails, will lead to the demise of football as it is known.
“Forced to play” is irrelevant - it is the amateur organizers, pro-leagues/owners, AND players that need to collectively address the issue with the medical community and sports equipment makers, so that everyone is properly informed of the risks and how best to address them. Failure to act is negligent - willful ignorance is negligent - and willful omission of proper and well-researched advice is negligent.
And as for your comparison with hockey, here is blurb on CTE research FAQs- "… But it’s not just concussions that have researchers worried. Most scientists believe that CTE is a result of repeated, or sub-concussive, hits to the head. The concern is that each time the head takes a pounding, it shakes the brain inside the skull. All that sloshing around can lead to a buildup of an abnormal protein called tau, which can take over parts of the brain. "
I think concussions in Football is overblown. I think Football takes more heat due to its popularity and that some players file lawsuits and other players from other sports have not by the same numbers.
I stole your Twitter name for this forum, but I see that you put some thought into your new handle here. Clearly you post under “Mirage” because nothing you write has any real substance.
Watch out parents for your kids playing “the beautiful game” as well:
CTE found in former soccer players, study shows
"This is the first time CTE has been confirmed in a group of retired footballers," said Dr. Helen Ling of the University College London Institute of Neurology, who led the study. "They all sustained minor blows to the head thousands of times."
Yep. Youth soccer injuries are common. Everything from sprains and strains to concussions and detached retinas. So do you want your kids playing the beautiful game?
I would let my kids play, now that concussions are talked about.
There are more rules about head shots. Tackling is not about launching your helmet into a player anymore.
Many of the tests would be on players that played before the push for more safety rules or even an awareness of it. Remember a long time ago, clothesline tackles were legal.
There are more safety rules now. The equipment is much better.
Teaching kids proper tackling techniques and cutting intentional blows to the head will help.
This situation will affect the CFL more than the NFL due to money. There will always be people willing to do things for financial rewards.
As for the sports, I played soccer from 4 years old to my late teens. Probably suffered minimum half dozen concussions from kicks, elbows, head to head shots and being tripped. Not to mention the times heading a line drive of a shot.
Hockey, I played until my early teens, once again, probably suffered another half dozen concussions to varying degrees. And I played mostly "non-contact".
When I played if you took a shot to the head, you had your "bell wrung" and told to walk it off and go back in as soon as you can. Now, my nephew was playing minor hockey in a youth non contact league and he took a shot, and he was kept out of hockey for 2 weeks for "concussion protocol."
Concussion Protocols have been a fixture in amateur football for five or six years. As an amateur officials I have the right and the responsibility to remove any player I suspect has been concussed and have undergone training to ID those symptoms. If I suspect a player is in danger I stop the game, walk him over to his coach and explain what’s happening…he’s then not permitted to re-enter the game unless certified by a “qualified physician”.
NFL funded the study but refused at first. They said sure study CTE in football but we want all sports studied because they knew how the media and TravelPat would react.
Hold it, is fishing a sport? 8)