Tons of news sources reporting on this.
The SI link has a great video :
https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/09/21/aaron-hernandez-brain-cte-video-photos
If they start filing and winning "wrongful death" lawsuits, football may end even faster.
Aaron Hernandez's brain showed a SEVERE case of CTE, dead at age 27
- Thread starter strummingram
- Start date
Tons of news sources reporting on this.
The SI link has a great video :
https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/09/21/aaron-hernandez-brain-cte-video-photos
If they start filing and winning "wrongful death" lawsuits, football may end even faster.
Don't buy it. Correlation, not causation. In our society, we have a real problem attributing guilt to human beings. It's gun control's fault, or CTE's fault, or racism's fault, et al.
Homeboy was in gangs when he was 15. He was a POS his whole life and it ended up getting him in prison and then dead. The end.
Homeboy was in gangs when he was 15. He was a POS his whole life and it ended up getting him in prison and then dead. The end.
Of the 111 brains that have been examined, 110 have been damaged by CTE. As more show damage and lives are disrupted, it will continue to intensify concern. And, again, if the families start winning wrongful death lawsuits, that will speed up the process.
You'd better prepare for its demise. It's coming sooner or later.
You'd better prepare for its demise. It's coming sooner or later.
I tend to agree with you because it will end on the high school level first.
I'm not sure if the condition is what was responsible for any of his behavior. A person makes their own decisions. They're accountable for them, and their actions. However, if this condition can become associated with the actions, in medical opinions and public opinions, then it's just a matter of time before it ends.
That's a big "if" as well as an even bigger "however," strum.
Thankfully, football isn't going anywhere. There is far too much money and popular support to prevent it.
The part I put in bold is the part I'm referencing. Though not as potentially serious as CTE, everyone has factors that can contribute to them committing a crime or committing suicide, be it a broken home, excessive drinking, bullying at school, etc. etc. etc.
Like you say, a person makes their own decisions. You cannot convince me for a second that Hernandez carried out calculated murders because he was under some sort of brain fog from CTE.
Your being convinced, or not being convinced, isn't going to matter. Unless you're planning to impregnate thousands of women, and they'll all be male offspring with college football level football talent in their genes.
There was far too much money being made from all manner of activity throughout history that all came to abrupt end once it was regarded as being harmful to society. I'll gladly offer examples.
This is going to be a memory. I know it sucks. I'm not looking forward to it. But, it's still coming to an end.
Why do we still have boxing and MMA? Seems like those sports should be under a death watch as well.
You DO NOT have agency over your physical brain. There is no "you" that exists independent of your brain. If I tweak your brain in the right way I can make you depressed, angry, or turn you into a serial killer.
I understand that people have doubts about this but read up on the Texas University shooting in the 60's. Charles Whitman wrote in letters that something was wrong with his brain, and that he was losing control. He sought professional help and they turned him away despite his symptoms because they couldn't find anything wrong with him at the time.
He went on to murder his wife and mother before climbing into a clock tower on the university of Texas campus with a rifle. In his suicide letter he requested that his body be donated to science so they could research his brain to find out what was wrong with him. They found a pea sized glyboblastoma (tumor) in exactly the right region of the brain to affect decision making and emotional regulation. It was the perfect explanation for the behavior of an otherwise perfectly normal man.
Well... I disagree that we're only our brains. But, I understand how the brain can control the body.
The human idea of free will has been totally undermined in a lab by the Libet Experiment.
There is no scientific grounds for assuming there is anything to consciousness that isn't a complex phenomena that emerges from the physical brain and its processes.
You're using the inevitable end of slavery in America as an illustration for the speculative demise of the National Football League? How absurd.
I'm telling you that just because there's a shitload of money being made on it, that doesn't mean that it's going to continue. I'm using an example from history where an obscene amount of money was being made on an activity that became archaic and deemed a danger to society. You can insist that football's ability to produce revenue will overcome the blatantly obvious human cost all you want. It makes no difference to me if you resist it or not. Check back in 10 years. Fewer and fewer boys are playing the game. The roots are dead.
Does he suffer from CTE? I don't wanna get too far off-track of the thread.
But, seriously... if you can continue to argue, you're never wrong? I was impressed that this guy implies to be superior to a rabbi AND Noam Chomsky! That was definitely an interesting perspective overall. I am sure he believes what he is thinking and saying is absolute truth.
The roots are dead? You're out of your freakin' mind.
Check out the website for the Pop Warner Little Panthers League in the Charlotte metro area. It includes seven age divisions and over 100 teams. The number of participants is in the thousands and this is just one league in one area of the country playing tackle football only. It doesn't include kids who participate in flag football.
You sound like Nuk'LE Head when he proclaims the Hollywood Industrial Complex is dead all because Harvey Weinstein was declared a womanizer.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-football-youth-decline-met-20170904-story.html
https://www.salon.com/2017/10/22/is-youth-football-past-its-prime_partner/
Numbers in high school football are declining, while sports like cross-country and soccer are on the rise
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...ntinuing-drop-in-high-school-football-players
The number of high school football players dropped by 25,901 participants in 2016-17, according to a report by National Federation of State High School Associations.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/youth-tackle-football-declining-health-concerns/
https://www.athleticbusiness.com/high-school/youth-football-participation-dropping-drastically.html
http://usatodayhss.com/2017/third-n...all-as-participation-numbers-continue-to-fall
Again, I don't care if you refuse to believe it or not.
