The NFL today, acknowledged that there is a link between between Football and CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy). Will it expand the current settlement between the NFL and the NFLPA and will it all filter down to Colleges, HS and even Youth Football? How long did the NFL actually know? Are the disestablishment of programs in our near future, especially when collision based Sports have even more impact on the young?
NFL acknowledges link to CTE
- Thread starter shauntclair
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I saw "Concussion" today starring Will Smith that addresses this issue. You brought up in an earlier thread that you thought football, as we know it today, would be unrecognizable due to certain changes in the coming years. (would be more like flag football to reduce impacts and collisions) I have to say I completely disagreed with you until seeing this movie today. The more that is known about brain injuries and the links to Alzheimers, Dementia, Depression, and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, (CTE) I believe it will impact football and force it to evolve. It's unfortunate, as I greatly enjoy watching the sport, but at what cost? I don't think anyone could in good conscience see the correlation between repeated brain injury and their long term effects, and just sit back and be unmoved.
And it's not just concussions, Mike. It's the constant collisions. Not only does CTE become applicable but dementia, Alzheimer's, depression, suicidal tendencies, etc. Fully 20% of all HS players have been documented with future impact and this doesn't include the lifetime injuries to the back and joints that will only worsen over time.
I've also noted a number of class action suits against Colleges. No conclusions I can find yet but most have to do with not properly informing players that 50% of them will suffer from some form of CTE.
Look at the rule changes in the NFL. The ones coming this year and the ones still to come. Not for player safety, as they profess, but to avoid litigation. Colleges and HS just cannot afford the expense of a fight they cannot win. That's why it will happen Mike. We both love the purity of the game, especially at the HS level, but the change is inevitable. IMO.
Thank you for bringing attention to this matter Shaun. At the end of the movie it said the NFL's actuaries (people that assess financial risk related to consequences- ie: insurance companies) have stated that 28% of all NFL players will develop CTE. That's just their best guess. CTE can only be diagnosed post mortem.
To date, of the 94 brains submitted for testing, 90 of them were found to have CTE. Currently there is no way to test for this to see who has it until after they are dead. It doesn't show up on CT scans, slices of the brain have to be examined under an electron microscope. (microtomes)
I recommend that you watch this movie to better understand the consequences of repeated collisions. Basically, the brain sits in spinal fluid with the skull surrounding it for protection. In a collision the brain moves. A concussion is when the brain is jostled so violently it can actually make contact with the interior skull. CTE is caused by repeated collisions over the course of time (concussions are not necessary to produce the long term consequence, although they may produce more profound injuries in a shorter time frame- CTE has been found in NFL players as young as 25) It has also been found in college and high school players to a lesser extent. 45 of 55 college football players studied had it & 6 of 26 HS players had CTE.
Here's the link of the NFL's admission:
http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_...s-link-football-related-head-trauma-cte-first
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