Concussions, CTE, and other traumatic brain injuries in football

[BB73]

1. I think equipment is getting better/safer. That should help. Fingers crossed.
2. I think the rules changes regarding targeting and defenseless players are a good thing. Along with neck injuries, I'm hopeful that we can see data supporting a decline in head injuries.
3. Same with the new kickoff deal in the NFL. I hope injuries on kickoffs go down.
4. I never played competitive football, but I remember gym teachers say stuff like "loosened up the cobwebs" on a big hit. It was flag football! Why was there a big hit?!? Nerd.
5. I was assistant coach for my kid's tee ball team a million years ago, and I had to sit through a 2-hour training session for concussions. The ball was only a little tougher than a nerf ball. 2 hours. I'm no expert on concussions, but I understand that the immediate treatment is important. If they're requiring tee ball coaches to go through 2 hours of training, I hope they're requiring football coaches to go through 16 hours of training. I'd like to think that would help.
5a. This is why I think the *ichigan head coach should have been fired when he sent a QB with an obvious concussion back out on the field. I forget the coach and quarterback. Was that Shane Morris? The next QB couldn't find his helmet? So you send the guy with a concussion back out there? Nope. You're gone, Idiot.
6. I'm glad my son inherited shared athletic ability from my wife and me. I was never the athletic guy growing up, but my son is down below my level. I didn't have to worry about him playing high-level sports. But now he's driving. There are other ways to get a concussion.

Yep, it was Shane Morris and the coach was Brady ‘Fred Flintstone’ Hoke.

 

[RhodeIslandBuck]

Yep, it was Shane Morris and the coach was Brady ‘Fred Flintstone’ Hoke.

One thing I'll say in Brady Hokes defense...I'm not sure being concussed would make Shane Morris actually play worse

 

[gmen6981]

Yep, it was Shane Morris and the coach was Brady ‘Fred Flintstone’ Hoke.

We had a lot of fun at Sugar Shane's expense, but what Hoke did to him that day was criminal. I watched that game live and couldn't believe what I was seeing. I guessed at the time that Hoke had just sealed his own fate.

 

[Captain Buckeye]

You did not know about CTE so it’s a silly logic construct. You may have known there were risks but you didn’t know all the risks.

How many people would smoke thinking cigarettes probably weren’t good for you but did it anyway?

How many would have done it if fully aware of the addictive and carcinogenic nature along with a huge sample of anecdotal stories to shed light on the horrors of dying that way?

If people smoke now, with all that’s known - it’s on them. Back in the day while big tobacco was doing its best to hide all those little factoids- it’s not all on them.

Of course I didn’t know about CTE. But do you really think as a football player I figured it was good long term for my health? Absolutely not.

But if everything is equal there’s certainly some personal decision in playing what’s clearly an unhealthy sport for your brain.

It would be like suing fast food claiming they make us fat. You could just not eat fast food. Same thing here. If you want to avoid potentially a life changing injury then maybe don’t play. If you do play and develop these issues that’s the risk we take playing.

Again, go after the teams if they were forcing players to play or not providing good medical advice at the expense of wins. Those are the situations that absolutely are wrong.

Anyway now that I’ve dropped a grenade maybe I’ll see myself out lol

 

[Captain Buckeye]

It’s a lot like cigarettes. My dad told me that they called them coffin nails when he was a kid in the 40s. People “knew” but they didn’t really know and the tobacco companies did their damnedest to keep it that way. With CTE, I will say that I suspect that a lot more people than football players get it, but that nobody bothers to check on a regular person who gets dementia after they’re dead. I don’t know that I’d turn a kid towards soccer, with the heading of the ball, as a much safer alternative either.

Honestly headers don’t start until u12 and it’s a very small part of the game. Even so it’s a fraction of what football involves of course.

 

[Mike80]

I’m sort of tired of hearing about CTE if I’m being honest. Football isn’t a safe thing to do. I think everyone who has played knew going in that it wasn’t great to take shots to the head.

Some drills in practice you just knew were going to suck and the ability to in real time size someone up and go “oh this is going to blow” before making a tackle happened every damn day.

We played anyway. I think it’s disingenuous to pretend like there’s shock that it wasn’t good for your brain to play football. If I knew it wasn’t healthy I think most know/knew too.

Kids and adults decide to play anyway. I think it’s established if you play you’re not going to be the same as if you hadn’t played. So no kidding that past players were likely to have CTE. It sucks but I think everyone knows that.

Absolutely. My son is 2 years old and we’ll likely both love watching games together one day (at least I hope) but I’m going to introduce baseball and soccer in his early ages.

If he gets older and wants to play football then we can cross that bridge when we get there. But until he can protect himself and understand how to keep his head out of it I wouldn’t want him to.

It’s wild how we played football even in 2004 when I was playing. Bull in the ring, Oklahoma drills, full go scrimmage, etc. Not even including padded two a days in summer heat. I’m shocked more kids haven’t died to be honest in the earlier years when football was really full go.

