Medical Study Reports That NFL Players' Brains Were Severely Damaged By Concussions
by UCrawford on Jan 27, 2009 2:53 PM CST
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PrintThe Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy (CSTE), at the Boston University School of Medicine, recently released their findings from a study of the brains of five former NFL players showed that the effects of concussions sustained over their career had resulted in catastrophic brain injuries for those individuals, causing their brains to resemble those commonly found in elderly patients with Alzheimer's.
...using tissue from retired NFL athletes culled posthumously, the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy (CSTE), at the Boston University School of Medicine, is shedding light on what concussions look like in the brain. The findings are stunning. Far from innocuous, invisible injuries, concussions confer tremendous brain damage. That damage has a name: chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
CTE has thus far been found in the brains of five out of five former NFL players. On Tuesday afternoon, researchers at the CSTE will release study results from the sixth NFL player exhibiting the same kind of damage.
"What's been surprising is that it's so extensive," said Dr. Ann McKee, a neuropathologist at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Bedford, Massachusetts, and co-director of the CSTE. "It's throughout the brain, not just on the superficial aspects of the brain, but it's deep inside."
CSTE studies reveal brown tangles flecked throughout the brain tissue of former NFL players who died young -- some as early as their 30s or 40s.
McKee, who also studies Alzheimer's disease, says the tangles closely resemble what might be found in the brain of an 80-year-old with dementia.
"I knew what traumatic brain disease looked like in the very end stages, in the most severe cases," said McKee. "To see the kind of changes we're seeing in 45-year-olds is basically unheard of."
The lasting effects of concussions has long been one of the NFL's dirtiest secrets. The NFL, under former commissioner Paul Tagliabue, created a committee to study the effects of concussions on pro players back in 1994, chaired by the New York Jets' team physician, Dr. Elliott Pellman, and the findings of that committee were, to put it charitably, beyond laughable. Their findings were so dramatically out of line with those of the NCAA (who were also studying the issue) and the medical community at large that the integrity of those studies was almost immediately opened to question. Particularly since the committee's findings just so happened to coincide with a rise in former NFL players' disability claims against the NFL as a result of post-concussion effects...claims that could have ended up costing the NFL millions in disability payouts.
In fact, in 2006 the family of former Steelers' and Chiefs' Hall of Fame center Mike Webster won a large payout from a federal appeals court against the NFL on a disability claim over the mental and physical incapacities suffered by Webster in the final years of his life (which were plagued by bizarre and erratic behavior before ending at age 50 from a heart attack) as a result of countless concussions over his playing career. Webster's family was opposed in their claim by both the NFL and the NFL Players Association (particularly NFLPA chairman Gene Upshaw), which used the NFL's questionable study to try and dismiss previous claims of lasting disability among retired players resulting from concussions.
Webster's brain (posthumously donated to the study by his family) was among those examined, as were the brains of a few other players:
The Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, along with other research institutions, identified traumatic encephalopathy in the brains of late NFL football players John Grimsley, Mike Webster, Andre Waters, Justin Strzelczyk and Terry Long.
Grimsley died of an accidental gunshot wound to the chest. Webster, Long and Strzelczyk all died after long bouts of depression, while Waters committed suicide in 2006 at age 44.
All of the articles linked to here are well worth a read, especially for those not familiar with the rather sordid history of the NFL's whitewashing of the concussion issue, which includes minimizing or ignoring potential fixes for concussions among active players that might have required the NFL to publicly question or refute the results of its own study and possibly accept liability.
This will be an issue to pay attention to over the coming years, especially as the NFLPA tries to hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement with league owners. Several million dollars in potential liability claims has a tendency to throw a large monkey wrench into even the most cordial negotiations.
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Arrowhead Pride's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Arrowhead Pride writers or editors.
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Damn
84 comments when I write a column pointing out how much Chris Mortensen sucks but only one comment (my own, no less) when I write a piece about how the NFL tries to get out of paying players money for legitimate injuries.
Maybe I should have attached another picture of Nicole Eggert just to stir up traffic.
