Real Sports' Look at the NFL and Concussions

I'm a life-long football fan and even played a few years longer than I should have, looking back. I have to say, however, that I'll never intellectually stoop low enough to thinking playing the game is good for you. Concussions do permanent damage that can range from a life-time of seizures and depression to neuropathy and it's pretty much a joke that the game helps with character development (I know I don't have to cite examples here). It also shortens lives-- dramatically so in relation to the NFL.

Playing football is not as loathsome as being sacrificed to the sun god, but it's getting there. That's why I don't begrudge the guys getting big bucks. What's your health worth? Staubach is on record as saying he wishes he never played the game and Namath says he'd give up every thing he ever made from it if he could just put his pants on. Huey Long, commenting on his present occupation living with injuries: Every day is a bad day. Some days its worse.

Here's a short list of my own injuries and consequences:

Three concussions
Seizures, depression
Nerve damage at base of brain
Spinal damage at C1 and lower back
Can't lift feet from floor more than a few inches
Can't move two fingers, muscles severed
Can't rotate left arm or hand
Severely damaged hamstring, never recovered
Severed bicept
Arthritis in knees, ankles, hips
Replaced left knee
Three knee operations
Five hernia operations
Eight operations for infected stitches
Loss of eighty percent of bladder function: nerve related (neuropathy)
Loss of six teeth-- all removed after splitting

On the other hand here's how much my character was enhanced by years of trying to flatten my fellow man and conversation with moral and genius coaches: zip.

Wow. That's a horrific list of injuries. Did you play pro ball? If so, for who?

After watching that show as well as reading several articles over the last year, it seems pretty apparent that there is a causal link between concussions in sports and ongoing nueral ailments. It is interesting that this is somehow "new" information. Doctors and scientists have known for years there is a linkage between concussive head trauma and neurological disorders. Boxing, Soccer, Motorcycle racing, and other sports have acknowledged this since the 1990's.

The army has known this since the WWI and guys came back with "shell shock" that became known as "battle fatigue" in WWII, "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder" in Vietnam, and now "Traumatic Brain Injury" in Iraq. It's the same deal...you bang your head hard enough or enough times and your brain will suffer irreperable damage.

Seems to me like the NFL is only fighting this to avoid the financial liability associated with the medical disability. It looks like it is going to take a class action lawsuit for the NFL and the NFLPA to pony up.

Wow. That's a horrific list of injuries. Did you play pro ball? If so, for who?

No pro ball. The injury to C1 in senior year of college put me out of football for good, except for coaching briefly. I was invited to the Dallas camp, but didn't report. No chance of passing a physical. Dallas was just starting up in those days and was handing out a lot of feelers and invites, even to players reportedly injured. I remember feeling at the time that Dallas had an up and coming front office and that the Cowboys would soon be a power. They were much more thorough in regard to scouting than other teams at that time.
As a matter of history: the Redskins soon followed Dallas' lead and ran their first try-out camp, which resulted in their acquiring Herb Mul Key. I think I'm right about this, though I've never seen it in print. I'm going purely by memory here and how it seemed to me at the time.

I just saw this the other night, I was disgusted with the NFL Dr. that flat out denied the possibility of concussions having a long-term effect on players. It seems like a serious issue has been unearthed here and the NFL really needs to take a serious look at this.

I've heard the analogy that playing in the NFL is like being in a weekly car crash. How the NFL can sit there and say there is NO possible connection between serious head injuries and long-term damage is completely beyond me. It doesn't take a genius to think that if you get hit in the mellon enough times it could do some serious damage.

The NFL needs to wake the hell up and take some responsibility on this.

I just saw this the other night, I was disgusted with the NFL Dr. that flat out denied the possibility of concussions having a long-term effect on players. It seems like a serious issue has been unearthed here and the NFL really needs to take a serious look at this.

I've heard the analogy that playing in the NFL is like being in a weekly car crash. How the NFL can sit there and say there is NO possible connection between serious head injuries and long-term damage is completely beyond me. It doesn't take a genius to think that if you get hit in the mellon enough times it could do some serious damage.

The NFL needs to wake the hell up and take some responsibility on this.

Sounds good but I don't see them letting some horror stories get in the way of their current dominance in collecting the pro-sports dollar.

They will if the players can raise a big enough stink... but where is the NFLPA on this??

They will if the players can raise a big enough stink... but where is the NFLPA on this??

They are hoarding funds that could go to the pioneers that drool, take 2 hours to get out of bed and live in cars.