Junior Seau Dead

[Papajohn]

I may have an unpopular position on concussions and injuries in general. I believe these players have and had a choice. They chose to play and get paid very well to do so. The injuries, including concussions, are all part of the choice.

 

You don't want to get them, don't play. But don't come back after the fact and scream bloody murder and try to blame everyone else because you made a career choice where injuries/concussions are prevalent. The players wanted the fame and fortune. Now they have to deal with the consequences.

 

I have no sympathy. I really don't. That said, if the players want to have a fund to help those down the road who experience issues, I think that's great. But lawsuits? That's bullsh-t.

 

 

I agree with this, but I will say that the players should be be allowed to make an informed choice about whether they want to play or not. If the NFL did hide information and knowledge about the effects of repeated concussions from the players (isn't that a part of the lawsuit too?), then I understand why the players are suing and can't disagree with it. After all damaging the brain isn't like breaking a leg or tearing an ACL.

If nobody knew then I feel bad for the players who are hurt now, but there isn't really anybody to blame.

 

I know things probably aren't that simple in this regard, and it will be a judgement call whether the league knew (enough) or not, but at least that is how I feel it should be.

[godtomsatan]

I may have an unpopular position on concussions and injuries in general. I believe these players have and had a choice. They chose to play and get paid very well to do so. The injuries, including concussions, are all part of the choice.

 

You don't want to get them, don't play. But don't come back after the fact and scream bloody murder and try to blame everyone else because you made a career choice where injuries/concussions are prevalent. The players wanted the fame and fortune. Now they have to deal with the consequences.

 

I have no sympathy. I really don't. That said, if the players want to have a fund to help those down the road who experience issues, I think that's great. But lawsuits? That's bullsh-t.

 

 

I'm not saying no one's handsomely rewarded, but getting a large chunk of change from ages 22 through 25 doesn't really help much if your body doesn't function properly after the age of 28.

 

I'm not in favor of massive lawsuits by people who are making a choice of how to earn their living, but if there's more awareness of the long-term effects of professional football by the league and its players, and that awareness includes more attention by the powers-that-be in the form of contributions to helping out ex-players, then a lawsuit may be worth it.

[whomper]

I may have an unpopular position on concussions and injuries in general. I believe these players have and had a choice. They chose to play and get paid very well to do so. The injuries, including concussions, are all part of the choice.

 

You don't want to get them, don't play. But don't come back after the fact and scream bloody murder and try to blame everyone else because you made a career choice where injuries/concussions are prevalent.

 

 

I agree with this. I also feel that these elite and very wealthy athletes most likely have some good doctors that they go to that are not affiliated with the NFL. At no point do any of these Doctors educate them or anyone outside of the nfl educate them on the affects and dangers of the game they play ? Im not sure why these grown men are such in the dark regarding medical conditions unless they are told about these issues by the nfl.

[DMD]

As I have mentioned before, the majority of concussion issues are on the players because so many of them either under report or just do not admit to having one and still play. They do not want to be replaced during this short slice of money and fame making time plus they want to be macho as well. That is not to say it in impossible that some coaches made bad decisions along the way, but to suggest the NFL was knowingly trying to hide medical information from the players who could be getting it from any number of sources seems a stretch to me.

[Ditkaless Wonders]

I thought this was an interesting article:

 

 

Soldiers' brain damage similar to football players', study of chronic traumatic encephalopathy shows

 

 

What makes you wonder based on that article is that maybe it doesn't take many concussions to get CTE, or maybe some are more predisposed to it or maybe it is just having one really major concussion. No way a soldier goes through the same sort of head battering that I can think of. Roadside bombs and such no doubt can really concuss, but do people go through more than one of those? CTE is really scary if it can result from just one really major concussion and that is more than about football then.

 

 

Maybe further study will reveal that it is the prolonged wearing of helmets which causes CTE.

[stevegrab]

Maybe further study will reveal that it is the prolonged wearing of helmets which causes CTE.

 

 

Unlikely. I know people who have been riding motorcycles quite a bit over their lives wearing a helmet all the time. None of them are experiencing CTE or similar conditions. I'm sure there are concussive type forces being experienced by soldiers in training and active duty that are similar to the hits football players experience.

[caddyman]

As I have mentioned before, the majority of concussion issues are on the players because so many of them either under report or just do not admit to having one and still play. They do not want to be replaced during this short slice of money and fame making time plus they want to be macho as well. That is not to say it in impossible that some coaches made bad decisions along the way, but to suggest the NFL was knowingly trying to hide medical information from the players who could be getting it from any number of sources seems a stretch to me.

 

 

Exactly...just talked to a friend of mine that played for Pitt and the Steelers in the 1980s. Told him that my 12 year old just signed up for 7th grade football. He said to watch him for any signs of concussion and once he gets one to shut him down. He said not to tell my son because he would try and hide the fact that he had a concussion. He said that he had at least 15 concussions in his career between high school and his pro days. I questioned him because I was very close to him and saw nearly every game he played. He said he always told people he was ok and went back in as soon as he could.