Herm Edwards will not be the Chiefs' head coach next season.
Neither will Mike Shanahan.
It's probably because a lot of people don't fully understand the issue
At least that’s the case with me.
Funny how the NFL is a marketing machine when it comes to just about anything. Anything except something that may cost them money (which is probably a slight part of the reason why this issue was somewhat ignored until recent years).
Is NFLPA membership discontinued on retirement? I guess I don’t understand why the NFLPA is against this. Especially someone like Upshaw who must have former teammates or acquaintances that have been affected by this.
What’s the solution in your mind, UC (seeing as you have a better grasp of this than me)?
by Joel Thorman on Jan 27, 2009 3:40 PM CST up reply actions
The NFLPA Primarily Represents Active Players
Retired players are still involved but active players are the only ones who get a vote in who is elected to run the organization. Gene Upshaw got in trouble with a lot of his constituency for rather crudely pointing out that he didn’t have to give a damn what retired players thought about anything because they couldn’t kick him out of office.
Upshaw’s resistance to concussions seems to stem largely from his understanding that the best financial arrangement for the NFLPA was to be a partner with the NFL as opposed to an adversary. That meant trying to minimize contentious issues and find a compromise if it led to a better financial situation for the league (and, by extension, the NFLPA). Unfortunately, with the concussions (which represent a potentially huge financial liability to the NFL and which aren’t championed by active players) the compromise he chose was to try and go off the questionable NFL committee’s report on concussions and sweep the issue under the rug. Problem is that if the NFL did put out a faulty survey and if they did ignore medical evidence in doing so, they’re still liable. And Upshaw was also not looking out for his active players either since those injuries are actually an ongoing result of the NFL setting up an unsafe work environment while not informing players of the risks (possibly intentionally). Basically, Upshaw appears to have taken the NFL’s side because he was hoping this thing would go away because it could cause a lot of major problems for the league (and the NFLPA’s revenues) but it’s not.
What’s the solution in your mind, UC
Improving equipment to increase safety (as one of the articles I linked to discussed) and increasing awareness of the problem among NFL teams and setting guidelines in place for teams to adhere to based on something other than the NFL’s committee report. To Goodell’s credit, he appears to be moving in that direction, although that’s still not going to undo the damage from players who’ve been injured prior. And if the NFL is forced to pay out disability for the effects of concussions for retired players, it could get extremely pricey for them…particularly if they were negligent in putting together the report.
This is one of the biggest reasons why I thought Paul Tagliabue wasn’t all that great of a commissioner.
Herm Edwards will not be the Chiefs' head coach next season.
Neither will Mike Shanahan.
And
What kind of liability does the NFL have if the possible effects of playing in the NFL are stated prior to employment?
by Joel Thorman on Jan 27, 2009 3:45 PM CST up reply actions
That I Don't Know
I’m not a lawyer. But I’d imagine that it would be less than their liability if they just tried to pretend the problem didn’t exist (which was pretty much their approach for over a decade).
Herm Edwards will not be the Chiefs' head coach next season.
Neither will Mike Shanahan.
Cuts both ways...
It really is that simple, but as this is the NFL Congress would unquestionably get involved once any litigation grasped media attention.
Generally you can’t warn away risk in the scenario of obvious and apparent danger, but liabilty could be reduced depending on the language of the waivers. Sad to say, but it’s probably safer for them to remain ostensibly ignorant, or at least NFL lawyers have probably done the math.
by Official Arrowhead Pride Parade on Jan 27, 2009 6:58 PM CST up reply actions
Oh I Agree
I think that the NFL probably realized once they commissioned that study what disability claims from concussions in retired players were going to do to them. Unfortunately, their response to it was to metaphorically hide their head in the sand and that’s only going to work for so long.
Herm Edwards will not be the Chiefs' head coach next season.
Neither will Mike Shanahan.
And
If the NFL had an unsafe working environment going on that they were aware of (which they may have been considering the shadiness of that concussion study they did) then they should owe those players that money. They would have knowingly endangered those players without their knowledge and intentionally misrepresented the risks. That’s just irresponsible, fraudulent behavior and they should bear the liability for it.
