|
Post by mikecubs on Dec 11, 2017 20:44:28 GMT -6
The Tom Savage fiasco shows the NFL's concussion protocol is not working When Houston’s quarterback returned to the field only minutes after a big hit left him twitching, it showed the NFL doesn’t care about getting concussions rightThe lasting image of the 14th week of this NFL season won’t be the Bills and Colts romping in the snow or Cam Newton roaring through Minnesota’s secondary or Dak Prescott heaving touchdown passes over the New York Giants. The lasting image of a week that should be all about playoff runs is instead Houston Texans quarterback Tom Savage lying on the turf, his head having been smashed to the ground, staring blankly in the air with his fingers twitching uncontrollably. This should have been a sign that something neurologically was wrong with Savage, that he should have been whisked far from the field. And yet the Texans medical staff apparently let him back on following a cursory exam that took less than three minutes. It took two incomplete passes for someone on the Houston sideline to realize something wasn’t right and Savage was pulled from the game and taken under the stands for a more extensive evaluation. He did not come back. What’s clear is the NFL’s procedure for handling concussions is not working. Asking team doctors to diagnose concussions in quick exams held in tents behind the bench is probably not the best way to decide if a player is healthy enough to remain in a game. It pits the eternal dilemma of a team’s lust for winning against a player’s safety and is the same kind of shoddy medicine that has gotten the NFL into a head trauma mess to begin with. This is the third time this season that a quarterback has been taken into the tent with what seems an obvious had injury only to be sent back to the field after exams that seemed barely longer than an eye blink. Last month, Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson dashed through a tent exam before quickly returned following a brutal hit to his chin and Indianapolis’s Jacoby Brissett returned to a game against Pittsburgh after wobbling to the sideline following a hit. Savage’s return brought a swift reaction from Chris Nowinski, the founder of the Concussion Legacy Foundation. Chris Nowinski, Ph.D. ✔ @chrisnowinski1 Disgusted that the @houstontexans allowed Tom Savage to return to the game after 2 plays after showing these horrifying #concussion signs (is that a seizure?) after a head impact. I would not let my worst enemy go through the 2017 #NFL sideline concussion protocol... … 1:40 PM - Dec 10, 2017 294 294 Replies 5,127 5,127 Retweets 9,039 9,039 likes Twitter Ads info and privacy While most fans may not know of Nowinski he is one of the most important voices on football concussions around. A former football player at Harvard and a professional wrestler whose career was cut short because of concussions, he worked closely with Dr Bennet Omalu, the Pittsburgh pathologist who identified the link between head trauma in football and the degenerative brain condition, CTE. In fact, it was Nowinski who helped Omalu procure the brains of recently-deceased former players, speeding the movement to get the NFL to recognize CTE as a significant problem. T he final line of Nowinski’s text – “I would not let my worst enemy go through the 2017 NFL concussion protocol” – must sting. But his words have merit. Despite the glaring attention paid to repeated blows to the head in football games and long-term brain disease, the league is still not showing a desire to get things right. It may be unfair to blame the team doctors who are nonetheless conflicted because of their arrangements with the teams. Since the doctors are on the sideline at games they don’t see the same replays we do on TV. They might not see Brissett go limp for a moment after being hit or see Savage’s twitching hands. But there needs to be better communication between them and those who do see these things. There needs to be more emphasis placed on keeping players from going back in games when it is clear those players should be heading to the locker room. Football is a violent game. Those who make it their life’s pursuit know this. Anyone who signs an NFL contract today knows the risks. The information is out there. And yet at some point the bravado becomes foolish. Something has to be done to make sure the next Tom Savage does not go back into a game. www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2017/dec/11/houston-tom-savage-concussions-nfl
|
|
|
Post by mikecubs on Dec 13, 2017 1:00:19 GMT -6
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: 'All signs point to the NBA replacing the NFL' as America's league The Lakers legend details why the NBA popularity will continue to riseThe NFL is no stranger to controversy. Between concussions, protests and questionable officiating, the league has had to endure a lot over recent years. With that in mind, NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wrote a piece for The Guardian entitled "The NBA, and not the NFL, is the league of America's future." In the piece, Abdul-Jabbar lays out the reasons why the NBA is the league for the "modern" sports fan. Abdul-Jabbar admits that this shift hasn't happened yet. The NFL is still by far the most popular league in the country. "The 2017 NBA finals averaged 20.4 million viewers (a 20-year record), which is roughly the same as the NFL's regular Sunday night audience of 20.3 million, and nowhere near the 2016 Super Bowl uber-audience of 111 million," he writes. However, there is disillusionment there, as he explains, "America can be fickle. And the Magic 8-Ball of our cultural zeitgeist says, 'All signs point to the NBA replacing the NFL as the league of America's future.'" The main force behind Abdul-Jabbar's argument is that a culture shift is causing the NBA to more reflect current societal norms. In a time where sports ratings are falling, he writes, basketball is thriving.But America has changed and with that change we are seeing a shifting away from hoisting football on our collective shoulders. Although football remains our most popular professional sport, that popularity has been declining over the past five years, from 67% saying they were fans in 2012, to 57% in 2017. Professional baseball has also fallen 2% during that time. However, professional basketball has risen 3%. Before anyone starts blaming Colin Kaepernick, let's remember that he first took a knee in 2016 and that the fan base erosion had already been strong several years before that. Another reason, beyond culture, is the dangerous nature of the NFL. Fans are getting to peer behind the veil of concussions and their effects -- and what they're seeing isn't pretty.
