Junior Seau RIP

[(v2)ROVPitViper]

goordie, there have been numerous studies on the brains of dead nfl players, almost everytime the conclussion is that they had cte and the brain of someone many years older. i agree that more research needs to be done. BU has requested from the seau family if they can study his brain.

following his suicide many players were wondering if they would be next and started looking for help.

over 1500 former nfl players have now sued the nfl over their concussions and head injuries, with 100 more filing today including former stars like jamal Anderson. its not coincidence that they filed the day after seau died.
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/r/30997944/detail.html

here is a good article describing some of the law suits the claims , and what they have to prove
http://thebiglead.com/index.php/2012...ion-situation/

here is another article about former players who are stuggling with memory loss.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2...otball-careers

the bottom line is that there are literally thousands of former NFL players suffering various levels of brain damage ranging from depression to memory loss to dementia. the suicide rate of ex nfl players is higher then just about any other occupation with the possible exception of pro wrestling (where there are also tons of head injuries)

there is no speculation anymore as to if former nfl players suffer from brain damage, the question is more to what extent are they damaged and to what extent is the nfl liable?

in terms of seau specifically, we don't know yet if he had cte, depression, memory loss or any other brain injuries. we will probably find out more in the near future

And that irritates me because these guys knew good and damn well what they were signing up for - they were overpaid millionaires who played a brutal sport that no one forced them to and enjoyed hitting others. They may as well stack up those lawsuites and retroactive sue their parents while they are at it....weren't they the ones who helped put them on that path? How about their elementary and high schools? How about the NCAA? Sorry but I don't buy the "I didn't know" routine they are trying to run with....if you got blasted and didn't know where you were but were fighting to get back in the game and putting up a front like everything is fine its is YOUR responsibility...not everyone else whoever encouraged you to play football.

[jasonkl]

And that irritates me because these guys knew good and damn well what they were signing up for - they were overpaid millionaires who played a brutal sport that no one forced them to and enjoyed hitting others. They may as well stack up those lawsuites and retroactive sue their parents while they are at it....weren't they the ones who helped put them on that path? How about their elementary and high schools? How about the NCAA? Sorry but I don't buy the "I didn't know" routine they are trying to run with....if you got blasted and didn't know where you were but were fighting to get back in the game and putting up a front like everything is fine its is YOUR responsibility...not everyone else whoever encouraged you to play football.

i hear where you are coming from, and don't know if there is any merit to their lawsuits. my gut tells me that if someone told pretty much all 1500 players who are currently suing the NFL when they were 20 that they could play in the NFL for 5 plys years, make millions while playing, achieve incredible highs of playing in front of 80,000 screaming fans, etc... but when they were finished there was a 30% chance they would have brain injuries and many other injuries, almost everyone would have taken their chances and played in the NFL.

I do think that the NFL did hide just how dangerous head injuries were, and may have lied at times as evidence by this part of the story i posted a link to
"For those that don’t know, the MTBI committee was formed in 1994 to study the long term effects of brain injuries. However, plaintiffs allege that the committee was fraught with conflicts of interest, and spent its efforts minimizing and challenging independent research on the effects of brain injuries and how long the risks extended after the injury occurred. Elliott Pellman, who chaired that committee, said that returning to play after a concussion “does not involve significant risk of a second injury either during the same game or the same season.”

i remember growing up and wanting to play football in jr. high and high school. my dad would never let me because he feared bad knee injuries,but not because of head injuries. I'm still kind of mad at him for not letting me play. knowledge about head injuries has increased dramatically in recent years, and that why the NFL and the NHL are much more on top of concussions, and making sure that players are recovered before allowing them to return. prior to just a couple of years ago, if a player had a concussion, they would be back in the lineup the next week or 2, and sometimes even in the same game. the NFL and NHL obviouslly now realize that they need to protect their players more. again, that doesn't neccessarily mean they are liable for the injuries the former players sustained

[Murphs56]