Herm Edwards will not be the Chiefs' head coach next season.
Neither will Mike Shanahan.
Great post
I don’t find it surprising that the NFL would want this covered up, what irks me is that the late “great” Gene Upshaw probably suffered from this and yet he acted as the NFL lachey and denying claims to these guys.
But Mortenson is still a tool.
"Me fail english, that unpossible" - Ralph Wiggum
"Duffman is thrusting in the direction of the problem" - Duffman
Upshaw
He was in charge of the NFLPA, which (I believe/think) is current NFL players. Losing a lawsuit like that would be taking money out of the players’ pockets (even though, yes, it would eventually be helping them in the long run).
by Joel Thorman on Jan 27, 2009 3:52 PM CST up reply actions
He was the NFLPA president
And he should of been fighting for their benefits, not bending over backwards for the NFL. I am not a big fan of unions, but the NFPA is a joke of a union, they have no strength and have been broken by the owners, and the ex-players are the ones who suffer for it.
"Me fail english, that unpossible" - Ralph Wiggum
"Duffman is thrusting in the direction of the problem" - Duffman
In Upshaw's Defense
He actually did a lot of great things for the players. For all the griping Mike Ditka did about Upshaw, prior to Upshaw’s tenure as NFLPA head there were no benefits for players. No pension plan, no health care. Nothing. No free agency either for active players. The union got into a lot of pissing contests with the league and won almost nothing in terms of concessions. Upshaw changed that. Upshaw also raised millions to help retired players in financial difficulty. Ditka and his group did a lot of talking out of their ass, mainly because a) Ditka was out of his depth and didn’t understand the issues, and b) Ditka wanted Upshaw’s job. I actually wrote a post about Upshaw, just after his death that highlighted some of the great things he did for players (both current and retired).
But you’re certainly right that Upshaw screwed up here and to my mind the concussion situation was the biggest failure of his time in office, which goes to show that even the best union leaders often screw up. I suspect that he took the league’s side primarily because he realized that the NFLPA and active players were best served by a financially healthy NFL and that the financial problems that this could create for the league were potentially catastrophic. But he still sold the players down the river by minimizing a major health issue for his constituency in exchange for short-term gain for them and I think he made the wrong call. He was trying to protect his players’ financial well-being by protecting the league’s financial well-being, but he also made himself complicit in the league’s negligence and that was the wrong call both for the league and his people.
Herm Edwards will not be the Chiefs' head coach next season.
Neither will Mike Shanahan.
Also, Shane Dronnett just recently committed suicide
Don’t know if it was related, but I understand he had a brain tumor and had been depressed after treatment. A very sad tale.
"Me fail english, that unpossible" - Ralph Wiggum
"Duffman is thrusting in the direction of the problem" - Duffman
I Saw That About Dronett
I wondered the same thing too, if it was related.
On my old blog I wrote two or three fairly long posts about this after Andre Waters killed himself. It really is kind of an ugly deal.
Herm Edwards will not be the Chiefs' head coach next season.
Neither will Mike Shanahan.
Also
What is the NFL doing to prevent this in terms of equipment safety? I know NFL helmets are much more technologically advanced than those even 15 years ago, but why not put more money into safer helmets?
I Don't Know, Honestly
One of those articles I linked to discussed an orthodontics guy who claimed that the risk of concussion can be greatly reduced by the usage of a particular type of mouthpiece. He tried to push it to the league to do a study, since his evidence was mainly anecdotal, but since doing that would have likely entailed admitting that cumulative effects of concussions were a problem worth addressing (in contradiction to the NFL’s concussion study) it seems the league just blew him off. No idea if it went any further since Goodell took over.
Herm Edwards will not be the Chiefs' head coach next season.
Neither will Mike Shanahan.