One major reason Americans are stepping back from football is the danger. Physical risk has always been one of the attractions of the sport – a rite of manhood. But recent studies showing just how severe the brain damage is to the players shocked us. A 2017 study published in the Journal of American Medical Association discovered chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in 110 out of 111 brains of former NFL players. He goes on to mention that injuries like torn ACLs or cracked ribs are a bit different. A big hit is a big hit, it's part of the appeal of the game. But "there is nothing sexy about depression and dementia," he writes.Then, of course, Abdul-Jabbar thinks of the children. He writes that the future simply isn't that into the NFL right now. "Another loose thread being pulled to unravel football's dominant status is the fact that it's less popular among children, who are the future fan base," he writes. "According to ESPN, basketball is the most popular sport among American youth, both boys and girls, while football has dropped to third place."[/u] All of this makes sense, to a degree. The NFL as a league seems to be one big misstep, and although the product itself is premium and fun, it tends to get lost in the shuffle. The NBA, meanwhile, has some of the most marketable stars in sports. LeBron James stands chief among them, of course, but others such as Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Anthony Davis -- and the list goes on -- have commercial appeal (both literally and figuratively) and are seen regularly on the floor. In no other sport can one player make the difference they can in a basketball game. Being one of 10 people on the floor, a star has the potential to take over a game. Moments like Tracy McGrady's 13 points in 35 seconds or Reggie Miller's eight points in nine seconds can't be replicated in any other sport. We see the faces of these franchises more than we see them in any other game, outside of maybe quarterbacks in the NFL. Finally, Abdul-Jabbar gets to a topic that's always dicey: Player protests. To say that players protesting in the NFL hasn't been received well would be like saying that the Star Wars Christmas Special was a minor disappointment. The NFL has constantly oscillated on the matter of free speech but, Abdul-Jabbar writes, the NBA has been more compliant. The NBA has been more tolerant of its players' freedom of speech. Players and coaches from many teams have silently protested and spoken out to the press. LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Jarrett Jack, Alan Anderson, Deron Williams, Kevin Garnett and others wore "I Can't Breathe" T-shirts during warm-ups in 2014 to protest the death of unarmed Eric Garner by police. Steph Curry and Kevin Durant continue to speak out. Detroit Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy has said that protesting athletes are "models of American patriotism". Spurs coach Gregg Popovich echoed that sentiment when he said that his players have "the organization's full support to speak their minds". Has speaking out affected ratings? This year the NBA, despite its protests, has increased its TV ratings by 32%, while the NFL's viewership dropped from 16.5m viewers last year to 15m this year.Things aren't perfect. There is still pressure to silence players. But the NBA has a chance to seize this moment and boldly lead by promoting the values and freedoms of the US Constitution. To be not just sports heroes, but also social heroes who reflect the kind of engaged Americans who won't tolerate anyone stepping on our values, just for the price of a ticket, a hot dog and a beer. Even though these issues may be uncomfortable, Abdul-Jabbar has a point regarding this. If an NFL coach said half of the things that Popovich or Kerr do, they'd be sitting in the owners' office pretty quickly. The NBA is in the midst of a fun season. Kyrie Irving is playing out of this crazy flat planet of ours, the Rockets are putting up a historically good offensive season, and the Bucks' fun young core is finally coming to fruition, not to mention the upstart 76ers. It's a good time to tune in, and Abdul-Jabbar seems to believe that more and more people will moving forward. www.cbssports.com/nba/news/kareem-abdul-jabbar-all-signs-point-to-the-nba-replacing-the-nfl-as-americas-league/
|
|
|
Post by mikecubs on Dec 13, 2017 1:07:49 GMT -6
The only chink in the armor besides no Seattle(yet) is if the new Designated Player Exception works or not to prevent star players from leaving their original team after 8 years/after their second contract(ala Kevin Durant). If Kevin Durant situations keep happening we will be going back to old times and baseball will win!
