Aaron Hernandez had "severe CTE"

[ThermiteTermite]

I played football all through high school in higher contact positions, (noseguard, defensive end, center) and 'butted heads' enough to split two helmets while I played.

I always ascribed to the Jack Tatum theory of, when you hit the guy, you hit him clean, but you try to put him in the cemetery on each and every play, and if he is worth anything, that is what he should try to do to you.

I loved it and was a rabid NFL fan for years.

The publicized behavior (on and off the field) of players, the NFL's wink wink nudge nudge attitude towards that behavior, along with the politicization of the game, started to cool my ardor, and when I went back and looked up my childhood football heroes like Dave Dalby and Mike Webster (the strongest man in the NFL) and how they met their premature deaths, I quit watching altogether.

I haven't watched an NFL game in three years aside from one Super Bowl that my wife wanted to see because our home team was a participant.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Webster

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Dalby

If I had a child, I would never let him or her play football. Wrestling develops the same qualities without being so destructive.

[LarryVe]

Originally Posted by Nyghthawk

College football is a cash cow for the universities. In 2014 University of Texas reaped $121 million. You bet they are giving out scholarships! A pittance compared to the profit generated by sacrificing young men's lives. Modern version of the Roman coliseum. Just takes longer for the victim to perish.

This.... Follow the money.

[Gmountain]

Originally Posted by AX17609

I maintain that CTE is not primarily an NFL problem. What keeps the sport alive is the bizarre popularity of college football. Over 23,000 full scholarships are given out every year to college football players (http://www.active.com/football/artic...l-scholarships). As long as those scholarships exist, the sport will continue to exist.

Did your college have a team?

There is nothing like college football- the excitement, pageantry, tradition, bands,cheerleaders, enthusiasm, tailgating. College football is the quintissential college experience, and it becomes part of your soul.

[AX17609]

Originally Posted by Gmountain

There is nothing like college football- the excitement, pageantry, tradition, bands,cheerleaders, enthusiasm, tailgating. College football is the quintissential college experience, and it becomes part of your soul.

Fine. But, all of that excitement, pageantry, and tradition is in celebration of an activity that we now know to be inherently dangerous to the participants. Party on!

[Otterhound]

Originally Posted by buddyhu

To elaborate this point via anecdote: my Dad played football in high school...all 4 years...but did not play after that. He developed dementia in his late 70's. They did a couple of brain scans as he deteriorated (after seemingly sudden declines) to see if he had had a stroke. I remember vividly that they said that there was "no evidence of a recent stroke, but there are indications if lots and lots of small strokes in the past, and lots and lots of brain atrophy". But he has absolutely NO risk factors for stroke. I sometimes wonder if he had some very mild form of CTE. No way to know, of course. But I still wonder from time to time.

Sleep apnea ?

[BrunoBlack]

Since he was so young to have such a severe degree of CTE, it makes me wonder if in addition to football, perhaps he was beaten as a child. And who knows if any of the gang banging made a contribution. In any event, full disclosure about the dangers of head injury and understanding contributing factors is important. Then people can make informed decisions.

[Song Writer]

And slowly they slipped away one by one, beginning with the "oldest".

[aknow]

Originally Posted by RP

You'd probably have to ask a professional boxer or MMA fighter to get an accurate answer. It's interesting that the connection between playing football and CTE seems to be a revelation, but the connection between boxing and brain damage has been a foregone conclusion for decades and even has its own name (dementia pugilistica)...

That's been well discussed here. I used to see Muhammad Ali daily at breakfast. A depressing shame. One difference is that before the nfl promoted tackling using the head, it wasn't so apparent. Boxers and MMA fighters are intentionally targeting the skull, and of course the fighters know about it.
If the nfl went to flag football, it would encourage increased athleticism, weight loss, and might be just as exciting.
I've treated quite a few ex-nfl and martial arts fighters for spinal issues. You wouldn't want to be one of them in your 6th decade, cte or not.

[Otterhound]

Originally Posted by aknow

That's been well discussed here. I used to see Muhammad Ali daily at breakfast. A depressing shame. One difference is that before the nfl promoted tackling using the head, it wasn't so apparent. Boxers and MMA fighters are intentionally targeting the skull, and of course the fighters know about it.
If the nfl went to flag football, it would encourage increased athleticism, weight loss, and might be just as exciting.
I've treated quite a few ex-nfl and martial arts fighters for spinal issues. You wouldn't want to be one of them in your 6th decade, cte or not.

Ever treat any non athletic types for spinal issues ?

[FOG01]

Originally Posted by Dirk Hofman

Did you play? The game is tremendous. It teaches teamwork in a way no other sport I've played does. You have to trust the person next to you, you have to sacrifice yourself (pain, extreme effort) for your teammates, you're deeply challenged in direct physical confrontation with other men/boys, and it breeds physical toughness. It requires speed, strength, and force of will in amounts not paralleled in other games, even Rugby and Aussie Rules. "Football Shape" is the best shape you'll be in your life. It teaches courage and humility like no other game I've played. It's extremely mentally challenging with 100 page playbook and 5 options off each play. You have to change plans in real-time in a way no other game requires. It's fun.

It breaks my heart that it's so destructive in ways we didn't know before. It's a great game.

I totally echo this sentiment. I was proud and happy to coach my son and others for years as well. It is the ultimate team sport to play. That said, the latest news on CTE is chilling.

[rokdog49]

What I would like to know is where is all the uproar about MMA fighting, boxing and any of those completely brutal sports where human beings beat each other to a bloody pulp. As was said before follow the money and the lawyers.
I agree that full contact football should begin no sooner than High School and penalties for using the helmet as a weapon be automatic expulsion from a game.

[buddyhu]

Originally Posted by rokdog49

What I would like to know is where is all the uproar about MMA fighting, boxing and any of those completely brutal sports where human beings beat each other to a bloody pulp. As was said before follow the money and the lawyers.
I agree that full contact football should begin no sooner than High School and penalties for using the helmet as a weapon be automatic expulsion from a game.

I think that the CTE controversy has that added element: vested interests (the NFL) suppressing relevant research, harassing and threatening researchers, and pursuing a disinformation campaign for a number of years. Such things tend to fuel outrage and uproar (and lawsuits). Without this element, the arguments about people making choices (and that they ought to be free to make such choices and ought to quietly live with the consequences of their choices) are much more compelling. But with this element, which very much mitigates against fully informed consent on the part of players, there is much more uproar.

Certainly, what is seen in MMA and boxing is brutal, and skirts the edge of earlier definitions of "mayhem". But brutality alone doesn't fuel uproar in most of the populace; indeed, there seems to be an appetite for brutality in the human psyche that is not easily extinguished.

[RP]

Originally Posted by rokdog49

What I would like to know is where is all the uproar about MMA fighting, boxing and any of those completely brutal sports where human beings beat each other to a bloody pulp....

That's what I was trying to say in a previous post but was told that it's been previously discussed....

[Tone Gopher]

Originally Posted by Gmountain

Did your college have a team?

There is nothing like college football- the excitement, pageantry, tradition, bands,cheerleaders, enthusiasm, tailgating. College football is the quintissential college experience, and it becomes part of your soul.

Hmm, to think of all that I missed while actually gaining an education...

[Dirk Hofman]

Originally Posted by Tone Gopher

Hmm, to think of all that I missed while actually gaining an education...

Well one certainly doesn't need football to have a well-rounded education, but certainly there are values it teaches that should be part of one's education. They can be found elsewhere.

I'm certainly glad my own experience getting an education wasn't limited to just what I did in class. Education comes from experience, and struggle is tremendous experience.