And, every time there is a concussion protocol, or an ejection for targeting, especially in a college game (which happens more and more frequently every week), it will get worse. And any time another reported case of a former NFL player (or college or high school) losing his mind and becoming destructive or having issues, it will throw more bricks in the boat.
His argument is a case for CTE playing a causal role in a case like this. But also genetics and other various factors. That doesn't absolve him of guilt or responsibility, its just a more sophisticated explanation than saying "Well he was just a bad guy." Of course he was a bad guy, but how did he get that way?
I am pretty certain that he doesn't believe what he is saying is absolute truth. He has degrees in philosophy and neuroscience from Stanford. I'd say its a safe bet that he's well educated on the subject of bias.
So what if participation has declined. That's a far cry different than your apocalyptic "the roots are dead" edict. At some point the decline will bottom out and possibly reverse itself.
By the way, while you were reading tea leaves last night there were over a hundred North Carolina high school football playoff games being played. So much for the collapse of American football.
By the way, while you were reading tea leaves last night there were over a hundred North Carolina high school football playoff games being played. So much for the collapse of American football.
What you don't seem to realize is that the recent increase in concussion protocol cases and targeting penalties is due to rule changes designed to make the game safer, not necessarily an increase in violence on the field.
It's not that you don't know what it is you're fighting for. It's just you're a lousy fighter.
Agree with @Heels Noir in this thread. I'm not some "head in the sand" dude who wants to totally dismiss the effects of repeated head trauma. Obviously it ain't good for you.
But the game is not dying like some people seem to think. Football is thriving. And science will catch up. Within 10 years, they will have helmets that completely eliminate concussions. The NFL has teams of scientists working hard on it. When there's a will, there's a way.
But the game is not dying like some people seem to think. Football is thriving. And science will catch up. Within 10 years, they will have helmets that completely eliminate concussions. The NFL has teams of scientists working hard on it. When there's a will, there's a way.
I watched it twice. The 2nd time, it made more sense to what you're saying. Initially, I thought he was trying to emphasize how religion is BS, basically.
From what I have read, watched and observed personally, the condition is sort of like inevitable for anyone who plays the sport in an organized capacity for any length of time. Dr. Bennet Omalu's statement in the film "Concussion" was prolific: “God did not intend for us to play football." The human anatomy makes the demise inevitable.
I'm not fighting. There's no need to fight about it, unless you're threatened by something. I'm not. I'm simply presenting actual occurrences and making a prediction based on the pattern. I don't care if you agree or disagree. I don't really care if it stays or goes. However, from what I see, it's becoming extinct. If that bothers you, that's a YP, not an MP. Of the two of us, you're obviously far less familiar with what is being discussed, on a clinical level.
To make it even more clear, this isn't solved, or changed, by attempting to make the game less violent. That won't even be achieved at this point. It's not really a viable option, to be frank. The public expects a certain level for it to even be entertaining. So, to take it a step further; Unless science can create a skull implant that prevents the human brain from sloshing around inside the skull every time 2 players collide, it's only a matter of time before it's no longer played. Evolution is working against it. It always has been, actually. No helmet will protect it. No amount of penalties will stop the speed, force and collisions from occurring.
And, what you don't seem to realize is; The plays that result in targeting penalties are just the "really severe" examples. The damage from this condition is being done on every play. Not just the ones where they collide like high-speed human tanks and get knocked-out for a while. Those "ooh's-and-ahh's" plays that take them to the concussion protocol tent are merely the worst examples. The concussion level impacts happen, especially for linemen, every time they hike the ball.
Last edited:
Hey, I can get on-board with that. If the motivation and innovation can create a skull implant, or something that can be put inside the skull, then it's possible. But, no helmet, the way they work now, will stop the brain from slamming into the skull. All the helmets really do is protect the exterior of the head!
100% Risk Exposure to Brain Damage
JMO, but you need to quote someone other than Dr. Omalu on this matter. I understand the work that he's done, but he's crossed over from scientist to doomsday preacher.
And yes, helmets now can't do it. But science is amazing. It always progresses. Once upon a time, people only had radio and television was something simply unimaginable to the human mind.
I used Omalu because he discovered the condition and is very familiar with the details.
The only problem I see with the helmet's inability to stop it now, is that the damage is being done now. The decline in participation is steadily declining and then THAT would have to be reversed. They'd need to create the miracle helmet almost immediately. And, I have seen some proposal designs over the last 2 years. But, again, they cannot stop the culprit- the brain moving inside the skull. Physics and the human anatomy make it a tall mountain to climb.
I'm also afraid that Luke Kuechly is going to be a player to watch for this condition to play a huge role in his life. He's been playing since the 4th grade. He's had some major concussions. I don't know the severity, as these affect people differently. But, that kid has been plagued with it.
How could any helmet prevent the rapid deceleration of the head when you get hit? No helmet design can prevent the brain from moving inside the skull. That's like saying a car frame could prevent your organs from slamming into your skeleton when you crash a car. No design could do that
If anything going away from helmets to reduce the violence of the impacts would be the best shot. You don't really hear about rugby players getting CTE
I always wonder what the concussions might have been like in the 1930s with leather helmets.
Correct. The answer to CTE is no helmets, which will not happen for football because it would change the game.
Probably far less prevalent and severe if I had to guess. You'd still have impact problems but there's no way you'd see guys hitting the way they do now without a helmet.
So the world's three foremost experts are in agreement. This problem should wrapped up any day now.