|
|
|
Post by mikecubs on Dec 14, 2017 12:12:53 GMT -6
Steelers CB Artie Burns: I 'definitely know I have' CTE at 22Updated at 7:54 a.m. ET Artie Burns is just 22 years old, but the Steelers cornerback is convinced he's living with CTE. Burns told MMQB in a roundtable discussion that if a diagnosis in living patients existed he would "definitely" suffer from the degenerative brain disease linked to repeated blows to the head. The links between football and CTE have been extensively debated and studied in recent years, but a diagnosis almost always occurs post-mortem. "I definitely know I have it. I’m going to [test positive for] CTE," Burns said. "I don’t need a test. Is it going to tell me how much I have? We play a physical sport, man. Humans are not made to run into each other."Evanston's NorthShore University HealthSystem neurosurgeon Dr. Julian Bailes claimed in the scientific journal "Neurosurgery," in November that researchers have the ability to identify chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in living patients. Boston University CTE Center’s Ann McKee thinks a test for living patients could be implemented in five years. MMQB asked the roundtable consisting of seven NFL players about the ramifications of a test for living players. If they were to positive test to a CTE test, Michael Bennett and Kirk Cousins said they would retire. www.sportingnews.com/nfl/news/artie-burns-age-steelers-cornerback-cte-concussion/19upiacn0vcm61tlboxl5klex6
|
|
|
Post by mikecubs on Dec 14, 2017 12:16:40 GMT -6
Former NFL running back Larry Johnson believes he is living with CTEFormer NFL running back Larry Johnson told the Washington Post that he believes he suffers from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. At this time, CTE can only be confirmed after death. Johnson told the Washington Post that his anxiety, paranoia and self-destructive impulses match the symptoms of people who had CTE. He describes brief, intense headaches, the jitters, mood swings, violence and forgetfulness. He describes "demons" that push him toward rooftop decks, urging him to jump.
"One is telling you to do it; one is telling you don't. One is telling you it'd be fun," he says.He says he believes that he and Aaron Hernandez are something like kindred spirits, cautionary tales. Johnson, who played at Penn State, was a Heisman finalist in 2002 -- the same year he won the Maxwell, Walter Camp and Doak Walker Awards. He was drafted No. 27 overall in 2003 by the Kansas City Chiefs and was selected to two Pro Bowls, in 2005 and 2006, with the Chiefs. He also spent time with the Cincinnati Bengals, the Washington Redskins and the Miami Dolphins. But Johnson -- who has been arrested six times, five of which were for various assault charges against women -- had violent tendencies and saw his career pockmarked toward its end. He was waived by the Chiefs in 2009 after he was suspended for "conduct detrimental to the club." His stints with the Redskins and Dolphins were very short. Johnson last played in the NFL in 2011. He says that he has no memory of two full NFL seasons, and that many of his most memorable plays are hazy memories."Blank spots," Johnson calls those lapses. Because of that, Johnson says he is creating a "time capsule" of his football career for his daughter, Jaylen. "If I can't remember who I was, I've got YouTube; I've got music videos that I'm making for myself, so when I watch these things I can remember," Johnson says. "I'm trying to get these things in order so she knows who I am and what I came from." Johnson has shielded her from his behavior and says that the only reason he hasn't fully acted on his violent tendencies -- toward himself and others -- is because of his daughter. "She's, like, a good distraction I have," he says. "She sees something in me that most people will never see." Working on his capsule for her years ago, he says he was "aware" he was about to destroy himself -- that he could delay it but not avoid it. Johnson says he wasn't contemplating suicide but that he "was preparing to go away to stay.""A bittersweet thing: I'm going to be free of everything that's holding me down," Johnson says now, and h e wonders whether Hernandez experienced similarly intense feelings in his final days. "The same way Aaron [Hernandez] thought, I'm going to be gone from this world, but I'm still going to be able to take care of my child, because that's all I care about." Johnson said he decided to go public with his concerns in order to open dialogue with other former players he believes may have CTE symptoms. www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/21752899/former-nfl-running-back-larry-johnson-believes-living-cte
|
|
|
Post by mikecubs on Dec 14, 2017 12:20:58 GMT -6
