76 Of 79 Deceased NFL Players Had Brain Disease, Frontline Reports

A shocking report from PBS Frontline says 76 of 79 deceased NFL players suffered from the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

76 Of 79 Deceased NFL Players Had Brain Disease, Frontline Reports

This comes as absolutely no surprise, to me.

I am about 6'5" and very skinny, about 140-150lbs - I was born with Marfan's Syndrome.
When forced to play football or wrestle in gym class, I was scared, and ridiculed for it.
When I was begged to play for the high school basketball team, I was smart enough to refuse and not end up dead on the court like others with my condition - or not - have.

In a country SO worried about micromanaging people's personal lives to protect them from hurting themselves with guns or drugs, it never ceases to amaze me how supportive we can be of sports players killing themselves, no matter how slowly it (falsely) appears. This whole industry is completely out of control.

Bread and circuses back then involved throwing people to the lions. Today it involves attacking eachother like lions. There aren't safer ways to distract the public? S + F

a reply to: KAOStheory

The thing is that at least one player who developed Alzhiemer's and died and was said to have developed CTE-related brain issues lived to an age and developed the disease at an age when many American's would have been developing these issues anyhow. So, how many of the football players in this study are in the same boat - developing the dementias at a time when doing so is not abnormal?

Also, let's be blunt, when you train your body and subject it to punishment of that degree, you are opening the door to lifelong pain and physical problems. I just did track and field, and I have chronic pain issues from it. Chronic pain can lead to depression. How many of these depressed players are depressed because of the CTE and how many are depressed because of the pain they're in?

And finally, none of that is respecting what the players want. Do they want to be made to give up football? Athletes at that level are wired differently. There was a study done of Olympic level weight lifters. They were asked if they would take performance enhancers to gain an advantage and win. Most said yes. Then, they were asked the same question with this addition - would they do so even if it meant taking decades off their lives? Most still said yes.

a reply to: KAOStheory

That's almost everyone. I wonder how the three players out of the 79 escaped these injuries and results.

What's even more disturbing is they are playing tackle football at a younger age. I just saw recently 3rd graders can play tackle football. WTF?? The earliest I got to play was 7th grade which is still too early imo. It should be minimum of high school before you can do that.

I don't know what type of studies can be done but it would be interesting to see a study on those who just played high school football. Like me, I don't think I have any side effects but you never know if I might have a small case of it. Football has a huge problem. I don' t think we'll see an affect in the near future but 20 years from now we could see a huge decline in it.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: KAOStheory

The thing is that at least one player who developed Alzhiemer's and died and was said to have developed CTE-related brain issues lived to an age and developed the disease at an age when many American's would have been developing these issues anyhow. So, how many of the football players in this study are in the same boat - developing the dementias at a time when doing so is not abnormal?

Also, let's be blunt, when you train your body and subject it to punishment of that degree, you are opening the door to lifelong pain and physical problems. I just did track and field, and I have chronic pain issues from it. Chronic pain can lead to depression. How many of these depressed players are depressed because of the CTE and how many are depressed because of the pain they're in?

And finally, none of that is respecting what the players want. Do they want to be made to give up football? Athletes at that level are wired differently. There was a study done of Olympic level weight lifters. They were asked if they would take performance enhancers to gain an advantage and win. Most said yes. Then, they were asked the same question with this addition - would they do so even if it meant taking decades off their lives? Most still said yes.

Dementia is always abnormal. It is not a normal effect of aging. The problem is not adults making choices for themselves, it's children playing these games and being conditioned to believe that that is what "real men" do. By the time they make the decision to go pro they've been indoctrinated for decades. Now that we know the price these athletes will pay for entertaining us, it's become like watching bear-baiting or dog-fighting. If that isn't stomach turning, it should be.

a reply to: HawkeyeNation

3rd grade? wow. sound's like a great opportunity for bullying, too.
"i'll get you on the field in gym, nerd" - and no one even notices. just great.

a reply to: KAOStheory

I am sure that just like boxers develop problems after been hit in the head many times so any sport that is a contact sport could cause problems.

But when it comes to Alzheimer’s that is another issue, is becoming an epidemic but what big pharma is not telling is that the incredible raise of Alzheimer’s goes hand in hand with the raise on prescribed drugs like statins, the brain needs cholesterol and so every organ in the body including the hart, to keep it healthy, statins are good at what they do, they lower cholesterol, I mean all over no just in the liver production.

a reply to: marg6043

Indeed.
I'm not at all a fan of the big corporate drug drug dealers.
I've had friends with past drug problems, and when their "friends" offer them to them, I want to punch them.
I have just as many friends with pharm drug problems, and I feel no different in their cases.
I hate seeing people poison themselves, then complain about it.