Ah
Reading that linked article now. Thanks.
by Joel Thorman on Jan 27, 2009 4:31 PM CST up reply actions
Great Read UC
This is something that I never really think about, but it affects a sport that we all love. I thought about it some when Trent Green was with us (I will never forget that hit), but this is something that the NFL and players should take very seriously.
No need to put a pic of Eggert, just link DJ’s fanshot of the Peta commercial!
I Thought About It A Lot Because I Was A Soldier And Brain Injuries Are An Issue With The Military Too
Concussions and traumatic brain injuries are rife with troops who got wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. And in the future a lot of them will probably be applying for disability benefits because of traumatic brain injuries they got from IEDs or other crap they ran into in the war zone. And if the government’s handling of Agent Orange, Gulf War Syndrome, and PTSD is any indication, it’s going to be an uphill battle for a lot of them (some of whom will likely be friends of mine) to prove that they’re disabled because of wounds they incurred while serving their country that possibly aren’t visible to the casual observer or that the government could save money on by denying it occured as a result of their service. And so the concussion situation with the NFL may end up being relevant to them as well.
Kind of a personal reason for my interest, I suppose…but also because I think it’s interesting from a sports perspective as well.
Herm Edwards will not be the Chiefs' head coach next season.
Neither will Mike Shanahan.
Awareness is a big step in finding a solution to this problem
There was a time that guys would continue to play with a concussion, and at least we realize the severity of these types of injuries now.
I have never understood the uncaring and insensitive attitude that the gov’t has sometimes towards our service people. There is no reason to not give back 100% to people who risk so much for our nation and our way of life.
It's Not So Much That The Government Is Uncaring And Insensitive
As that it’s an organization that isn’t really capable of caring and sensitivity. Most individuals in the government probably would answer honestly that they care about soldiers if you asked them (well, probably not Bush, but that’s just because he’s a fucking sociopathic asshole who needs a pistol whipping), but they’re still just employees of a bureaucracy and bureaucracy isn’t tailored to help specific needs like that. It’s about providing general services for most people and if that means occasionally screwing over smaller segments of the population (often inadvertently and unintentionally) because it creates some necessary cost-efficiency for everyone else then that’s just what the government does because it has to in order to stay functional.
Military medical care, by the way, is the perfect cautionary tale for why we should have less government intervention into our health care and not more. The military utilizes socialized medicine because it really doesn’t have any free market option (considering the nature of militaries in general) so all we have to do to understand the pitfalls of what would happen to our own medical care if we turned it over to the government even more than we already have is to watch things like what happened with Walter Reed Medical Center a couple of years ago.
Herm Edwards will not be the Chiefs' head coach next season.
Neither will Mike Shanahan.
No doubt.
I am in the Healtchare industry and I am scared to death of what socialized healthcare means for America.
Sadly
It’s not like we have a free market system now in health care…it’s just that the press is so full of idiot socialists that their knee jerk response is to blame the free market aspects for all of the problems that the government causes because most of them don’t bother to study economics or pay attention to actual cause and effect. Although in fairness the biggest reasons I’m so adamantly opposed are because when I was in the Army 1) I had to get my medical care from the military for half of my time in and 2) I had to get my medical care from the British NHS for the second half of it (when I was stationed in England and didn’t have access to a military hospital). So I got a firsthand view of the horror stories…and they’re all true.
Herm Edwards will not be the Chiefs' head coach next season.
Neither will Mike Shanahan.
Thanks UC
It is unfortunate that this issue doesn’t get more attention from players and fans. As is often the case, people prefer denial over awareness of a difficult issue.
I am in healthcare—neurology in particular—so I see these problems on a day to day basis (although not in NFL players). Lots of research is going on right now about the causes and long term effects of traumatic injury to the brain (Traumatic Brain Injury). In fact, much of this research is focused on Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. That population is similar to the NFL in that it is made up of young otherwise healthy males (but different in the frequency and types of injuries suffered). The general consensus of most research indicates that Traumatic Brain Injury, even when not catastrophic at first, can have devastating consequences in the long term. These consequences manifest themselves largely in neuropsychological and cognitive areas, i.e. guys suffer from depression, anxiety, insomnia, memory/concentration difficulties, etc. This list sounds abstract at first, but what it really means is that they have a difficult time coping with day to day life.