Here is the entire article from the Washington post on Larry Johnson(a very long read which is why I posted the ESPN summary) www.washingtonpost.com/sf/sports/wp/2017/12/12/ex-nfl-player-larry-johnson-grapples-with-violent-urges-and-memory-loss-he-thinks-its-cte/?utm_term=.8a156969a6ffMike Adamle is struggling with CTE too www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/ct-spt-mike-adamle-struggles-crusade-20171205-story.htmlsnip(s)-Adamle’s neurologist, Michael Smith of Rush University Medical Center, said Adamle has post traumatic epilepsy, which is “caused by sort of a bruising of the brain, and that happens with concussions.” “He has had behavioral changes, he has had mood changes, he has judgment changes. He has had cognitive and memory changes. All that’s consistent with CTE,” Smith said. Adamle’s wife, Kim, said her husband’s life has changed dramatically in the last few years. She relates a story from last winter that illustrates how one loose thread can leave him unraveled. “Mike's able to be pretty independent, right,” she said. “He hasn't been able to drive for a year and a half but he can take the train, go down to the East Bank Club (gym), and use his CTA card to come back. “Well … he’s downtown, he can’t get on the train, and he lost his card. So what does he do? He starts walking. … He’s telling me this, and he goes, ‘I can’t get an Uber. … My Uber app won’t work, I don’t know why.’ And he goes, ‘Oh, and my phone’s going to die’ ” because he forgot to charge it. The Adamles rely on routines, but one small problem can send Mike into a spiral. Impulsivity, frustration and anger set in. While Kim was trying to figure out his location, Mike hung up on her. - “I can feel the decline every single day practically,” Mike told House Democratic members. “You are going around like this, and then the next thing you know you drop down a little bit. And you’re not as sharp as you once were. Then you drop it down a little bit. You start to get scared. When you get scared, a lot of things happen.”
|
|
|
Post by mikecubs on Jan 26, 2018 4:43:52 GMT -6
Lawmakers in Illinois, New York propose tackle football bans for youthAn Illinois lawmaker on Thursday proposed a bill that would ban tackle football in youth sports before age 12, one day after a similar bill was reintroduced in New York. Both measures highlighted the sport’s growing brain injury concerns ahead of the Feb. 4 Super Bowl, likely to be seen by hundreds of thousands of U.S. children who play youth football. Illinois Democratic state Representative Carol Sente dubbed her bill the “Dave Duerson Act to Prevent CTE,” after the former Chicago Bears player diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease linked to head trauma. Hers and a similar one from a New York legislator seek to protect developing brains from repeated blows that could cause neurological damage, said Chris Nowinski, the head of the Concussion Legacy Foundation. He said studies have linked the duration of a player’s career to the risk for such damage. “We have an obligation to protect children’s futures, especially when we know how brain trauma can be prevented,” Duerson’s son, Tregg Duerson, told Chicago’s ABC7-TV on Thursday.Both the National Football League, which has grappled with fallout from CTE in recent years, and youth football leagues have made changes to limit injury and head contact, enacting measures such as requiring players who suffer a suspected head injury to receive medical clearance before returning to play. “We hope that all youth sports will continue to take measures to reduce head contact through similar rules changes, education and improved protective equipment,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement, without directly addressing the proposed youth tackle bans. A Boston University study last year found boys who start playing American football before their 12th birthday may be at increased risk of behavioral and mood problems later in life compared with peers who hit the gridiron later.It found youth football players sustain about 250 head impacts per season. Scott Hallenbeck, executive director of USA Football, told the Washington Post that the organization has not taken a position on outlawing tackle football for children under a certain age but said it needs to look into the possibility. He could not be reached by Reuters on Thursday. It is unclear if the bills will gain traction but Nowinski said next month’s big game will focus attention. “This is a good time to be talking about this because the eyes of the country are on the Super Bowl,” Nowinski said. www.reuters.com/article/us-football-youth-tackle/lawmakers-in-illinois-new-york-propose-tackle-football-bans-for-youth-idUSKBN1FF09V
|
|
|
Post by mikecubs on Jan 26, 2018 5:01:34 GMT -6
The NFL and football supports will fight this like crazy because an under 12 football ban won't make a big enough difference in CTE and high school will be the next to be targeted. Once you lose high school football is OVER as a major sport. If kids don't play the sport they won't watch the sport and the talent pipe line dries up. Pee wee will be sacrificed eventually but they will want to put it off as long as possible because the sooner pee wee goes the sooner high school is next.