You've been called out already but I'll add to it.

No one knew a thing or gave much of a shit outside of very specific medical circles until 2 things happened:

Chris Benoit murdering his family.
Junior Seau committing suicide.

The first tragedy opened the door to people discussing the issue, the second one put the issue in the forefront and put the NFL and the game itself squarely in the crosshairs.

Saying how it was "wild" for you to play football in 2004 given what you say you "knew" is disingenuous as all hell.

 

[Jaxbuck]

Of course I didn’t know about CTE. But do you really think as a football player I figured it was good long term for my health? Absolutely not.

But if everything is equal there’s certainly some personal decision in playing what’s clearly an unhealthy sport for your brain.

It would be like suing fast food claiming they make us fat. You could just not eat fast food. Same thing here. If you want to avoid potentially a life changing injury then maybe don’t play. If you do play and develop these issues that’s the risk we take playing.

Again, go after the teams if they were forcing players to play or not providing good medical advice at the expense of wins. Those are the situations that absolutely are wrong.

Anyway now that I’ve dropped a grenade maybe I’ll see myself out lol

Are you really not capable of understanding the concept that not all the risks were known?

You change the argument you claim to be trying to make in every successive post.

You didn’t drop a grenade. You blew your own foot off. Probably best you don’t play with ordnance.

 

[Captain Buckeye]

Are you really not capable of understanding the concept that not all the risks were known?

You change the argument you claim to be trying to make in every successive post.

You didn’t drop a grenade. You blew your own foot off. Probably best you don’t play with ordnance.

Eh not really.

I’m sorry but I just don’t accept that we are too stupid to understand football is hard on your brain.

Once again, teams who hid or had their physicians lie to get players to play is not what I’m talking about.

 

[Jaxbuck]

Eh not really.

I’m sorry but I just don’t accept that we are too stupid to understand football is hard on your brain.

Once again, teams who hid or had their physicians lie to get players to play is not what I’m talking about.

You are the only one making this ludicrous argument.

Numerous people have tried to show you the fallacy.

You keep chugging.

 

[Mike80]

Eh not really.

I’m sorry but I just don’t accept that we are too stupid to understand football is hard on your brain.

Once again, teams who hid or had their physicians lie to get players to play is not what I’m talking about.

 

[Captain Buckeye]

You are the only one making this ludicrous argument.

Numerous people have tried to show you the fallacy.

You keep chugging.

It’s just an unpopular opinion. One where statistics etc aren’t necessary so I’m not sure what there is to prove wrong or right.

I just believe largely (not the ones lied to by doctors) football players know/knew the risks concussions carry/carried.

 

[buckeyebri]

I remember my 8th grade football coach (75) hitting us with an open hand upside the ear hole when we fucked up.

Good times but we didn’t know any better and our dads wouldn’t have done anything if we had said something

 

[knuckifyoubuck]

They knew it would lead to: Mood and Behavioral Changes: Depression, anxiety, severe irritability, and unpredictable mood swings; Impulse Control Issues: Aggression, explosive anger, and acting without thinking; Executive Dysfunction: Difficulty planning, organizing, problem-solving, and making decisions; Headaches and Dizziness: Chronic headaches, confusion, and disorientation; Sleep Disruption: Insomnia and significant disturbances in normal sleep patterns; Memory and Cognitive Decline: Progressive short-term memory loss, worsening cognitive impairment, and potentially dementia; Movement and Motor Problems: Balance difficulties, loss of coordination, tremors, muscle twitches, and Parkinson's-like symptoms; Speech Difficulties: Slurred, slowed, or labored speech; Severe Psychiatric Symptoms: Paranoia, suicidal thoughts, and significant behavioral disturbances; Neurological Deterioration: In some cases, motor neuron symptoms resembling ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis).

Just unpopular opinion that players knew this.

 

[Mike80]

I remember my 8th grade football coach (75) hitting us with an open hand upside the ear hole when we fucked up.

Good times but we didn’t know any better and our dads wouldn’t have done anything if we had said something

My freshman year of High School, I was a fullback in Pennsylvania and our offense was literally the power-I

Every play (seemingly) I was doing an ISO up to the middle linebacker. I cracked the shell of 3 different helmets that year. And this isn't like the shells of today, those things were essentially brain buckets with an air-filled inner tube in them.

Back then a concussion was something that kept you out of practice for a day or two until you started feeling better. There was no "return to play" or getting cleared by a doctor unless you were knocked out or there was another issue, like your neck was hurting for instance. It was next to unheard of to miss more than a week without an accompanying issue back then.

The claims of "we had to know" are horseshit. Teenagers back then literally didn't think about that stuff, and if they say they did, they are full of shit in every sense.

 

[buckeyebri]

I was a RB/DB my knee was fucked up and I was going to sit out a game. Coach came into the locker room and says I hear you’re hurt. Run in place for me. You look fine, you’re playing. Okay coach. Like you said we didn’t know jack and neither did they.