By
Steve Kallas (posted by Rick Morris)
The
debate has been swirling now for a number of years. With the recent publication of the book,
League of Denial, and, more importantly (for our purposes), the Frontline
documentary of the same name, a more intelligent discussion can, in this
writer’s opinion, be had on the subject.
While
the book summarizes all that has happened in the last few decades, the
Frontline piece brings it more to life, with more of a focus on young people
playing football.
WHAT’S
THE PROBLEM?
Well,
virtually everybody knows the problem by now.
With the discovery (in 2002) of Dr. Bennet Omalu that Pittsburgh Steeler
Hall of Fame center Mike Webster had Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (“CTE”), a disease of the
brain that can only be discovered at death, the door was opened to a whole new
area of research. The pounding that
Webster had taken over the years in the trenches for the Steelers had eventually
led to a great decline in his mental faculties and contributed to his death at
the age of 50.
While
alive, Webster was examined by multiple doctors, including at least one NFL
handpicked neurologist, as he eventually battled for an NFL disability claim. These doctors,
including the NFL doctor, concluded that Webster suffered irreparable brain
damage from the repeated blows to the head that he took during his storied
playing career. He was compared by some
doctors with boxers who had been diagnosed in the past with dementia
pugilistica or, as it was known as far back as the 1920s, “punch-drunk”
syndrome. Boxers would be the first
athletes to be diagnosed with CTE.
Unfortunately,
and this is beyond the scope of this article, the NFL, in effect, went out of
its way to minimize, or even refute, the science behind the discoveries in Mike
Webster’s brain and those of many other former NFL players. It got so bad that Representative Linda
Sanchez of California, during Congressional
hearings into the concussion/CTE issue in 2009,
analogized the action of the NFL to that of the tobacco companies a generation
ago (you know, cigarettes don’t cause lung cancer).
WHAT’S
A PARENT TO DO?
The
parents of a young child (6, 8, 10, 12 year olds) are really the ones who have
to make this decision until they feel that their child can understand and
contribute to the discussion. While this
writer would never think to tell a parent what to do (he has a son and daughter
of his own), the following is meant to lay the groundwork for an informed
decision that only a parent (or guardian) can make for a child.
IS
THERE A CONNECTION BETWEEN THE POUNDING ONE’S HEAD TAKES IN
FOOTBALL AND BRAIN INJURY?
While
the answer seems to be yes, and to some neuropathologists, like Dr. Ann McKee,
the answer is clear, some critics say various things like: you have to consider
“other things,” like steroid use or alcohol abuse or why do some players get it
and others don’t, etc.
The
problem with the questions is, can a parent wait to find out if the Dr. McKees
of the world, despite some overwhelming (to this writer) evidence that she is
right, is really wrong?
You’ll
have to draw your own conclusions.
Dr.
McKee, who has looked at thousands of brains throughout her career, has
examined the brains of 46 NFL players who died, some by suicide, some who were
mentally and cognitively impaired at the time of their death and some whose
brains were donated by concerned families.
Of
the 46 brains that she has looked at, 45 had signs of CTE.
Obviously,
a scary percentage.
OWEN
THOMAS AND ERIC PELLY ARE TWO NAMES YOU NEED TO
KNOW ABOUT
Many
are familiar with famous NFL names like Junior Seau and Dave Duerson, two
former NFL stars who committed suicide by shooting themselves in the
chest. Duerson left a note specifically
asking his family to have his brain examined.
Seau did not leave a note but many believe that he did not shoot himself
in the head in order to have his brain studied as well.
Both
men were diagnosed with CTE.
But
who was Owen Thomas? Thomas was a
hard-hitting lineman who played his college football at the University of Pennsylvania. He had played football since he was nine
years old and had never been diagnosed with a concussion.
When
he committed suicide by hanging at the age of 21 in 2010, Dr. McKee examined
his brain, never expecting to find what she found: an advanced case of CTE. In Dr. McKee’s words, “that changes the game
for me.” Now having to consider
“sub-concussive” hits (that is, hits that don’t cause a concussion that happen
all the time in any football game) as a possible cause of CTE, McKee said on
Frontline:
“Those sub-concussive hits,
those hits that don’t even rise to the
level of what we call a
concussion or symptons, just playing the
game can be dangerous.”
