April 22nd, 1990, a middle linebacker from the University of Southern California by the name of Junior Seau was drafted 5th overall by the San Diego Chargers. During his nineteen years in the NFL, he was a ten-time all pro, twelve-time pro bowl selection, 1990’s all decade team, and was introduced into the hall of fame in 2015. Junior Seau had an extensive and severe history of head traumas and decided to retire with the New England Patriots in 2009. On May 2nd, 2012 the San Diego Police department received a call from his girlfriend who had found him laying on the ground at his house in Oceanside, California. Junior Seau was pronounced dead that day after he committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest. None of his family or close friends knew why he did this. He had never shown any signs of depression or suicidal tendencies. His family donated his brain to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). They then found out he had Chronic traumatic encephalopathy. …show more content…
This paper will go into detail about the mental and physical health effects of CTE and address what the NFL is doing to reduce concussions. CTE affects players not just mentally but also physically. One out of every three NFL players are affected by CTE and it is becoming a bigger issue everyday. CTE used to not be as common in football payers, but more in boxers, it was very common due to various amounts of headshots taken by the
Click here to unlock this and over one million essays
Show More“Deadly Hits” by Lauren Tarshis analyzes the topic of concussions. Over 300,000 concussions, or brain injuries, occur each year in sporting events. Ms. Tarshis analyzes 13-year-old Zackery Lystedt, a Tahoma Junior High football player, who suffered a near-fatal concussion while playing football in Seattle, Washington. According to the author, Zackery ’s injury was the result of a head injury.
Concussions are a huge problem in the world of sports today with numerous dangerous effects. Although some precautions have been taken to prevent concussions, better safety precautions must be taken. The statistics about concussions during the course of a player’s football career, whether it be just to college or all the way to the professional level, show a very big danger to the athletes. During a game players are seven times more likely to get
Concussions are the number one injury caused when playing football at any level today, but yet people still decide to play the game. Concussions can leave a big impact on your life after football, even if you are a younger player in high school. An article from “Frontline Magazine” states that, “an estimated high school football player suffered 11.2 concussions for every 10,000 games and practices. Among college players, the concussion rate stood at 6.3 out of 10,000 games and practices.” Concussions are a bigger issue than people believe and something needs to be done to help protect the players of the game.
Since American football star Michael Webster’s death, Nigerian-American physician, Bennet Omalu performed an autopsy that surprisingly showed his cause of death was from sever damage of the frontal lobe of Webster’s brain. What happened to Webster’s brain is now called chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE, which is a degenerative disease. This “sickness” is due to the repeated impact of football related concussions. Since the discovery the NFL and all the players have taken serious repercussions in the attempt of lowering the amount of potential concussions. The sport of football might appear dangerous but now the safety measures have been and are still improving.
An NFL football player will endure somewhere between 900 to 1500 blows to their head over the course of a single season. With an immense amount of blows like this comes an immense amount of damage to a player’s brain. This extensive amount of brain damage has been decided, by Dr. Bennet Omalu, to result in chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. Over the course of these discoveries and much controversy, the NFL has been targeted, denied all accusations, done very few things to lessen the risk of concussions in football, and the risks and number of concussions have steadily increased throughout the league’s
709-735). This high occurrence rate suggests that sports regulatory boards must come up with more systematic techniques in protecting the players from a concussion and its consequences. Furthermore, the prevalence of concussions in contact sports, especially in football, proves that the NFL should admit that concussions are a serious issue in football. The obvious short-term effects of concussions, together with the prevalence of concussions in football, must have influenced the NFL regarding how they handle violence within football. Instead, the NFL continued to market the violence in
Though the game of football continues to be played in the United States, it also seems that these types of life-changing injuries are still being overlooked even to this day. While there are some better precautions being taken to prevent injuries like concussions and other similar trauma, the NFL purposely hides the real truth in order to ensure the ongoing popularity of the sport. Overall, football continues to grow as one of America’s most popular sports, yet its reputation as being a traumatic and life altering activity is still overlooked by many. Despite the overwhelming evidence that points to an increased risk for post traumatic brain diseases like dementia or Alzheimer 's, many young athletes still aspire to succeed and continue playing the sport. Though mainstream media may be to blame for popularizing the sport of football in the first place, the organizations such as the NFL share just as much responsibility for not thoroughly educating players about the risks they take each time they play the game or simply just participate in
According to National Conference of State Legislation (NCSL), a traumatic brain injury is a disruption of the brain due to a bump, blow, jolt or penetrating head injury. Although most of these injuries occur from car accidents and blunt force trauma to the head, the link between football and traumatic brain injury continues to strengthen. In a recent study, for example, researchers discovered that out of the 111 brains analyzed from deceased NFL players, 110 of them tested positive chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a brain disorder associated with repeated hits to the head over a period of time. This means that professional athletes who play in the NFL are at greater risk because they’re more susceptible to concussions and other brain-related
I elected to choose this article on concussions because of my interest in football and more importantly sports. Over the last five years, the sport of football has been tarnished to an extent because of the amount of concussions and the side effects shown in former professional players. I grew up playing football and learned many life lessons from it, and to see the media destroy the reputation of the sport hurts. I personally wanted to see in-depth details on the subject, so this article helps me better understand the topic. I am hoping to one day work in sports, and working in football is my dream.
Effects of CTE CTE is a disease in the brain that is caused by concussions. There has been a rising fears of this disease in the media lately. This fear has been surrounded by the sport of football. If you play this you are in danger of getting CTE. At least 31% of the people that have this disease have been suicidal at some point (Bonk).
Anyone who has had a brain injury in the past needs to be aware of the symptoms of CTE, not only for themselves, but also for the people around them. Football causes about ten times the amount of significant brain injuries compared to other popular sports (What). A sport with as much violence as football needs to be taken seriously. Children who are not aware of the consequences and the magnitude of the injuries they can sustain need to be protected.
If the NFL is prompted to explore new technology in order to make the game safer, that could have a huge effect of the number of people with brain disorder following their career. Many players have experienced these life threatening disorders that cause tragic results. Frank Wycheck was a tight-end who played for the Redskins for the majority of his career. Wycheck was interviewed following an NFL concussion case settlement. He called it a “joke”(Red), and explained how he, himself, suffered from CTE.
Topic: Why schools should spend more money on equipment to protect athletes from concussions and other injuries. In today’s society sports rule the lives of kids of all ages. Football, being one of the most popular, is on the decline because of the recent studies of NFL players having CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) causing early death and brain/memory problems. WIth these studies parents are starting to pull their children from playing football at a young age to try and reduce the risk of head injuries in general.
More now than ever athletes are being watched out for when there is trauma to the brain. After multiple cases of poor treatment to concussions parents and doctors are cracking down on letting concussions not be a big deal. As more studies advance, it is discovered that every case is different. The range is created by severity, past experience with trauma, and how the patient heals. Concussions in sports can range in severity, and how they affect each individual over time depending on times of impact.
Concussions in Sports In sports, concussions occur frequently across all age groups. From little leagues to high school sports to the professional leagues, concussions pose a high risk of long term Traumatic brain injuries. Because of the high rate of concussions in sports more attention should be paid to protocols and treatment to prevent traumatic brain injuries. High school athletes that partake in a sport that requires intense physical activity are the most vulnerable to concussion and need more time to recover. According to the Head Case “High school football accounts for 47 percent of all reported sports concussions, with 33 percent of concussions occurring during practice.”