1,000 concussions...Whoaaaa

http://www.mercurynews.com/49ers/ci_...-he-was-crying

[goordie]

goordie, there have been numerous studies on the brains of dead nfl players, almost everytime the conclussion is that they had cte and the brain of someone many years older. i agree that more research needs to be done. BU has requested from the seau family if they can study his brain.

following his suicide many players were wondering if they would be next and started looking for help.

over 1500 former nfl players have now sued the nfl over their concussions and head injuries, with 100 more filing today including former stars like jamal Anderson. its not coincidence that they filed the day after seau died.
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/r/30997944/detail.html

here is a good article describing some of the law suits the claims , and what they have to prove
http://thebiglead.com/index.php/2012...ion-situation/

here is another article about former players who are stuggling with memory loss.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2...otball-careers

the bottom line is that there are literally thousands of former NFL players suffering various levels of brain damage ranging from depression to memory loss to dementia. the suicide rate of ex nfl players is higher then just about any other occupation with the possible exception of pro wrestling (where there are also tons of head injuries)

there is no speculation anymore as to if former nfl players suffer from brain damage, the question is more to what extent are they damaged and to what extent is the nfl liable?

in terms of seau specifically, we don't know yet if he had cte, depression, memory loss or any other brain injuries. we will probably find out more in the near future

I read the links provided and learnt something from them, BUT I don't really think talking about the lawsuits will really prove one thing over another. We're not even sure if they will win this in the courts, let alone how many former players are just adding their name to a class action suit with unrighteous motives, where it seems they would have little to lose from it.

The correlation seems to be unusually high as far as players suffering some form of cognitive impairment (no study has been rigorously tested however), but as long as it's high level football with a helmet and pads on, there is no way I can really see the game being directed in a way to prevent guys from bumping helmets together and guys hitting their heads hard on the ground when tackled, which are things you just can't realistically regulate against. Would the NFL like to protect every player in the league from long-term effects? Maybe, but I wouldn't be so sure. Right now it seems like they are protecting the star players.

I'd also like to see what you've read on suicides that have lead you to the conclusion that there is an overwhelming rate of them amongst NFL retirees? There has been a few here in the last couple years, but before that it didn't seem too prevalent.

[(v2)ROVPitViper]

I still don't think that any of these lawsuites (or is it singular now?) are going to make any headway when there isn't enough research to point to one way or the other to prove that the head trauma (see concussions) are the singular driving force behind what is going on with these players. Can we look at it in a relative mode and say "yup...that sure isn't helping..."? Sure...but to point at the NFL and say they are the source of it when the player themselves VOLUNTARILY signed up for it with the consent of everyone who loves and cares about them while getting insanely rich...I just don't know.

I don't know where you would get a jury that would not end up split (hung) on this subject. All the NFL has to do is show how much money X NFL player made with the consent of Y people around him and that jury is pretty much going to be staring at the clock wondering how the hell to get out of there.

Bottom line for me....I don't care if every PAST NFL player is on board...good luck getting that "awww...woe is me" jury for your cause when you made (or lost depending on how stupid you are) millions upon millions from the very source you are trying to sue.

Not.....buying...it.....

[(v2)ROVPitViper]

This is the problem I have with the retired guys bashing the NFL:

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...tired-players/

The suicide of Junior Seau has many former NFL players saying it’s time for the league to do more to support the men who have left the game. Mike Goff, who played guard in the NFL for 12 seasons, says what the NFL is currently doing for retired players is totally inadequate.

“Players need a game plan,” Goff told U-T San Diego. “The NFL does an awful job. When you’re done, they kind of chuck you away – ‘Thanks for everything. See you later.’ The NFL is more concerned with the product is this year rather than what these guys are going to do when they’re done.”

No one knows, and we might never know, what led Seau to kill himself. But some of his former retired players say that when you leave the game, you go from football being your reason to live to not knowing what you’re living for.