LOL as the all the comments/denial I see from football backers. I read a story yesterday about a high school player who killed himself because of CTE. The parents were shocked and though the whole CTE thing was a conspiracy from former players to collect $$$ because they blew their money. When they realized their son had CTE the mother thought it was possible to "fix" like a broken leg etc... The father was a real life Al Bundy who's only highlight in life was his high school football career.
The other "conspiracies" I see is this is a liberal plot to kill football because they hate America and "toxic masculinity" or it's a plot by minor league soccer/NBA/MLB to take over. Big people can't run into each other full speed over and over and NOTHING will ever change that. The brain is way to fragile. People will eventually learn but it's going to take a long time(decades)and a lot more broken brains.
I never thought I'd say this but MMA fans are smarter/have more perspective than football fans. MMA fans have a horrible reputation of being "trailer park trash" but most MMA fans I've come across in person and online know getting hit in the head is bad and will cause problems. But they can admit this because their sport DOESN'T require child sacrifices like football. Football is dependent on children because you have to keep the college/NFL pipeline flowing. If you end child sacrifices and make it like MMA football is no longer grand and a nitch sport. MMA is already a nitch sport that isn't in schools so CTE doesn't affect them that much. Plus they don't have to fill 53 man rosters for 32 teams. Their requirements for talent are a much smaller number.
|
|
|
Post by mikecubs on Jan 29, 2018 8:06:10 GMT -6
Not that it matters that much since it's the sub concussive hits just not concussions that cause CTE but NFL concussions continue to riseNFL players were diagnosed with more concussions in 2017 than in any season since the league began sharing the data in 2012, according information released Friday afternoon. There were 281 reported concussions during the preseason and regular season, including practices. The previous high was 275 in 2015.Speaking Friday on a conference call, league executives acknowledged concern about the numbers and attributed most of the jump to a spike in preseason practice concussions. "Certainly, we're disappointed that the concussion numbers are up," said Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL's chief medical officer. "It is something which challenges us now to roll up our sleeves and work hard to see that number go down. ... We take this is a challenge, because we're not going to be satisfied until we drive that number much lower." In 2017, teams reported a total of 56 concussions during practices; that number was 32 in 2016 and averaged 44 between 2012 and 2015. Of the 56 practice concussions, 45 occurred during the preseason. According to Sills, the league is analyzing details such as the types of drills that players were participating in when concussed. It will prepare and transmit individualized reports for each team, likely by the beginning of March. It's possible they could lead to new guidelines and policies for next season, especially during training camp. "That drove our attention after a couple of years where those preseason practice concussions decreased," said Jeff Miller, the NFL's executive vice president of health and safety initiatives. "This is an important aspect of the work we'll be doing between now and the combine, and not just with the medical experts, but obviously how practices are run at the club level. [That] is something under the control of the coaches, the general managers and others who are on site." Concussions during games also rose, from 211 in 2016 to 225 in 2017. Some of that increase could be attributed to a bump in self-reporting by players. According to an analysis by IQVIA, the league's injury data partner, 28 percent of concussion evaluations during games were prompted by a player reporting his own symptoms. That was up from 18.4 percent in 2016. But Christina DeFilippo Mack, senior director of epidemiology at IQVIA, said she couldn't yet say how many of the diagnosed concussions -- as opposed to the assessments -- started with a self-report. Meanwhile, the league's data also showed that for the first time since at least 2014, injury rates were higher on Thursday night games than they were during regular-season games. There were an average of 6.9 injuries per game on Thursday nights and 6.3 on other days. IQVIA defined an injury as one that caused a player to miss time, either in that game or subsequent ones. The league has defended its Thursday night schedule, which puts players back on the field with three days' less rest than normal, by noting that they produced no difference in injury rates. Friday, Sills said: "Assessing the overall health and safety impact of the game is a lot more complex than just a simple injury rate." IQVIA's DeFilippo Mack said the one-year flip in injury rates was statistically insignificant, while Sills said there are many other factors involved in evaluating Thursday night games than injury rates. "It would be somewhat naïve and superficial of us to say that because the number went up or down that Thursday night is safer or more dangerous," he said. Also, injuries to the two primary knee ligaments in 2017 were mostly unchanged from 2016. There were 54 torn ACLs in 2017 and 56 in 2016. There also 147 MCL tears, up slightly from 143 in 2016. www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/22226487/nfl-concussions-rise-highest-level-league-began-sharing-data
|
|
|
Post by Grumpz on Jan 29, 2018 9:17:33 GMT -6
The NFL, the players and the coaching staff clearly don't care about CTE.
