Junior Seau has died.

[JoeSixPat]

Our culture has got to get more proactive in talking about depression and mental health.

These are needless deaths... Completely preventable loss of life that devastes families

This year 10,000 people will die in drunk driving accidents in the US

Three times that many will die by suicide in this country alone.

That's nearly the same amount of women who die from breast cancer each year but no one in the a NFL seems willing to don a colored jersey to draw awareness towards suicide and depression.

In the last few years more soldiers have died by suicide than in combat and no one even blinks.

The NFL needs to take the lead in battling the stigma that leads to needless death. I hope the Patriots show some leadership as well. All players have a vested interest.

The authorities noted that Seau, who apparently had a self inflicted gunshot to the chest, did not leave a suicide note.

Pretty soon they're going to figure out that WAS the suicide note.

 

[Patriot Missile]

I'm just sad for the loss of this person and the anguish the family must be feeling right now. Rip 55.

 

[Adam Seward]

RIP Buddy :'(

 

[reflexblue]

Very sad to hear, feel bad for his family and that Junior felt this was the way out of what was troubling him. RIP JS 55. I was hoping that he would get a ring with the pats, he deserved one for all his years of great play.

 

[PatsFanJess]

Devastating. I loved watching Junior play football... it was a real treat that he spent his last few years in football with us. His talent and passion were unparalleled.

RIP.

 

[Husse]

It's a shame we don't seem to be able to provide a proper support structure for retired veterans.

RIP Seau.

 

[37Harrison]

Simply tragic and devastating. Jr was one of the good guys, a classy and compassionate man in whatever he did. RIP Jr.

 

[TrueBeliever]

Don't know if anyone else has mentioned this, but Junior is now the eighth member of the '94 Chargers team to have passed on.

Junior Seau's death further saddens his 1994 Chargers teammates - Yahoo! Sports

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Our culture has got to get more proactive in talking about depression and mental health.

...

The authorities noted that Seau, who apparently had a self inflicted gunshot to the chest, did not leave a suicide note.

Pretty soon they're going to figure out that WAS the suicide note.

That's actually beautiful. Thank you.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

RIP, Mr. Seau.

Sorry the Pats couldn't get you the Ring you so richly deserved.

 

[Steve102]

I cannot imagine the pain this man must have felt to feel this was the only option. It's so terribly sad. I feel for his family and friends that truly knew him. I hope "we" can find answers to help the next person who feels so lost.

tragic...

 

[JoeSixPat]

That's actually beautiful. Thank you.

I was actually being literal.

Although his family doesn't believe brain study was his motivation in his choice of death, I think it's clear that Seau largely kept his pain to himself and it wouldn't surprise me that he didn't complain about his suffering

The similarity to Duerson, who's suicide note specifically requested that his brain be studied to learn more about post-concussion syndrome and his subsequent depression and suicide is too close to be written off as coincidence.

I agree with the family however - the NFL can't be considered solely responsible. The problem is that we have a culture where men especially cannot talk about these things. The NFL can foster a change in the culture where NOT talking about feelings of depression is what's viewed as a weakness.

 

[DarrylS]

After a rough night's sleep over this stuff, couple of things thought about are:

Were steroids and issue, probably not recently, but early on?? PED's and the like?

It is also a huge fall to go from being at the top of the pile to a jag, even though he was a famous jag.. you transition from the applause and adulation of 60K+ fans every week to much less.

The impact of concussions cannot be discounted, he comes for the era that coined the phrase of "Walk it off"...

Without regard one of my all time NFL faves, was a pleasure to see him suit up here for a few years..

 

[PATSNUTme]

After a rough night's sleep over this stuff, couple of things thought about are:

Were steroids and issue, probably not recently, but early on?? PED's and the like?

It is also a huge fall to go from being at the top of the pile to a jag, even though he was a famous jag.. you transition from the applause and adulation of 60K+ fans every week to much less.

The impact of concussions cannot be discounted, he comes for the era that coined the phrase of "Walk it off"...

Without regard one of my all time NFL faves, was a pleasure to see him suit up here for a few years..

Why do people have to have an answer to this? It would be nice if we could point a finger to one or two or three things and fix the problem. But we can't.

Even asking the questions about ped's or roids cast and unintentional shadow over Junior. It helps feeds the rumors that could be totally and completely false.

Depression is an illness and it comes in different degrees. Some people walk around with a "mask" putting up a front, either not knowing what is wrong or not being able to talk about it. It's a disease of the mind and soul and people can go into a very dark place, suddenly.