Why do they call it a disease? It's simply brain injury / damage.

Do they call it a disease when someone gets a lot of cuts / scars on their body?

a reply to: WeAre0ne

Why do they call it a disease? It's simply brain injury / damage.

That's far too simplified and straight forward.

Can't have that, now can we ?

a reply to: WeAre0ne

I think they're calling it a disease to deflect blame from their activities. It's easier to say they're diseased than "their often short careers are riddled with physical problems caused by their activities".

Sometimes the money isn't justified. $Something million for recurrent injuries. Is it that hard to find a real job? It's like acting, why treat someone like royalty for performing? Actors wear makeup for a living, "professional" athletes have essentially chosen gym class for their careers.

a reply to: Yeahkeepwatchingme

exactly!
same reason they call drug addiction, prescribed or otherwise, a "disease."
"Man, sorry I missed work, I must have caught that addiction to narcotics that's been floating around."

originally posted by: CranialSponge
That's far too simplified and straight forward.
Can't have that, now can we ?

lol

Absolutely not! We need to give it a complex name like "chronic traumatic encephalopathy" so that researchers can get million$ of dollar$ in grant$, and study it for hundreds of years, to ultimately create a billion dollar market for synthetic chemicals (drug$) that will treat only the symptoms and not the cause, while simultaneously creating side effects which create worse problems....

originally posted by: WeAre0ne

originally posted by: CranialSponge
That's far too simplified and straight forward.
Can't have that, now can we ?

lol

Absolutely not! We need to give it a complex name like "chronic traumatic encephalopathy" so that researchers can get million$ of dollar$ in grant$, and study it for hundreds of years, to ultimately create a billion dollar market for synthetic chemicals (drug$) that will treat only the symptoms and not the cause, while simultaneously creating side effects which create worse problems....

Exactly !

The numbers are kind of skewed.
The only reason these men were examined was because their families believed they were damaged. They did not examine a random number of players that have played the game.

a reply to: KAOStheory

You don't play tackle football in gym class. That would be ridiculous. It is pop warner football, and completely voluntary for those who are interested. In that age group, there is no helmet to helmet contact. No matter how hard you try, you won't get them really making any contact. They are kids falling down in groups, just like they would do if playing at recess. It has been this way for as long as I know in this part of the world.

I am going to need to dig out some data on this report. I am curious how they chose their small group of patients, as I am certain that more than 79 former NFL players have died. Obviously they disregarded MVA's and drug overdose, which would kind of skew the numbers. I wonder if other similar causes of death were excluded from the study?

Point being....what exactly is the value in sharing the numbers of 76 of 79? Is there a statistical relevance? If another party does a similar study, will they find a similar rate of NFL players dying while having dementia symptoms 76 out of 79 times? I guess if they only chose to look at players who exhibited signs of dementia in their study, they certainly would.

No doubt that repeated head trauma isn't good for you. But it seems to be an article promoting a cause.

On a side note, what is the death rate for Area 51 workers? The ones who don't get any benefits to deal with their illness? Because I think the NFL does have a better track record in the realm of medical benefits that the US Citizens have allowed for those who die working for them.

For my $0.02, I say that it is good that we can warn players of the risks they are facing. Because it is better to inform people before they decide to undertake risk. But each person needs to be able to make their choices. Otherwise, the risk of being a soldier would need to be regulated as well.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

All good points, my Texan Bears fan friend. Greetings from Chicago.

I noticed these numbers flaws when I read the article as well, but I guess I still just see it simply as "more often than not."

I'm guessing the number of players examined was a result of brains not yet deteriorated, those who agreed to be medically studied after death for science, and those who's families gave the ok, probably in hopes of just what you said about educating future players to make educated decisions.

I remember playing tackle football in 7th grade gym class. But I grew up in Husker land, so go figure.

am I or you missing some thing?
boxers dont seem to get this!
and they bash the head a lot more.

is it some drug the Make them use?

a reply to: KAOStheory

Wow. That is ridiculous. Do the local parents pay property taxes to support the school?

I have a son that is large enough to be in the NFL....but he's never been interested in football. He played in peewee and then 7th grade, then quit to stick with band. If he would have played tackle football with the typical PE student, it wouldn't have been good for them.

The lawsuits....my lord. Even when he was in peewee, there was a discussion as to whether they would allow him to play.