If an NHL player took the hit Gronk took, he'd be gone for 6 weeks. How is Gronk even back at pratice?
|
|
|
Post by mikecubs on Jan 30, 2018 1:09:07 GMT -6
The NFL, the players and the coaching staff clearly don't care about CTE. If an NHL player took the hit Gronk took, he'd be gone for 6 weeks. How is Gronk even back at pratice? This is a great point. Don't forget the owners too! The whole concussion protocol thing is a PR stunt to get moms to get their kids to play high school/pop warner. Everyone involved in the game knows it's a gladiator game. Most have the attitude of if it's going to happen it's going to happen. Bennet Omalu the guy who 1st found CTE has said for baseball if you get a concussion you should be out several months!!! Just because your symptoms go away doesn't mean the brain is healed. The big things are 1. Even if you sat guys out the proper amount of time you still have the sub concussive hits that are causing the damage and even 1 concussion can still cause long term brain damage 2. Football code will NEVER change. Football is win at ALL cost culture at EVERY level. Players don't want let their teammates/coaches down(peer pressure). Players figure if god wills it they will get CTE so nothing will make a difference. 3. Football doesn't have guaranteed contracts like the other 3 sports. Their union is the weakest. 70% ish of the league are bubble guys who can easily be replaced. If you sat out for every head injury/"ding" you'd be out of the league ASAP! Here is a good article about the culture of the NFL www.sbnation.com/2017/4/18/15213420/nfl-concussion-protocol-cheating-testRob Gronkowski while not a bubble guy will be 29 next year. If he sat out the super bowl and the Patriots lost then he suffered another injury next year at some point he'd likely be released because he'd be 30 and considered over the hill/injury prone/breaking down.
|
|
|
Post by mikecubs on Jan 30, 2018 1:20:22 GMT -6
This was in one of our local papers in Wisconsin UW players downplay concussion risks as evidence mounts MEDICAL EXPERTS, FORMER ATHLETES SAY IT'S TIME TO BE HONEST ABOUT LONG-TERM EFFECTS It's a long article about the "code" in college. The players aren't even aware their "dings" or "getting their bell rung" are concussions. Also I found this part interesting. It's just not the CTE you have to worry about although it get all the press. (snip) In 2015, former Badgers linebacker Chris Borland rocked the National Football League when he quit the San Francisco 49ers after one year over fears of brain injury. Borland, 27, told the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism that a scan has shown blood flow in parts of his brain is on par with a person in his 60s. Asked if the condition is reversible, Borland said, “Hope so. No one knows.” www.postcrescent.com/story/news/investigations/2018/01/29/university-wisconsin-football-players-downplay-warnings-while-proof-brain-injury-even-small-hits-pil/1059174001/
|
|
|
Post by mikecubs on Feb 1, 2018 11:00:03 GMT -6
'There's something intrinsically wrong with a sport where you lose your marbles': Former NFL player LIVING with CTE explains the toll the disease has taken on him to Megyn KellyFormer NFL player Mike Adamle is believed to be one of only a few living people ever diagnosed with the degenerative brain disease CTE After playing with the Chicago Bears, Adamle went on to a broadcasting career but began suffering from epilepsy and even suffered a stroke on air in 1999 Because of CTE, Adamle lost his career and his wife, but ultimately remarried Last year while visiting his doctor, Adamle was found to have CTE, which had previously only been diagnosed in the deceased Former NFL player Mike Adamle, believed to be one of only a few living people ever diagnosed with the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), detailed his 20-year battle with the condition on Megyn Kelly TODAY Thursday morning. As a result of CTE, the one-time Chicago Bears running back who went on to become a local sports anchor and host of the game show 'American Gladiators' suffered through epilepsy – once having a seizure on the air in 1999 – and depression before losing his career and his marriage. 'I felt like I was losing him,' said wife Kim, who remarried Adamle five years after their divorce. 'He was physically aggressive with me, which was not like Mike at all.' It wasn't until he was diagnosed with CTE last year that they were able to start dealing with his problems directly. As far as Adamle knew, the disease could only be diagnosed in the deceased, such as the Boston University study that revealed 110 out of 111 donated brains from former NFL players had some degree of the CTE. 'I told the doctor, what do you mean?' said Adamle, a father of two daughters, to Kelly of his diagnosis. 