The unfortunate reality is that there is probably no future technology, helmet or otherwise, that will completely resolve the issue. The bottom line is that our brains and bodies, while amazingly resilient, are not set up for the kind of beating that an NFL player takes on a weekly basis.
To me, one main question arises: is it responsible to get kids involved in a sport that could potentially have such drastic consequences (it is posed like a loaded question, and it’s one that I ultimately would say no to, but still worth thinking about).
I Don't Think It Should Represent The End Of Involvement In Football
Like one of the articles I linked to earlier showed, technology and advances in equipment can potentially do a lot to minimize the dangers of concussions and other injuries, so long as the pro sports are first willing to admit that there’s a problem that needs to be addressed (which the NFL hasn’t done until very recently). Necessity is the mother of invention after all, and there’s a lot of money to be made (both by teams and players) from football, so it’s really in their interests to make the sport attractive to future generations of players and protect their current investment (after all, injuries resulting in disability cost the NFL a ton of money).
As for the kids, I think it’s also about making sure parents are aware of the risks and letting them make their own decisions regarding their kids’ level of involvement. If a sport is too dangerous, most parents will steer their kids away from it if they understand the risks and can make a reasonably well-informed decision. If they can’t make a reasonably well-informed decision or if the parents don’t really care if their kids are in danger…well, all the rules in the world can’t overcome crappy parenting.
Herm Edwards will not be the Chiefs' head coach next season.
Neither will Mike Shanahan.
And Great Points About The Limits Of Technology
There’s always going to be risks with sports, no matter how much we try to make it safer or clean it up. There’s just no way around that…same as there’ll be risk in anything you do in life. I just trust in people to generally make the right decisions when they’re reasonably well informed as to those risks.
Herm Edwards will not be the Chiefs' head coach next season.
Neither will Mike Shanahan.
I think the lack of interest is because...
….it is such a serious issue, but it has been pretty publicized recently with the Gridiron Greats stuff and so on. Or whatever it is called…
Also it is a pretty damned haunting thing no one wants to think about…
I send my best to the six families but...
There are far too many monumental health issues going on outside of sports for this to actually get the attention it’s getting. The only answer I got would be a cure for concussions, probably more likely than other cures happening.
It’s a part of the game.
Btw, how many people have been diagnosed with it in regards to other sports. Boxing, Hockey…uh bull riders? It’s not an issue, and next month no one will hear about it for who knows how long. I guess until another death occurs.
Whoever said, 'It's not whether you win or lose that counts,' probably lost.
by Chiefs_swagger on Jan 27, 2009 11:06 PM CST reply actions
I Disagree
For reasons I listed higher up in the thread.
It’s not an issue, and next month no one will hear about it for who knows how long.
It’s an issue for parents with kids who play football. Did you happen to read the article I linked to where it discussed the dead 18 year old with traumatic brain injuries as a result of concussions? It’s an issue to fans of the sport who care about these things…that’s why we’ve been talking about it. Did you actually read the links or were you just trolling?
If you feel this topic is unimportant and unworthy of discussion, by all means feel free to make yourself scarce on this thread. Nobody’s forcing you to read it and if you’re not really interested in the topic I’m perfectly fine with you not sharing your opinion on it.
Herm Edwards will not be the Chiefs' head coach next season.
Neither will Mike Shanahan.
Okay okay okay
I take back “It’s not an issue”, I only feel certain ISSUES get MORE attention than others that deserve more. The simple fact that it was plastered on TV today is why we are all of the sudden concerned about this topic.
Ok I’m going to read the articles now. : p
Whoever said, 'It's not whether you win or lose that counts,' probably lost.
by Chiefs_swagger on Jan 28, 2009 12:26 AM CST up reply actions
Never thought about this...
“Really my main reason even for talking about this is to help the guys who are already retired,” said Johnson. “[They] are getting divorced, going bankrupt, can’t work, are depressed, and don’t know what’s wrong with them. [It is] to give them a name for it so they can go get help.”