Not jumping on you DS, but as I said before,some speculative questions are best unposted as they feed into unfounded rumors. Let all the facts, if there are any, come out. I think those who were Junior fans owe him that much.

 

[harrylime70]

RIP Junior...you will be sorely missed

 

[DarrylS]

Why do people have to have an answer to this? It would be nice if we could point a finger to one or two or three things and fix the problem. But we can't.

Even asking the questions about ped's or roids cast and unintentional shadow over Junior. It helps feeds the rumors that could be totally and completely false.

Depression is an illness and it comes in different degrees. Some people walk around with a "mask" putting up a front, either not knowing what is wrong or not being able to talk about it. It's a disease of the mind and soul and people can go into a very dark place, suddenly.

Not jumping on you DS, but as I said before,some speculative questions are best unposted as they feed into unfounded rumors. Let all the facts, if there are any, come out. I think those who were Junior fans owe him that much.

Am not jumping on anything or prejudging, when this was presented it was assumed that it was due to concussions.. all I was doing is pointing to other possibilities and possible combinations..

My point was that there was an initial rush to judgement as frame it as some type of product of his brains getting beat up.. the steroids & PED's could have been taken prior to them being outlawed, as his career was such a long one.. that is all. There is no condemnation of what he did, just wondering if it played a part. He played for USC in the late 80's at the end of the steroids era.

Depression is probably a big part of it, but do concussions have a causal effect on those who are prone to depression?? I always wonder in cases like this did anyone notice? Did anyone offer to help him find help? No one knows, but what I do know that Junior was one of my favorite players and his demise bothers the hell out of me.

 

[JoeSixPat]

Why do people have to have an answer to this? It would be nice if we could point a finger to one or two or three things and fix the problem. But we can't.

Even asking the questions about ped's or roids cast and unintentional shadow over Junior. It helps feeds the rumors that could be totally and completely false.

Depression is an illness and it comes in different degrees. Some people walk around with a "mask" putting up a front, either not knowing what is wrong or not being able to talk about it. It's a disease of the mind and soul and people can go into a very dark place, suddenly.

Not jumping on you DS, but as I said before,some speculative questions are best unposted as they feed into unfounded rumors. Let all the facts, if there are any, come out. I think those who were Junior fans owe him that much.

Suicide is an irrational act for which survivors seek a rational explanation so in that respect it's natural to see these types of questions.

I think it's fair to wonder whether concussions suffered in Pop Warner, Jr. High, High School, College and years in the Pros might have played a cumulative effect - and I suppose little is known about the long term effects of PEDs as well.

But the bigger issue is that if and when someone is depressed, our culture frowns upon having anyone admit "weakness" to ask for the help that is readily available. The majority of people who commit suicide each year are not former football players but most of them fail to ask for help as well.

I'd expect the NFL to do as much on this issue as they have for breast cancer, which claims just as many lives as suicide each year. Thus far NO ONE has taken up the ball of this issue to run with it... I hope the NFL finally will.

 

[Ivan]

Sad news, RIP JR.

 

[Weklah83]

anyone else hear SCOTT ZOLAK shtting on Seau on 98.5?


calling him an overrated pile jumper, saying how his team dominated him every time he played against him etc..

are you kidding me?

 

[patsfan13]

I was actually being literal.

Although his family doesn't believe brain study was his motivation in his choice of death, I think it's clear that Seau largely kept his pain to himself and it wouldn't surprise me that he didn't complain about his suffering

The similarity to Duerson, who's suicide note specifically requested that his brain be studied to learn more about post-concussion syndrome and his subsequent depression and suicide is too close to be written off as coincidence.

I agree with the family however - the NFL can't be considered solely responsible. The problem is that we have a culture where men especially cannot talk about these things. The NFL can foster a change in the culture where NOT talking about feelings of depression is what's viewed as a weakness.

The comparison with Duerson is apt, one wonders if the issues were due to brain injuries suffered while playing + his desire to internalize this rather than seeking out help.

We really need to rethink the equipment used while playing football. When I was a kid (50's) there were still leather helmets and shoulder pads, not the hard plastics we see now. It would seem we could find better materials to asorb the energy before it is transmitted to the brain.

Is there a foam (temperpedic material with more structural rigidity?) that oculd be used for shoulder pads and helmets? The helmets as they are constructed now are weapons with little 'give' in the shell. This needs to change.