04/24/24
June 28, 2010
Chris Henry Had Trauma-Induced Brain Damage: Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chris Henry, who died last December in a fall from a truck during a domestic dispute, had developed chronic traumatic encephalopathy, according to brain experts. Though he was only in his 20s, Henry was the first person known to have developed the brain disease while still active in the NFL. "It rattles me," said Seattle Seahawks special teamer Sean Morey, a member of the league's brain-injury committee. "You have to ask yourself how many are playing the game today that have this and don’t even know about it."
And the concern has to extend down below the pro level.
Watching film of some halfway decent high school teams, I'm struck by how athletic some of these players are, and how highly developed some of the schemes are on both sides of the ball.
If you're a good scholastic player with a big motor and you take a lot of contact, you could be heading off to college with the problem already well underway.
posted by beaverboard at 01:06 PM on June 28, 2010
Please let this be kryptonite to those talk radio idiots who call the Tiki Barbers and Robert Smiths (Viking not Cure) of the world quitters when they walk away from the game with many miles left on the odometer. Of course, it will not be.
posted by holden at 01:41 PM on June 28, 2010
And, to beaverboard's comment, Malcolm Gladwell's excellent New Yorker article. It's the aggregate affect of thousands of hits from pee wee through high school through college that really does the damage.
posted by kokaku at 03:15 PM on June 28, 2010
Talk about your extreme sports. It's out of hand, isn't it?
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 06:26 PM on June 28, 2010
At what point do we decide that football as a sport is inherently dangerous to the players (moreso than getting out of bed in the morning and going to your average job)? And, what should the NFL do about it? I honestly feel like I can't enjoy watching the sport, knowing that, for my entertainment, these guys are putting their lives in danger.