'They're supposed to be dead before you can diagnose that. And they said, well, at this point in time we really don't know.' Dr. Bennet Omalu, who is credited as one of the pioneers of CTE research, claimed to have diagnosed former NFL player Fred Mitchell with the disease in 2012, but did not reveal that diagnosis until last year. Mitchell passed away in 2015. Regardless of who the medical field regards as the first living person to be diagnosed with the disease, Adamle told doctors that he was determined to be the first 'to live with it.' Because so much is unknown about CTE, treating the condition in the living presents an enormous challenge. 'We can't stop that brain damage, but we can do other things to promote other brain growth, neurogenesis,' said TODAY guest Dr. Robert Cantu. 'The exercise, the diet, anti-inflammatory, low glycemic, socializing, the emotional part. All of these things are part of our daily life that we do all the time.' Now, not only is Adamle focused on diet and exercise, but he's doing the kinds of things that require coordination, counting, and both sides of his brain. He and his wife have taken up ballroom dancing and Adamle says boxing lessons have helped with his coordination. 'It's not that you get hit in the head or anything, but you have all these punch routines,' he explained. Adamle and his wife have launched an initiative with Cantu's Concussion Legacy Foundation to help those who may be living with the disease by following his example. Adamle and fellow guests – former New York Giants defensive lineman Leonard Marshall and former New York Jets linebacker Ed Marinaro – also talked about their decision to play football and whether or not they would change it if they could go back. While Adamle said he would never give up the personal relationships he's gained in football 'in a million years,' he did acknowledge that the abuse he's endured has been excessive. 'There's something intrinsically wrong with a sport, at least it is right now, where, you know, you lose your marbles somewhere down the line,' he said.'There's no happy ending,' he said. 'But I want to make sure that we come close.' Kim described to Kelly how she and divorced before ultimately reuniting in 2014. 'Our life just was chaotic,' she said. 'And we didn't know what was going on or why. But it led to us breaking up. We took the divorce slowly and we were separated and then divorced for a total of five years. And then there came a point where Mike and I remained friends, though, during this whole time. We had two children still at home and so we were always together for those things, holidays, whenever one of us needed anything, we were there for one another. 'And so the summer of 2014 we would go and have coffee together where our one daughter was a barista,' she continued. 'And Mike started hinting maybe I should just move in with you guys. "Maybe I should just move back in. I hate my place, it's so depressing." And so he was dropping these hints more and more. And I knew why. It's because he was having difficulty living on his own. And so I talked to our girls and I said what do you think about daddy moving back in?' The daughters agreed, but it quickly became apparent how much he needed all of them in his life. www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5340825/Former-NFL-player-LIVING-CTE-talks-Megyn-Kelly.html
|
|
|
Post by mikecubs on Feb 1, 2018 11:04:29 GMT -6
Moms sue youth football league after kids diagnosed with CTEKimberly Archie of Los Angeles signed her son, Paul Bright Jr., up for Pop Warner football for the same reasons many other parents do. "We wanted our kids to be well rounded," she said. "We wanted to give them something constructive to do. Learn to be a part of a team. All of the great things that you hear about." Youth football is "a rite of passage in American society," said Archie. Some 350,000 kids played Pop Warner last year. Bright started playing Pop Warner when he was 7, and continued until he was 14. After that, he played one year of high school football. Today, Archie has lost her enthusiasm for youth football. When Bright was in his late teens and early 20s, his mom suspected brain damage. She said her son didn’t seem in control of his emotions and was showing obsessive compulsive tendencies. Paul Bright, Jr. started playing Pop Warner when he was 7 years old. Paul Bright, Jr. started playing Pop Warner when he was 7 years old. Then, in 2014, when Bright was 24, he died in a motorcycle crash. The police said it was his fault. "It sounded quasi-suicidal," said Archie. "It sounded a lot like when Junior Seau drove off the cliff. My next thought was, 'I have to have his brain looked at.'" Archie said she had a premonition that her son might have Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE. The degenerative brain disease can only be diagnosed after death. The former NFL linebacker Seau had it. Tests on Bright’s brain found he had it, too. Like Seau, Bright had never been diagnosed with a concussion. A LAWSUIT CLAIMING NEGLIGENCE Archie believes her son's CTE stems from his years playing Pop Warner football and she's sued the youth sports' league, along with Jo Cornell of San Diego. Cornell's son Tyler was diagnosed with CTE after his suicide at age 25. He played Pop Warner for five years and then all through