Football: Turning Players Brains Into Mush Since 2002

Stephon Hall

Sports Editor 

     Football, the new American pastime is a spectacle of big hits and big plays that is watched on Sundays, Mondays & Thursday for our perusal. We all appreciate the impact of how these men bludgeon one another for a shot at the Vince Lombardi trophy every year in what can be considered our new form of Gladiator, except it’s not set in Rome. Alas, once all of the fun and games of tackle become serious, our collective jubilation turns into dread, once a player is lying motionless on the field from head-to-head contact. Some of the head injuries maybe minor and other could be serious. The average force two human beings colliding with one another is at 100 gravity forces (or G-forces), that more than a car accident, shuttle launches or spinning your body in circles. The NFL recently dealt with a $765 Million settlement on concussions with former players that who are dealing with symptoms from head injuries with $10 million going to research and education for concussion research; but, in the ever-ferocious game of football, progress is only plentiful when many are impacted by the symptoms of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (or CTE). While we adore the big plays, despise that crushing interception from a quarterback on your football team, getting hit is just part of the story, but it’s what’s underneath that is putting some of the legends of the game in a world of pain.  

     

     First one, one of the issues that the NFL is dealing with is the neurodegenerative disease CTE, which is connected to memory loss, aggression, confusion from many hits to the head. CTE is usually caused with concussions from impact from explosions, head injuries and other irregularities. Once the brain goes through that impact, tau protein is accumulated from lots of brain hits. The more the brain goes through these traumas, the more its

degenerates. Being that the mind is the motor of the body, collisions affect coordination and balance. Before the NFL (also the NCAA & public schools) got proactive on concussions, there were no doctors on the sidelines to check for head contusions, just only for possible injuries for hands, knees, stomach, etc. The brain has never been treated as seriously until now, due to a big lawsuit and a large group of former athletes that made this happen.

     Masculinity is to blame for a lot of this, especially, since, those with nagging headaches used to hide the condition for the good of team and being emasculated for admitting said injury to the press. And, if that information were to be reported upon, fans would belittle player and proceed to call him “soft” and other suggestive words. Football has always promoted its game with such overwrought grandeur without the mentions of numerous problems the game can lead on such a mortal spirit that is the human anatomy. Luckily, the game has progressed along to the point that admitting a problem is ok.

     In closing, WGBH’s FRONTLINE aired a special episode called “League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis” Tuesday, October 8th on WPBT channel 2 at 9pm. You can also catch it online at PBS.org/FRONTLINE if you managed to missed it on television. The season premiere spanned over two hours and promises to deliver a comprehensive study into head injuries and the pain these players have went through daily.