As we get ready for another super bowl, the NFL's super shame,
becomes more obvious as former NFL player's brain injuries and CTE deaths keep
piling up ~ for example there were 152 NFL concussions in 2013 with the
majority being wide receiver and corner back positions and the obvious danger
of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) proportionally increased along with
the NFL's shame: Allen L Roland
A
few nights ago I watched League Of Denial on Frontline and was amazed at the
depth of the NFL's concussion crisis. Watch this hour long documentary on the
hidden story of the NFL and brain injuries as well as the heroic story of Dr
Ann McKee (Boston University) who has examined brains from 46 deceased former NFL
players and found that 45 had CTE. Watch video ~
I
have a personal interest in this story because my beloved twin brother Bobby
died on August 17th of 2013 of advanced Parkinson's disease with possible
CTE complications from playing High School as well as College Football and
Hockey.
Jason
Breslow writes in FRONTLINE that High school football players are nearly twice
as likely to sustain a concussion as are college players. The report also raised
new concerns about just how far helmets can go to protect athletes from
concussions. In May, FRONTLINE
reported that as early as 2000, the NFL’s official helmet provider,
Riddell, was warned that even a helmet that passed industry safety standards
for protection against skull fractures and other severe head injuries could
still leave a player with a 95 percent likelihood of receiving a concussion.
To this I add comments from my High School friend and former High School Superintendent Jim Leonard who writes that .. " Last year, Massachusetts school officials reported 4,200 concussions in football alone. If that had been reported for any other activity there would have been a tremendous outcry, but this information went almost unnoticed. I am suggesting that school officials take a long and serious look at contact sports. After all, the primary goal of public schools is to provide meaningful education not opportunities for life altering injuries."
Here's how CTE effects the brain and it's not pretty as
compiled by Neuropathologist Dr Ann McKee from Boston University.
Stage
One ~ No Symptoms
Stage
Two ~ Rage, Impulsivity, Depression
Stage
Three ~ Confusion, Memory Loss
Stage
Four ~ Advanced Dementia
See
report : http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sports/league-of-denial/the-four-stages-of-cte/
Less
than three years since retiring, the legendary quarterback, Brett Favre, has
become one of the most high profile players to acknowledge he has experienced
health problems stemming from repeated concussions in the NFL ~ "God
only knows the toll from NFL Concussions" Brett
said. See report ~
But
I definitely know from a phone conversation with my twin brother about a year
ago when I was sharing an indelible common joyful memory from our childhood
years ~ and Bobby slowly interjected "Allen, I don't remember
anything.."
Allen
L Roland
Freelance Alternative
Press Online columnist and transformational counselor
Allen L Roland is available for comments, interviews, speaking engagements and
private Skype consultations allen@allenroland.com
Allen
L Roland is a practicing psychotherapist, author and
lecturer who also shares a daily political and social commentary on his web log and website allenroland.com He also guest hosts a monthly national radio show
TRUTHTALK on www.conscioustalk.net
Sometimes players get knocked out and their concussions make news, but more often it’s a scenario like mine, where the player walks away from a hit and plays woozy or blind. Sometimes I can tell when a guy is concussed during a game—he can’t remember things or he keeps asking the same questions over and over—but I’m not going to take his health into my hands and tell anybody, because playing with injuries is a risk that guys are willing to take." Richard Sherman , Seattle Sea Hawks corner back.
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