high school. Jo Cornell's son Tyler played Pop Warner football for five years and then all through high school. Jo Cornell's son Tyler played Pop Warner football for five years and then all through high school. COURTESY OF JO CORNELL "CTE victims are gone. They have no voice," said Archie. "Jo and I are Paul and Tyler’s voice. They deserve to get justice." The mothers allege the league was negligent in protecting their kids' brain health. The suit claims Pop Warner misled parents about the safety of the kids’ helmets and the effectiveness of its coaches’ training.Officials from Pop Warner refused to discuss the lawsuit directly. But they did talk generally about the league’s efforts to keep the hundreds of thousands of kids who play Pop Warner safe. "CTE has never been found in someone who just played youth football," said Dr. Julian Bailes, a neurosurgeon and former NFL doctor who chairs Pop Warner’s medical advisory committee.. While there have been a handful of deceased young men in their late teens and early 20s diagnosed with CTE, most of them played some high school football or another contact sport in addition to youth football. Pop Warner Executive Director Jon Butler also stressed that, so far, youth football has not been linked to CTE. "There may be a causal relationship, but it’s too early to tell for sure," he said. "There’s a lot of research going on. As research comes out we’ll be happy to make changes indicated." The research to date has already compelled the league to make some changes. Over the past eight years, Pop Warner set up its medical advisory committee, eliminated kickoffs in the youngest age groups and mandated safety training for coaches. It also did away with full-speed tackling drills during practice, said medical advisor Bailes. "It’s the exposure to thousands of blows to the head is really what we’re trying to reduce," he said. Critics say the league still hasn’t done enough. That argument got a boost from a recent study out of Boston University. It included the most definitive evidence so far that head impacts, not just concussions, can lead to brain disease and CTE. ONE GAME CAN CAUSE "PERMANENT BRAIN DAMAGE" The man who discovered CTE believes that kids should not play any contact sport that involves repeated head impacts. Neuropathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu discovered CTE in 2002 during an autopsy of former Pittsburg Steeler Mike Webster. Researchers have subsequently confirmed CTE in more than 100 deceased NFL players. Will Smith played Omalu in the 2015 film "Concussion." "It’s very basic common sense," said Omalu. "There is no safe blow to the human head."Despite efforts to improve the safety of football helmets, he argues that the danger cannot be prevented with any helmet currently in existence. "A child, after one game, could suffer permanent brain damage," said Omalu. "After just one season of football, your child could suffer permanent brain damage."That’s why Omalu believes only people over 18 should play contact sports. Adults could still suffer serious damage, but they're old enough to consent to the risk, he said."Football is a good sport, an exciting sport for adults who want to play," Omalu said, while adding, "we need to protect our children." Peter Boehm, 14-year-old quarterback of the Pop Warner L.A. Valley Seahawks, said he wants to play football in the NFL and be a Hall-of-Famer. His father is proud, while noting, Peter Boehm, 14-year-old quarterback of the Pop Warner L.A. Valley Seahawks, said he wants to play football in the NFL and be a Hall-of-Famer. His father is proud, while noting, "there’s been so much information now about concussions and so forth that it is a huge concern of mine." MICHELLE FAUST/KPCC ONE DAD'S "HUGE CONCERN" ABOUT BRAIN SAFETY On a recent cool Saturday evening at Ventura College, parents are bundled up in the stands as they cheer on the Carson Seminoles and the L.A. Valley Seahawks Pop Warner teams. The boys range in age from 11 to 14. Chris Boehm is the beaming father of 14-year-old Seahawks quarterback Peter Boehm. Chris said he does worry about his son getting hurt. "It is a nervous thing for me, because there’s been so much discovered since I played high school football," he said. "There’s been so much information now about concussions and so forth that it is a huge concern of mine." Boehm said he talks regularly with Peter about safety on the field and he believes Pop Warner has taken steps to make the game safer. But, he said, "if it came to light that he was in danger, more than the obvious, I would not have him play." As researchers continue to explore the links between youth sports and brain injury, the lawsuit against Pop Warner is slowing making its way through the courts. What the scientists find and how the courts rule could have a big impact on whether Chris Boehme and parents like him continue to allow their kids to play youth sports. www.scpr.org/news/2018/01/31/80296/a-cte-lawsuit-tackles-the-impact-of-youth-football/
|
|
|
Post by mikecubs on Feb 1, 2018 11:24:36 GMT -6
|
|