99 Percent Of Deceased NFL Players That Had Their Brains Studied For CTE Had CTE
CNN- Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, known as CTE, was found in 99% of deceased NFL players’ brains that were donated to scientific research, according to a study published Tuesday in the medical journal JAMA.
The neurodegenerative brain disease can be found in individuals who have been exposed to repeated head trauma. The disease is pathologically marked by an buildup of abnormal tau protein in the brain that can disable neuropathways and lead to a variety of clinical symptoms. These include memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, aggression, depression, anxiety, impulse control issues and sometimes suicidal behavior.
It can only be formally diagnosed with an autopsy, and most cases, although not all, have been seen in either veterans or people who played contact sports, particularly American football. “There’s no question that there’s a problem in football. That people who play football are at risk for this disease,” said Dr. Ann McKee, director of Boston University’s CTE Center and coauthor of the new study. “And we urgently need to find answers for not just football players, but veterans and other individuals exposed to head trauma.”
The JAMA study is the largest of its kind and all of those studied were required to have football as their primary exposure to head trauma. The criteria for submitting a brain was based on exposure to repetitive head trauma, regardless of whether that individual exhibited symptoms during their lifetime.
Jiminy Crickets, 99% is a big number. Now granted, I expected this study to come back with a number higher than say 75%. But still, 99% is jarring as fuck. In some ways it is even wilder than seeing 100% because when you hear 100%, you can sometimes just say “yeah, yeah, yeah, 100% whatever”. But 99% just sticks with you. NINETY NINE PERCENT MRS. BUELLER. And I don’t know who that 1% was, but based on the breakdown of positions, I’m gonna guess it was probably a kicker that kicked field goals and didn’t have the leg to participate in the Thunderdome known as NFL kickoffs.
Now usually I would say that a study like this as well as all the other CTE studies, the countless think pieces or exposés about it, and the fucking movie with the Hollywood A-lister would mean that some change would be coming to the NFL like baseball after everyone took their heads out of the sand during the steroid era. You figure sooner or later someone is going to step in and make the NFL fix their problem like congress did with baseball.
Obligatory Rafael Palmeiro clip
Obligatory Mark McGwire clip
And CTE isn’t just a problem in the NFL, but in football everywhere.
Out of 202 deceased former football players total — a combination of high school, college and professional players — CTE was neuropathologically diagnosed in 177, the study said. The disease was identified in 110 out of 111 former NFL players. It was also found in three of the 14 high school players and 48 of the 53 college players. The study included brains of individuals who have been publicly confirmed to have had the disease, including Ken Stabler, Kevin Turner, Bubba Smith and Dave Duerson.
As someone that cherieshes doing absolutely nothing outside of staring at my TV for 12 hours on Sunday, that is a problem. As someone that has a shred of empathy for people getting absolutely destroyed at their job to the point their brain is almost a weapon against their own well-being, that is a problem. But I don’t know if change will actually come in football because I think the outrage police are too busy replying to Trump tweets or taking out their pitchforks for some random bullshit that went viral to attack this. If everything is worthy of outrage, than nothing is. I’m not a Pats fan by any means, but I truly believe that this clownshoe
and the NFL owners didn’t hate Deflategate being around because it meant people were talking about inflation levels of footballs instead of the brains of NFL players being FUBAR. Same with all the stupid ass fines for celebrations and shit. Shit, if you told me the NFL was dragging out any and all Zeke Elliott suspensions for whenever this study came out, I would believe you. If you are the fan of an NFL team that may have a stupid scandal, be warned that Goodell may drop the hammer on your favorite team or player just to change the headlines.
Add all that in with the fact that the NFLPA agrees to deals where some of their best players get guaranteed money on par with middle relievers and are essentially disposable in a sport where there are injuries equal to mini car crashes every game, and you realize there is an all-time mismatch in the bargaining room that leads to studies like this coming out with nothing TRULY being addressed. I am not nearly smart enough to figure out how to fix this problem, but I am smart enough to know this is a problem. From pee wee football to the pros. Hopefully Goodell and the owners can solve this issue so they can keep fucking their golden goose even if they have to share some of the eggs with the players that make the NFL the greatest sport on the planet, even if it means there is a 99% chance their brains are absolutely scrambled by the end of their career.
Sorry for the long winded rant. I love the NFL with every ounce of my gigantic body, but I hate the asshole that run it sometimes most times.