That’s really sad.
Whoever said, 'It's not whether you win or lose that counts,' probably lost.
by Chiefs_swagger on Jan 28, 2009 12:33 AM CST reply actions
Most People Haven't
It’s not something the NFL really publicizes…mainly because they spent most of the last 15 years in denial about it so they wouldn’t have to pay out disability for it.
Herm Edwards will not be the Chiefs' head coach next season.
Neither will Mike Shanahan.
Much Credit To ESPN
Peter Keating over there has been following this story from the outset. He’s written some really great articles about it (many of which I linked to).
Herm Edwards will not be the Chiefs' head coach next season.
Neither will Mike Shanahan.
and terrible post at the same time.
This is tragic and frightening. I have been an ER nurse for 15 years and have seen my share of trauma. When you add this to other physical injuries it is no wonder these men struggle post career. Years ago I read an article about Dan Hampton having to be helped out of bed most mornings because of crippling arthritis. You also have to add the dangers and side affects of pain meds given for chronic pain. Also the affect on fellow family members can be devastating. If you have ever been to a college or pro game live and fortunate enough to get close to the field you can not help but be struck by the sheer brutality of the game. What do we do to prevent this? The first step is realizing you have a serious problem. I Love this Game something must be done NOW!
Fortunately For The Players
Now that medical science has realized there is a problem and is documenting it, it adds more weight to those players’ cases when they push for disability and it will force the league to make changes on its own to improve safety.
That’s one area I’m okay with the government intervening…punishing fraudulent behavior. For the much older players, who played before the NFL did their study when nobody knew anything about the long-term effects of concussions I tend to sympathize more with the NFL because they really didn’t know there was a problem. But after that study, it wouldn’t be a matter of the NFL not knowing…it would be a matter of the NFL willfully not acknowledging a problem, ignoring medical evidence, and whitewashing the story because they didn’t want to deal with the consequences of it. And in that case, that’s just wreckless and irresponsible on the NFL’s part and they deserve to be punished in the courts for it.
Herm Edwards will not be the Chiefs' head coach next season.
Neither will Mike Shanahan.
Interesting and tragic
People dont usually think of their heros suffering down the road of life.
I like soup!!!
My suggestion, but it will never fly, is go to Rugby rules and strip off the pads and helmets
Having played football and rugby, I think that the tackling rules in rugby make the game a much safer sport than football. The problem with football is you have these pads and helmets so you will wrecklessly plowi nto guys thinking you are protected. In rugby, the rules are that you have to tackle between the knees to the shoulders, and you have to wrap up the ball carrier, this forces the tackler to use some judgement and actually look before he tackles and not use his head as a battering ram, and it also protects the runner since he knows he won’t get that many blows to the head. Mike Ditka actually suggested this a while back and everyone laughed at him, but the thing is that football is derived from Rugby and years ago they didn’t have pads or helmets and yet they were still able to play fine.
"Me fail english, that unpossible" - Ralph Wiggum
"Duffman is thrusting in the direction of the problem" - Duffman
I've Often Thought About That Too
Used to play rugby as well. The nice thing about rugby is that they put emphasis on form tackling (i.e. wrapping up and bringing the player to the ground) rather than killshots (i.e. trying to knock the absolute bejeezus out of someone without attempting to wrap up). In fact, tackling without attempting to wrap up is illegal in rugby and gets the team penalized.
I don’t think it could completely translate…after all, because of forward passing (which rugby doesn’t have) tackles are still going to be executed at a much higher speed in football in open space so you’re still going to have violent hits. But I agree that the rules on tackling probably ought to be studied.
Herm Edwards will not be the Chiefs' head coach next season.
Neither will Mike Shanahan.
And
Equipment as well should be looked into. I’ve often wondered whether the pads and helmets in football do increase the violence level to a degree that more than offsets the protective benefits that equipment provides individual players.
Herm Edwards will not be the Chiefs' head coach next season.
Neither will Mike Shanahan.
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