CTE in the NFL

[Ravenswintitle]

Yet there are guys like Jim McMahon who was in horrible shape and found it was a spine issue, not CTE. He's doing much better now.
Also guys like Aikman who retired due to concussions but doesn't seem to have any issues, at least not yet.

No doubt, it's part of the price they pay for the millions

[JimZipCode]

Actually, the study doesn't prove that. She was not working with a random sample, but with donated brains (mostly donated by concerned families, according to one article).

Right, exactly. The pctg is inflated because the donations are self-selected (or family-selected).

But yeah, the % is still likely very, very high.

[Ravenswintitle]

Ask Eugene Monroe or even McMahon - marijuana, not drugs

http://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/os...f-11290279.php

[QuothDaRaven]

Its not shocking to me at all. Then again, I'm not shocked that boxers are at risk either. I do agree that the legal implications could be staggering.

I'm not sure that they should be though. I know it kind of sounds cruel. But honestly, if your playing a collision sport or fighting sport, you know what you're signing up for.

I feel bad for the individuals who are suffering, but I cant help but think some of this is a money grab. You have to be really dense not to realize your putting your health at risk

There's a big difference between putting your health "at risk" and facing a very high probability outcome. This data suggests the percentages are much much higher than we realized before. It isn't just one or two people. We need more data, but if the rates of CTE are pretty high, it definitely changes things. At some point you can start to make causality links and then that's basically on par with the cancer studies for big tobacco... a recreational activity causing a severe illness.

The NFL may keep marketing itself as a family sport and all that but how many parents will be okay with it? Some people who only played high school football in that study had CTE changes already.


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[BigPlayReceiver]

WTH is this game going to look like in the 2020s? ...and will people still pay to see it?

[JimZipCode]

Some people who only played high school football in that study had CTE changes already.

Exactly.

[QuothDaRaven]

Exactly.

Not sure what you mean, but the percentages increased drastically with each level of football, from high school through college and then the NFL.


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[JimZipCode]

WTH is this game going to look like in the 2020s? And will people still pay to see it?

Start with whether or not it will still even exist. Keep your eyes on any findings regarding high school players. That's where the time bomb is.

[QuothDaRaven]

I'd be curious to know what CTE rates are in rugby. I've always heard that the best way to improve tackling safety is to take away helmets and padding so people learn self preservation in tackling technique instead of turning their bodies into heat-seeking missiles.


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[BigPlayReceiver]

Start with whether or not it will still even exist. Keep your eyes on any findings regarding high school players. That's where the time bomb is.

Good point.


Just had a thought on the potential, coincidental impact to colleges and universities: an enormous loss of revenue.

[JimZipCode]

the percentages increased drastically with each level of football, from high school through college and then the NFL.

I didn't read today's linked story from the OP. But in other stuff I've read, the idea that CTE rate increased with each level of football was a theory. No, a hypothesis. There wasn't yet much in the way of evidence for (or against) it.

The thing to understand is, that's the NFL's preferred theory. And the NCAA's preferred theory. And ESPN's, and Fox's, and the whole football media establishment's. The whole industry. If the "real" risk is confined to NFL players – well compensated adults – then it's just something for the NFL to manage, and maybe something to collectively-bargain over.

But if high school football players are at significant risk, that's children, and that's a whole different ball of wax. High school football could absolutely just GO AWAY, if football carries significant risk for them. I mean over and above the "significant risk" that parents already know about, knee injuries and whatnot. Brains are a whole different story.

One study I read about, showed significant risk for the frequent sub-concussive impacts that high school offensive linemen endured, every snap. That's a big deal.

[Jsmoove]

Start with whether or not it will still even exist. Keep your eyes on any findings regarding high school players. That's where the time bomb is.

I know there was at least one game I should not have played in high school