Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)

One of the main reasons the general public is beginning to shy away from football is all of the risks and past injuries. In the NFL every week there are injuries including concussions. In 2015 there were 199 concussions suffered by NFL players(Breslow). Also lots of head injuries are showing up in deceased NFL players(Breslow). Mike Webster, a hall of fame center, died at age 50 after experiencing dementia and depression was found with CTE (Chronic traumatic encephalopathy) which is a disease found in mainly sports players who have suffered multiple cases of head

In 1994, then-commissioner Paul Tagliabue formed the “Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee”, to which he appointed the New York Jets team doctor Elliot Pellman as chair, even though Pellman had a distinctive lack of knowledge and experience in neurology, being instead a rheumatologist, specializing in joint pain such as in the knees. They originally claimed that concussions were an occupational risk, changing their stance to instead that there was no link at all after Hall-of-Famer Troy Aikman, Quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, took a knee to the head, resulting in a complete lapse in memory of all the events of the game prior. Commissioner Tagliabue can actually even be quoted as dismissing concussions, saying “On concussions, I think is one of these pack journalism issues, frankly… There is no increase in concussions; the number is relatively small… The problem is a journalist issue.” Later, as Dr. Bennet Omalu was trying to bring light to the issues in the NFL following him giving an autopsy to former Pittsburgh Steeler Mike Webster, who had died homeless and penniless due to dementia caused by repeated hits to the head, the NFL claimed that Dr. Omalu’s investigation were fraudulent and demanded that he retract his findings, a request usually reserved for claims believed criminal (Ezell). The ignorance of the NFL was strong then, but as light was brought to the issue it was

Concussions in sport are a public health issue and it is important to correctly attend to them so that players lessen their risk of sequels.

Concussions have become a major problem in athletics throughout the entire world. Head injuries can impact many athletes lives in a negative way. Hard contact to the head of a player can damage the brain and the way he goes about life. The way football is played, equipment should be better equipped to prevent significant injuries such as concussions. Head injuries drive a player out of the sport earlier than normal, so the NFL has looked into the issue and has gone about bettering technology and equipment to prevent concussions in the future.

An open letter to Roger S. Goodell, Commissioner of the National Football League, from Lester Grinspoon M.D.

The lawsuits made against the NFL are rising topics in today's mainstream media. The NFL is being accused of failing to provide information linking football related head injuries to permanent memory loss, brain damage, and other long term health issues related to concussions. Many former players have came forward who were diagnosed with some type of health issue, which were medically said to be caused by repeated blows to the head and concussions they have obtained throughout their professional football careers. Some even developing (CTE) Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy which is a neurodegenerative disease found in people who have had multiple head injuries. Therefore, NFL players who have suffered multiple brain injuries

Concussions have been studied since biblical times dating back to 800 B.C. In the early NFL era, concussions were a common occurrence but were not thought as a serious issue as it is now. Until 2002, there was no link between contact sports and life-long brain damage. Between 1996 and 2001, the NFL lead a self-investigation to see if there was a link between permeant head trauma and the sport. Though the results did find a small link, the NFL tried to cover themselves and downplay the findings. The New York Times were the first to find the skew in the findings by an average of ten percent. Also when interviewed by the Times, the NFL continued to blame the link of brain damage in their players to the use of tobacco and not trauma from the game ( Swhwarz, Bogdanich, and Williams). After the death of a former Hall of Famer, Mike Webster in 2002, Dr. Bennet Omalu, a Nigerian neurosurgeon who lived and worked in Pittsburgh removed his brain and studied it for almost a year. He found a new brain disease that is generated from multiple instances of brain trauma especially in NFL players and named it Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy or CTE for short. By 2005 Omalu published his findings. After years of research of donated brains of deceased former NFL players, the NFL had to finally come to their realize that the truth was out. “Out of 128 former players, regardless of level played (NFL, Semi-pro,

Concussions are considered functional, because it only affects the biochemical process of the brain, but the trauma changes the brain function temporarily. Although, in sports like football, repeated head to head contact can lead to long term brain damage. Many former football player’s have suffered from long term head injuries, this lead to things such as, “ long-term health consequences of concussion, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer 's disease, and other forms of dementia, Parkinson 's disease, or severe cognitive impairment.” according to Weil(2016). When suffering from a concussion, you must deal with many symptoms such as, brief loss of consciousness after the injury, memory problems, drowsiness or feeling sluggish, confusion, dizziness, double vision or blurred vision, nausea, headache,or vomiting, sensitivity to light or noise, balance problems, and slowed reaction to stimuli. It can also effect the student- athletes behavior, thinking, or physical

"New NFL Rules Designed to Limit Head Injuries." NFL.com. Associated Press, 6 Aug. 2010. Web. 02 May

The study of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) has a very short history. In the following paragraphs, I will show the impacts of the history of studying concussions and CTE in football, as well as the impacts that CTE brings to player’s health. As well as the study of concussions, I will discuss the impacts of concussions on the game of football and the rule changes and equipment changes the National Football League has had to make to improve the safety of the game for the players. Another focus of the NFL I will discuss is the role of improving knowledge of concussions not only professionally, but also in youth and high school level sports to protect younger players.

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.

“Concussion”, written and directed by Peter Landesman was released Christmas Day 2015 and it depicts the based on truth, story of Dr. Bennet Omalu’s findings with regards to damage sustained by football players who have repeated traumas to their head.

Every year dozens of football players are dead from CTE or diagnosed with it. CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) slowly kills brain cells. Just imagine that your kid becomes a star like Aaron Rodgers, but when he gets one too many hits. He gets diagnosed with CTE and his life

In February, Super Bowl 50 took place in San Francisco and a total of 114.4 million people in the US watched the game. All 114.4 million people watched these players health degenerate after each big hit that we praise. People are now starting to see the horrific injuries and trauma that come from the sport that can draw 114.4 million people to it and some of these people are boycotting the NFL. The top 10 most watched sporting events this year through July 13th were all NFL games. The NFL is a giant and it does not seem like they can be brought down. Even in 2005 when Bennet Omalu discovered C.T.E., a progressive degenerative disease that arises from brain and head trauma that kills brain cells, the NFL was able to ignore the claims and evidence

“I wish I never met Mike Webster. CTE has driven me into the politics of science, the politics of the NFL. They will squash you”. This quote was stated by Dr. Bennet Omalu in the movie Concussion directed by Peter Landesman. The film takes the viewers on a journey through the studies of Doctor Bennet Omalu, a neuropathologist. After the death of Mike Webster, a former center in the NFL, Dr. Omalu completed an autopsy on his body. He ordered a brain test that no one would help him pay for, and what he discovered was outstanding. Uncovering the truth about brain damage in football players with multiple concussions in typical games, Dr. Omalu researched many other football players who had passed away. Dr. Bennet Omalu is the first to discover CTE, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, and has placed him at dangerous feud with the National Football League. Many individuals probably viewed an NFL game and seen a head-to-head tackle. Whether on T.V. or at the game, the tackles never look good and can be very dangerous. Even after all the medical conditions have been exposed, Americans still love the game. As Concussion effectively shows a David