“I still have trouble with it,” Goff said. “Especially when you live in the community where you played and had your best memories . . . you wish you were still out there playing, out there with your boys. . . . You can find other avenues, but there is nothing that will be the same as when you were playing.”

The NFL welcomes each year’s draft picks to the league with a rookie symposium. It would be wise to also invite the players those draft picks are replacing to a retirees’ symposium.

____________________________

So it is the NFL's fault that you cannot deal with not having the fans roar in your ears come Sunday when the game has passed you by? Please. You made a huge chunk of change from the NFL then want to bash them because you don't feel loved anymore? Bah. I can understand the real oldtimers having a beef (see any player prior to 1980)...because they didn't make huge money playing the game.

But the guys now? Or the last two decades for that matter crybabying? I just don't buy it. You asked/begged for it...lived large off the NFL...then want more because the game passed you by and don't know how to deal with it?

Any jury that somehow sides with the players on this one should be tried themselves and shot.

[jasonkl]

I read the links provided and learnt something from them, BUT I don't really think talking about the lawsuits will really prove one thing over another. We're not even sure if they will win this in the courts, let alone how many former players are just adding their name to a class action suit with unrighteous motives, where it seems they would have little to lose from it.

The correlation seems to be unusually high as far as players suffering some form of cognitive impairment (no study has been rigorously tested however), but as long as it's high level football with a helmet and pads on, there is no way I can really see the game being directed in a way to prevent guys from bumping helmets together and guys hitting their heads hard on the ground when tackled, which are things you just can't realistically regulate against. Would the NFL like to protect every player in the league from long-term effects? Maybe, but I wouldn't be so sure. Right now it seems like they are protecting the star players.

I'd also like to see what you've read on suicides that have lead you to the conclusion that there is an overwhelming rate of them amongst NFL retirees? There has been a few here in the last couple years, but before that it didn't seem too prevalent.

i just read an intersting article that pretty much completely refutes the study that claimed the average lifespan of an NFL player with 5 years of experience is in the 50s. Check it out below. It was done by the NFL, so there is obviouslly at least some bias, but the numbers speak pretty clearly.
"The main conclusion of the NIOSH study, which it says was commissioned by the union, is that players in the study had a much lower rate of death overall compared to men in the general population. This means, on average, NFL players are actually living longer than men in the general population which contradicts a popular notion that former NFL players live into their mid-50s."

Out of the 3,439 players in the study, 334 were deceased. Based on estimates from the general population, NIOSH had anticipated 625 would be deceased"

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/mi...ral-population

[Jackel585]

Anyone notice that since the increased "safety" concerns that helmets have been popping off more?





hmmmm..... yeah.....

[Murphs56]

Outside the Lines is really covering this CTE extensively with Waters from the Eagles that committed suicide and McNeil from the Vikings that has early dementia. This disease is real

[goordie]

i just read an intersting article that pretty much completely refutes the study that claimed the average lifespan of an NFL player with 5 years of experience is in the 50s. Check it out below. It was done by the NFL, so there is obviouslly at least some bias, but the numbers speak pretty clearly.
"The main conclusion of the NIOSH study, which it says was commissioned by the union, is that players in the study had a much lower rate of death overall compared to men in the general population. This means, on average, NFL players are actually living longer than men in the general population which contradicts a popular notion that former NFL players live into their mid-50s."

Out of the 3,439 players in the study, 334 were deceased. Based on estimates from the general population, NIOSH had anticipated 625 would be deceased"

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/mi...ral-population

That's coincidental, I just got done reading this and was going to post it. I'm glad a good studies on this are springing up. I'd still like to know how many former players die in heart disease deaths opposed to any other deaths at a younger than average age. It seems likely that if a study does come out that shows players are dying at a younger age, it probably has more to do with heart disease than brain injuries. There are as many tubbies as in-shape guys that come into the league. My cousin used to play college ball and said he would eat a whole large pizza a few hours before practice about once a week. Such eating is probably the norm. It can't be good for guys down the road.