Who
was Eric Pelly? Pelly was an 18-year old
senior in high school, a straight A student who played multiple sports (a
little bit about sports other than football later). Pelly loved ice hockey and football
(he wanted to play for the Steelers), and played those two sports as well as
rugby.
Ten
days after suffering his fourth concussion, on October
10th 2006, Eric Pelly died. When Dr. McKee looked at his brain, she was
petrified, as she too had an 18-year old.
Dr. McKee found signs of CTE in Eric Pelly’s
brain. She said, clearly upset on
Frontline as she was recounting her examination:
“you know that, that brain [of
an 18-yesr old] is supposed to be
pristine. The fact that it [CTE] was there and he was
only playing
high school level sports, I
mean, I think that’s a cause for concern.”
These
are the two cases (but only two, some would say) that parents should at least
think about when making decisions about their young child. .
BUT
WHAT ABOUT CAUSE AND EFFECT, SMALL SAMPLE
NUMBERS, ETC.
These
are all very valid points and many scientists warn that there should be
patience and more studies and more knowledge and information before drawing
rock solid conclusions.
But
here’s the problem: If you have a young
child and have to make that decision NOW or NEXT SEASON, can you really
afford to wait? Can you really expect
the NFL, with all of their new initiatives, to help you and your child?
Shouldn’t
you err on the side of caution?
What
happens if you decide that (despite all the studies and conclusions of Dr.
McKee and many others and despite the fact that, maybe, the NFL is turning
around after many years of what many (including this writer) believe was a
cover-up if not intentionally misleading studies and findings) you’re going to
let your young child play tackle football at [you fill in the age]. And then two or four or six years from now,
it becomes conclusive that all this pounding causes CTE in a certain percentage
of players (and you can fill in that percentage: 10, 20, 50, 5).
Won’t
you be the one who would never forgive yourself for risking your child’s health
and mental well-being?
WHAT
DO DR. ROBERT CANTU AND HALL OF FAMER HARRY CARSON
SAY?
Dr.
Robert Cantu, one of the leading neurosurgeons and concussion researchers on
the planet, strongly believes that no child under the age of 14 should play
tackle football. On Frontline, Dr. Cantu
said:
“With what we know about the youth
brain compared with the
adult brain, that it’s easily
more disrupted than the adult brain,
the youth brain is lighter in
weight so it has less inertia to put it
in motion.”
“So you cap a youth head
[hitting himself on the side of the head]
whose brain moves much quicker
than a adult brain, it’s [the adult
brain is heavier and therefore
has more inertia. So I think we
should be treating youths
differently.”
Harry
Carson is an intelligent Hall of Fame linebacker who has studied the issue of
concussions and mental issues for the last two decades. On Frontline, Carson said:
“From a physical risk standpoint,
you know what you are doing
when you sign your kid up; that
he can hurt his knee, OK. But
what you should know now is,
your child could develop a brain
injury as a result of playing
football.”
“It’s not just on the pro level, it’s
on every level of football. The
question is, do you want it to
be your child?
WHAT
ABOUT OTHER SPORTS?
Well,
while the problem, according to high school studies, is most prevalent in football,
there are other sports where concussions and brain trauma are a problem. In order, after football, the most dangerous
sports in terms of high school concussions are:
boy’s ice hockey, boy’s lacrosse, girl’s lacrosse, girl’s soccer, girl’s
field hockey and boy’s wrestling.
So,
obviously, in 2013, this conversation is not limited solely to football.
DR.
MCKEE GETS THE FINAL WORD
Dr.
McKee, an avid Packers fan who comes from a football family, clearly is scared
by what the future holds, despite saying that “I don’t feel that I am in a
position to make a proclamation for everyone else,,” when asked if she had
children 8-, 10-, or 12-years old would she let them play football and, when
she said no, asked why, she said:
“Because the way football’s
being played currently, that I’ve seen,
it’s dangerous. It’s dangerous and it could impact their long
term
mental health. You’d only get one brain. The thing you want your
kids to do, most of all, is
succeed in life and be everything they can
be and if there’s anything
that may infringe that, that may limit that,
I don’t want my kids doing
it.”
Parents,
the ball is in your court.
@
COPYRIGHT 2013 BY STEVE KALLAS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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