Time out here. I'm no expert, but if mere contact was the sole reason for CTE, then it wouldn't there be THOUSANDS of more players with the disease. The kind of head contact that is ASSOCIATED with the disease certainly isn't at all uncommon. I played full contact football for 10 years. It was a time when you were taught to put your face mask into the chest of the ball carrier....and THEN slide it. For almost all of those 10 years I was a collision player and had my share of big hits and collisions that, on occasion, left me....how should I put this......slow to get up. I was known throughout my experience as a "hitter"
But I was certainly not alone in this experience. Tens of thousands players of my era played the same way. Hundreds of thousands played in the decades before that and hundreds of thousands have played since that time. In other words there were LOTS of players who have played full contact football and do NOT have CTE.
If mere contact were the only reason CTE to occur, wouldn't there be more than just 50 cases over the last 15 years. Things like brain chemistry, or the genetic propensity of having that "tau protein might also be factors. I'd ask questions like, does CTE occur only through head contact? Have their been cases of in so called "normal" people? Did the ALS abet the development of the CTE?
I don't know the answer to any of these questions and I'm not saying that head contact ISN'T the reason for it or a primary cause. And from what I understand it is a disease that can only be diagnosed post mortem, which certainly limits the data base of the research.
I know I let my kids play football, and though there were plenty of times I felt that they was something wrong with there heads, they have turned out to be fine men, and I have forgiven them for their HS and College years when they drove me crazy. Football was a great experience for them and of course a bonding point for our relationships. I hate the thought that kids will be kept from playing a great game simply because people thought playing the game at the HS and College levels would LIKELY cause them to get CTE.
It would seem that there would be a greater chance of your kid getting hurt in a car accident, or drinking beers, than if they played football....and other such analogies. BOTTOM LINE, there is a lot more that has to be learned before one can make the case that football causes CTE
You're not wrong, Ken. I was as headstrong in my sports as well. I played Soccer, I was a ski racer, before helmets were mandatory, I competed on horseback, taking harder falls at higher rates of speed than a football player could ever take. I've been knocked clear unconscious before an event even began, and still competed that day. People were tough back then. You had to, or you would lose your spot, your respect, and even your hunger. Because if you didn't fight back, then how can you look that guy in the mirror (or your own Dad) and convince him you still belong out there?
The difference is, the fact that, and I am speaking about the NFL alone, a technique perfect tackle is nowhere to be found in today's NFL. What you illustrated was a textbook tackle, yet how often do you see that nowadays at the elite level? They want the sexy hit, the bone jarring highlight block that started 6 to 10 yards away. They want Bing, Bang, Boom! Every game, and if they could almost every play. Of course, our team is guilty of it too, but that is what the league has fostered within all of the teams.
I truly believe that football will survive, the way we enjoy it now, however, the league will have to find a way to overcome this, because CTE will come to the forefront of the leagues issues, and the owners won't be able to throw $44 million at a guy that won't succeed in the upcoming CBA. This issue will kill Goodell and the owners, and they will blame him because he upheld all rights for the league, even when it would have been best to back off and show some faith for the players. The Union will kill the NFL over CTE, and I guarantee, Brady will be at the forefront as a Rep gainst the league regarding CTE. They have made a huge mistake by ignoring it for so long, and concentrating on Deflategate instead. Let's see if Robert Kraft stands behind Roger Goddell then.
