Dwight Clark has ALS

Tragic.

As more of these cases come to light, the more I believe that a legal waiver will be part of the contract process. That is, before any contract is signed The player is in formed of the dangers inherent to playing and absolves any responsibility to the team and the league.

PatsGuy said:

As more of these cases come to light, the more I believe that a legal waiver will be part of the contract process. That is, before any contract is signed The player is in formed of the dangers inherent to playing and absolves any responsibility to the team and the league.

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And backwards into college, HS and earlier.

So freaking sad

PatsGuy said:

As more of these cases come to light, the more I believe that a legal waiver will be part of the contract process. That is, before any contract is signed The player is in formed of the dangers inherent to playing and absolves any responsibility to the team and the league.

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I don't think ALS has anything to do with football.

Damn. Bob Waters, who also played for the 49ers, also had ALS and died in 1989 while head coach at Western Carolina. Awful, awful disease.

As a 49ers as my second team fan, I watched a lot of Clark's games and catches, including The Catch. Besides being a fine receiver, he also always seemed like one of the nicest guys in the game. When coach Bill Walsh was getting weaker from leukemia, I heard a recount by Clark of him picking up Walsh for a drive now and then to talk about the good times and stopping for a glass of wine in Palo Alto or somewhere. Now we pull for Dwight.

That's awful. Horrible disease.

The Catch was so long ago. And Tom Brady was there. Wow.

Satchboogie3 said:

I don't think ALS has anything to do with football.

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There have been some studies done which show there is an increased chance of contracting ALS if the patient has experienced head trauma.

http://www.mdedge.com/neurologyreviews/article/72547/rare-diseases/head-trauma-may-lead-als-disorder

Satchboogie3 said:

I don't think ALS has anything to do with football.

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While correlation doesn't prove causation, it should give you pause. The frequency of ALS in the general population is 2 per 100,000 and there are 6000 people in this country with it. Studies have shown NFL players are 4 times more likely to get ALS than the general public... Study Shows NFL Players Four Times More Likely to Die from ALS; NFL Donates $30 Million to NIH for Research on Brain Injuries

It's worth studying before dismissing out of hand....

Here's a link to an article referencing 4 former players with the disease.
Shaw's battle with ALS ignites memories of other ex-NFL players with disease | FOX Sports

This is really sad to hear. A buddy of mine, his father is going through ALS, and it's just a horrible disease. My thoughts go out to Clark and his family.

So sorry to hear this news. What a terrible disease.

.

PatsGuy said:

As more of these cases come to light, the more I believe that a legal waiver will be part of the contract process. That is, before any contract is signed The player is in formed of the dangers inherent to playing and absolves any responsibility to the team and the league.

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No waiver can absolve an organization if they behave in a negligent manner, which is the bone of contention in a lot of these lawsuits.

good letter. He believes it is due to football.

Side story but I believe Dwight clark was a big reason brady didn't get drafted by the 49ers. In fact the brady family was expecting TB to go to SF but clark went with giovanni carmazzi instead.

I wish the best for him.

Satchboogie3 said:

I don't think ALS has anything to do with football.

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Increasingly clear that this is not true.

Satchboogie3 said:

I don't think ALS has anything to do with football.

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I'm thinking you are right, otherwise we'd hear more cases of it than we have.

We have Kevin Turner and now Dwight Clark.

How about Steve Gleason? Was his issue ALS?

PatsGuy said:

As more of these cases come to light, the more I believe that a legal waiver will be part of the contract process. That is, before any contract is signed The player is in formed of the dangers inherent to playing and absolves any responsibility to the team and the league.

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And what then at the college and high school levels? Pop warner too? You may be right and I'm sure it has been considered as a solution but NFL has chosen not to open that can of worms.